Quorum Report Daily Buzz Quorum Report Daily Buzz Login into the Quorum Report Subscribe toQuorum Report
Quorum Report Daily Buzz

September 21, 2016      5:04 PM

Schuster: Water In Israel: Quenching Our Thirst For Peace and Providing Lessons for Texas

In this op-ed, Hillel Schuster writes that cooperation across governments and the private sector creates a scenario in which politics and profits can combine to become a powerful engine of change

Editor’s note: Hillel Schuster, who lives in Israel, is participating in the Israel Public Diplomacy Forum’s visit to Texas this month. For more information on that, click here – SB

The Old Testament is chock-full of references to water and its life and death impact on the economy and inhabitants of the land of Israel/Canaan. Abraham sojourns from Israel to Egypt during a time of famine (due to lack of rain). Isaac is reported to have dug many wells to survive here; and the Jewish people’s ultimate enslavement to Pharaoh in Egypt begins with Jacob bringing his extended family south, to Egypt during a 7-year period of famine (again, due to a lack of rain) in Israel.

The most basic economic reward and punishment recorded in the Bible relates to having the rains fall in their time. In fact, peace in Israel is specifically described as a time when the land can be productive due to an abundance of water. (See Leviticus 26:3-4)

In short, with respect to Israel: When there is water, there is peace and when there is no water, there is economic turmoil and upheaval.

Guess what? Thanks to a combination of economic foresight, technology and steady rate of infrastructure investments, there is water in Israel and lots of it. What’s more, soon some of the investments made by Israel will be replicated in Jordan and Egypt and there are even water projects planned to be jointly executed between Jordan and Israel.

Yes, you read that right, JOINTLY EXECUTED…Perhaps peace is coming; and the actors will not be the politicians, but rather, a bunch of nerdy engineers and investment bankers. Let me explain.

The full column by Hillel Schuster can be found in the R&D Department.

By Hillel Schuster