On July 15th an Imam, Rabbi and Father - together with the Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian mayors from the JordanValley communities and numerous concerned community members - issue a unified call for the rehabilitation of the lower Jordan River at the “BIG JUMP” event held at the PeaceIsland. The Mayors jumped into the river while the religious leaders read from their respective Holy books.
Due to the high level of pollution in the Jordan River, FoEME and guests were unable to jump into the Jordan itself, but forced to jump instead into what is left of the YarmoukRiver, in the past one of the Jordan River's major tributaries.
To learn more about the Jordan River please visit our website. Press coverage of the BIG JUMP included National Public Radio, nrg.co.il (Hebrew) and the Ma’an News AgencyReuters Television covered the event which was picked up by Al Arabia Satellite television with an audience of millions of people throughout the Arab world. On July 24 the prestigious 'Foreign Correspondent' program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation featured a 20 minute television special on the demise of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea.
FoEME's BIG JUMP event was sponsored by the Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures.
On July 6-7th FoEME participated in the LIVE EARTH event hosted by Israel TV Channel 10. Thousands of people flooded into the main square in Tel Aviv to learn more about the local environmental movements, climate change and to hear some good music. The Climate Change issue is gaining greater attention in Israel with two Knesset Committee hearings recently held on the issue where FoEME presented our regional concerns. The Israeli Minister of the Environment was quoted as saying "Israel must realize that global warming is no less dangerous than any other security threat facing this country."
To learn more about the regional impact of climate change please visit our website at: Climate Change. FoEME's work on climate change is sponsored by the National Environment Trust.
On July 22nd FoEME’s ProAquifer Project enabled students from a joint Israeli-Palestinian Study Group on Protection of the Environment of the Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem, to visit Umm el-Fahem's domestic waste transition site, a broken-down pumping site and several other sites which are hazards for groundwater pollution in the area.
Funding for the ProAquifer Project has been provided by the EU Life Third Countries Program.
FoEME's Good Water Neighbors project this month saw another set of mayors signing a Memorandum of Understanding. On July 19th, the mayors of Baka el Gharbia / Jat (Israeli) and Baka el Sharkia (Palestinian) gathered at the European Commission’s TAO office in Jerusalem, declaring their commitment to the protection of the Mountain Aquifer, agreeing to connect their sewage networks to the new treatment plant in Baka el Gharbia-Jat, and to strengthen cooperation between the 2 municipalities in order to preserve the natural heritage in the region in respect to environment and water issues.
The GWN Project is jointly funded by the European Union’s Partnership for Peace Program and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.
The World Bank has announced its intention to hold public hearings on the Terms of Reference for the Feasibility Study of the Red Dead Canal project. To prepare for these important hearings, FoEME gathered other concerned parties for a preparatory meeting held on July 31st. FoEME will be present in full force at all the public hearings, making sure that our demands are heard: The need to study other alternatives for 'Saving the Dead Sea' - in the same manner as the Red Dead Canal proposal is being studied - especially the natural alternative ofbringing water back to the Jordan River.
Israeli and Jordanian mayors from the 
Israel TV Channel 10. Thousands of people flooded into the main square in Tel Aviv to learn more about the local environmental movements, climate change and to hear some good music. The Climate Change issue is gaining greater attention in 
Israeli-Palestinian Study Group on Protection of the Environment of the Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem, to visit Umm el-Fahem's domestic waste transition site, a broken-down pumping site and several other sites which are hazards for groundwater pollution in the area.
mayors signing a 
the Terms of Reference for the Feasibility Study of the Red Dead Canal project. To prepare for these important hearings, FoEME gathered other concerned parties for a preparatory meeting held on July 31st. FoEME will be present in full force at all the public hearings, making sure that our demands are heard: The need to study other alternatives for 'Saving the Dead Sea' - in the same manner as the Red Dead Canal proposal is being studied - especially the natural alternative of bringing water back to the Jordan River. 
