Over two hundred guests from Jordan, Palestine, Israel and the international community gathered at the YMCA in Jerusalem on May 10th for FoEME's Red Sea/Dead Sea Conduit Conference. The conference marked the release of FoEME's independent socioeconomic and environmental assessment of the proposed Red Sea / Dead Sea canal project, funded by the MERC program of the U.S.A.I.D. Partners in research included the Geological Survey of Israel, that studied the environmental impacts on the Arava Valley and the Dead Sea; the Royal Scientific Society (Jordan) that studied the environmental impacts on the Gulf of Aqaba / Eilat; and the Water and Environment Development Organization (Palestinian NGO) that together with the Royal Scientific Society studied the socio-economic effects of the proposed canal.
FoEME supporters together with other environmental activists and Bedouin residents of the JudeanDesert gathered at the Israeli High Court of Justice on May 13th at a hearing concerning the route of the security barrier in the JudeanDesert. From the questions asked from the bench of the military, the military appeared to be struggling to justify the security rationale of the barrier's current route cutting deep into the West Bank causing long term environmental damage, severely disturbing the fragile desert ecosystem and dividing an important ecological corridor for wildlife. FoEME's work to halt the construction of the security barrier in the JudeanDesert is sponsored by the New Israel Fund with the support of Shatil; for more information please click here.
From May 15-16, FoEME Directors Munqeth Mehyar, Nader Khateeb and Gidon Bromberg joined Nobel Laureates from around the world at The Petra III Summit of Nobel Laureates entitled “Building a Better World”.The Petra III Summit is sponsored by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development and the Eli Wiesel Foundation and addressed issues related to youth, education, science, health, economy and the environment. The environment break out session which was led by FoEME, in association with the University of Miami, endorsed FoEME's proposed KingAbdullahI-RotenbergPeacePark as a first concrete step towards the rehabilitation of the Jordan River.For more information on FoEME's KingAbdullahI-RotenbergPeacePark proposal please click here: Peace Park.For more information on the Petra III Summit, please visit their website at: www.petranobel.com.For media coverage related to the Nobel Laureates support for FoEME's project please visit here.
FoEME's Good Water Neighbors project launches its first "Neighbors' Path." The path, marked by adult and youth groups from the Israeli town of Tzur Hadassah, in cooperation with the Israeli Nature & Park Authority, the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel and other partners, meanders over the San-San Ridge through the magnificent landscape of the Western Judean hills while highlighting the natural, cultural and environmental ties between Tzur Hadassah and the neighboring Palestinian community of Wadi Fukin. The path was inaugurated by the neighboring communities on May 25th with a joint tour. FoEME intends to establish a "Neighbors' Path" in each of the GWN communities. The GWN Project is jointly funded by the European Union Partnership for Peace Program, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and the British Government's Global Opportunities Fund. For more information about the Good Water Neighbors project, please click here.
On 22 May 2007, the prestigious East/West Institute (EWI) launched an International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy as a multi-year effort to rethink the approach to preventive diplomacy in the 21st century. The Core Group is comprised of 17 experts from government, international organizations, the private sector, academia, and civil society, including FoEME. Please visit www.ewi.info for more information.
Jewish Youth Philanthropy Institute is a US based non-profit organization dedicated to helping Jewish teens experience responsible, effective philanthropy and civil engagement. This year JYPI graciously awarded Friends of the Earth Middle East a check for $3750 Dollars in support of the Good Water Neighbors youth activities. To learn more about the JYPI please visit their website at: www.jypi.org.
