Ruth Leonard with guide Alon and second generation farmer Ronen in his pepper hothouse

During the month of June we were honored to host Grahame and Ruth Leonard in the Arava. Grahame is the President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, prior to which he was the President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria for two years, and he has held leadership positions in B’nai Brith and the Anti Defamation Commission over the years. Ruth has also been involved with B’nai Brith, and is a past president of a Victorian unit.

Grahame Leonard and Nissim Duak, local B&B owner

During their comprehensive visit to the Arava Ruth and Grahame were guided by veteran Partnership 2000 activist Alon Dembovsky; they learned about the agriculture of the region, visited tourist and historical sites, and Partnership 2000 projects. In the evening they dined with the Mayor, Lilach Morgan, and Partnership 2000 Director, Rina Peretz Gal.

Following is a wonderful article, kindly written by Grahame for these pages, who also stated, when asked for a quote:
“Our experience in the Arava reinforced the strategic importance to Israel of populating the Arava and Negev as a matter of high priority and I urge all in the Diaspora to support this objective in every possible way.  There is an ideal opportunity for an entrepreneurial travel agent to put together a package incorporating these areas in an Israel package.”

Israel's Best Kept Secret - With An Oz Connection!

Nestled between the Dead and Red Seas in the extraordinary Rift Valley is the Central Arava region.  This narrow strip of desert, literally on Israel’s border with Jordan, should be on everyone’s must visit list. Indeed the story of how the border itself was agreed during the1994 negotiations between Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein is fascinating. The final obstacle holding up finalising the peace agreement was the Israeli farming communities which had been operating on Jordanian land for many years. The resultant compromise in which the border was redrawn involving a quid pro quo is a salutary lesson which should be kept in mind in the negotiations which eventually must occur with Israel’s other neighbours Lebanon and Syria.  This compromise explains why that part of the border is not a straight line. Today the border region is a model of cooperation between Israel and Jordan.

The Central Arava provides a wonderful tourism experience with its history, archaeological digs, the sculpture park (a work in progress by Australia’s eminent sculptor Andrew Rogers), superb bed and breakfast facilities as well as its acclaimed intensive high-tech agricultural moshavs.  The five moshavim and two community settlements have a combined permanent population of around 3,000 persons or 700 families. The region’s school is first rate and is located on the Sapir community settlement.  As well as providing a full curriculum across all grades, the school is operating a unique “Science for All” project, funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel Partnership 2000 programme.  Led by Dr. Mina Yarom the science project, which is in its third year, provides an accelerated comprehension programme for students utilising a combination of specially designed classrooms and hands on stimuli. The project and its early results are most impressive and I have a CD Rom given to me by Dr. Yarom to test Australia’s interest in the project. 

One of Andrew Roger's sculptures in the Arava

The farmers rely on guest workers from Thailand who usually are on five year visas.  The long standing government to government arrangement came about when the ever increasing agricultural yields generated a demand for workers that couldn’t be supplied locally. The miracle of the Arava’s high-tech, high quality agriculture produce is in due no small part to the significant and ongoing contributions of both the JNF and the UIA. Much of the water is from artesian bores sunk as deep as 1,000 metres. Before the land can be worked it must be top dressed with sand brought from Jordan by JNF. Without this support funded by Australia’s JNF donors this critical section of Israel’s longest border with an Arab nation would mostly likely be as problematic as others. 

 Part of the regional park is dedicated to the warm relationship with the Kingdom of Thailand

The annual “sanitation” period was just commencing when Ruth and I visited in mid June 2007.  This involves stripping all vegetation from the soil to minimise the risk of insects such as fruit fly breeding and attacking the crops. The Australian Jewish Community is partnered the Central Arava as part of the Jewish Agency’s Diaspora-wide Partnership 2000 project. This is an ongoing, continuous commitment by UIA Australia involving people exchanges and creative contributions to the challenges confronting the entrepreneurial pioneers of the region.

 Additional attractions for the visitor include the exotic, ancient Spice route and the dig at Ein Hatseva Junction. For the energetic there are wonderful trekking opportunities and to drive   route 227 built by the British is a spectacular experience offering panoramic views. The road links the Arava and Negev and en route as a bonus are two of the three remarkable natural craters unique to Israel. The craters are the result of variable erosion over many centuries.

 Israel’s President Shimon Peres told us of his dream of a pipeline bringing water from the Red Sea to the region and it becoming a ‘Valley of Peace’ joint economic and scientific zone with Jordan.  This ongoing and mutually beneficial cooperation greatly assists the continued peaceful relationship with Jordan in the region.  Realising this vision would do much towards fulfilling the potential of both the Arava and the Negev as well as restoring the level of water in the Dead Sea.

Grahame Leonard

President

Executive Council of Australian Jewry

July 2007