Israel Speaks
The Sea of Galilee, Kinneret, is the only sweet water lake in Israel.
The area is only 170 km² - about a tenth of Finland's lake Inari.
Nevertheless, Kinneret satisfies over a fourth of the country's water need.
The lake serves both domestic and foreign travellers as a recreation
and visiting site.
Understandably, the water situation of the Kinneret is a constant concern
for Israelis. Several instances have been established to monitor
the lake's water and beaches.
Pinhas Green chairs the Kinneret Committee - a body whose main task
is to monitor the quality of the water.
The water situation in Israel has been very bad already for several years.
This winter followed 5 bad winters which had relatively little rain.
This winter was slightly better, because it had more rains.
Although, there has been no rain during these last two months.
There has been more rain in the past winter than in previous years.
Consequently, the water level has risen.
During this year until now, the water level has stabilized.
The level rose by 1,71 m compared to previous years
when the level of the Kinneret rose approximately 1 metre.
The current level is -212,66 m, -
which you can see on the lowest indicators.
This officially measures the level of the Kinneret.
It is the central and official device which measures the level every day.
As I said, the water level is now -212,66 metres, -
which means we still lack 3,86 m.
You can imagine that if the level was 3 m higher it would cover us.
The year 2003 was very exceptional.
The level rose drastically by 4,7 metres during one winter.
That was an extreme year and it doesn't happen very often.
Year 1992 was also like that.
Kinneret is one of the country's 3 major sources of drinking water.
The 2 other sources are underground springs; one in the mountains
and the other on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Kinneret is the only source on the ground which can be seen.
The situation of the other springs is just as bad as the Kinneret's.
In the others you can't see it, but in the Kinneret you can.
Most of the water comes from rain and from the rivers, which flow
to the Kinneret.
The area surrounding the Kinneret is 2730 km².
All the water that comes to the area flows to the Kinneret through rivers.
Most of the water comes from floods through the rivers.
Part of the water comes from rains, but most of it comes from floods.
Kinneret receives most of its water from the Jordan River from the North.
Almost 70 per cent of the lake's water comes from the Jordan River.
30 per cent comes from rivers flowing from the East and West, -
the Golan and the Galilee.
The Jordan River is made up of three main rivers, -
which receive water from springs with a lot of flowing water
throughout the year.
Earlier, part of Kinneret's water continued flowing through the
Southern part of the Jordan River until the Dead Sea.
After the water level decreased, the water channel was closed completely.
Today, there is no water flow from the Kinneret to the Dead Sea.
Water flows only if the channel is opened, but this passage has been
closed already for a long time.
It receives water only from the surrounding rivers.
This year the Dead Sea received quite a significant amount of water
due to the floods in the Negev.
Compared to recent years, that is very exceptional.
The level of the Dead Sea is a story of its own.
The level drops every year by more than a metre.
It is called the Dead Sea, -
but the Kinneret is called "the sea of life".
There is a lot of difference between them.
As the water level of the Kinneret drops, the concern for the sufficiency
of drinking water increases.
The drop in the water level also decreases the quality of the water.
In April 2010 the parliament passed a law forbidding commercial fishing
on the Kinneret for 2 years.
The purpose of the law is to revive the fish stock which has been
shrinking in recent years.
The ecological system of the Kinneret is very complex.
Every change in the system has an influence.
The ecological system has a great influence on the quality of the water.
Every change in the system affects the quality of the water.
For several years already some fish species in the Kinneret
have been decreasing in numbers.
Some populations are going extinct.
There are many reasons for it, but they still haven't found
one specific reason.
This resulted in a decision by the Israeli government to stop
fishing in the Kinneret for 2 years to let the fish stock recover.
The decision was made a few days ago and it should come into effect
already this month.
It has to be supervised and controlled.
The reasons have to be found so that in 2 years the fish stock
would increase and the situation would return to what it was
a few years ago.
The fishing law was passed by the recommendation of researchers
and inspectors.
Less satisfied with the situation are Kinneret's professional fishermen.
We have been fishermen and fish traders for almost 200 years.
My son represents the 5th generation.
We live here in Tiberias.
The fishing business has gone from generation to generation.
I've been fishing since I was 8 years old. I ran away from school.
I prefered working in fishing with my parents.
I've been working here until now.
I taught my son to work here as well.
In general, there are fish in the Kinneret.
Those who want to close the Kinneret are the entrepeneurs of the kibbuts.
The Agriculture Minister is also behind this.
They want to stop the fishing in the Kinneret, because they want to
sell fish from their pools with higher prices.
There is a lack of Saint Peter's fish in the Kinneret, -
because for 5 years no small fish have been planted in the lake.
The fish did not multiply.
However, there are carps and mullets.
Every day some 2 tons of fish are thrown into the lake.
No one can claim that there are no fish.
They want to compensate the fisher- men with only 1700 shekels a month.
They want to bring over around 100 inspectors with 5-6 cars.
I have a suggestion.
Instead of giving salaries to the fishermen, they could replace
the nets with small holes with nets that have big holes.
This way the fish could breed.
Instead of paying inspectors to control the Kinneret, -
they should buy and plant fish in the Kinneret.
There are around 700 fishermen with families here.
The compensation is not enough and eventually they are forced to
steal fish from the kibbuts and do all kinds of crimes.
Now they are organized. They fish the whole night and sleep in the day.
There are enough fish and enough livelihood for everyone.
I think it's only the interest of the kibbuts.
How does this law affect you personally?
My work will decrease by almost 50 per cent.
50 per cent of the fish we sell comes from the pools and from abroad
such as tuna and codfish etc.
I also sell fish from the Kinneret.
By stopping the fishing in the Kinne- ret, they only annoy the fishermen.
It also affects the tourism in Tiberias, because when the tourists
hear that there is no more Saint Peter's fish, tourism will drop.
There is enough fish in the Kinneret.
The drop in the water levels to such low levels
has caused many changes, for example, in the ecological system.
Nevertheless, the quality of the water is still good.
The Kinneret Committee has researched the lake for more than 30 years.
15 researchers monitor the Kinneret, -
its biology, ecology and chemistry.
In recent years, however, the ecolo- gical system has shown many bad signs.
There have been warnings about the situation of seaweed and fish.
There are all kinds of new phenomena which are alarming.
These phenomena can even affect the quality of the water
to a point where drinking water cannot be drawn from the lake.
I hope we won't come to this situation.
If the water will return to its previous levels, we can go back
to the stability that was here during the last 30 years.
10 years from now I hope the water levels will not be as low as today.
The water will reach until my neck as I'm standing here.
This means that new water sources will be developed in Israel
for example, in the Mediterranen Sea.
Less water can then be taken from the Kinneret and its level will rise.
I hope it will also improve the quality of the water
and will restore the situation back to what it was for 30 years.
I believe the state will take better care of the beaches of the Kinneret
and improve the security and the service quality here.
It will also start looking much better.
I haven't been to Finland, but I hope we will at least reach the levels of
Europe and the United States.
The question of the Kinneret divides the people's opinions
concerning the possible peace negotiations with Syria.
If the parties ever come to an ag- reement, Israel will have to give up
part of its rights to the water.
In the peace treaty with Jordan, they received part of the Kinneret.
Jordan receives 50 million cubic metres of water annually from the Kinneret.
If we sign a peace treaty with the Syrians, I believe we will also find
a way to solve the water issue.
Unfortunately, it seems to be still too far away.
Kinneret is one of the country's major tourist sites
attracting annually great numbers of visitors.
According to the law, the Kinneret coast line is a public area.
With years, however, part of the beac- hes have been closed to the public.
The country's youth initiated a Kinneret path -project.
Nissim Asaban heads the construction of the path.
We came here 7 years ago with groups of young people.
Then the whole Kinneret looked like this.
There were a lot of plants and you couldn't pass there
or people built fences and took it for themselves.
The Kinneret was either behind beautiful fences, -
or dirty and full of plants.
We wanted the whole Kinneret to look as beautiful as this.
If the government opposes it the process would be difficult.
We gave tools to the youngsters and told them: -
"Clear this path."
This entire beautiful path started from a small path, -
which the children themselves cleared up with their tools.
They also picked up trash in plastic bags.
Moreover, we always had equipment: either a still or video camera.
We sent a lot of pictures to everyone who could help.
Suddenly, the Ministers in the government said: -
"These children are right. We should take care of it."
Today, this path goes in many places that were unaccessable before.
There is a hotel 2,5 km from here.
The path goes through the beach of the hotel.
At first, we were driven out of there, because they claimed it to be
private property. It was actually a public area.
With time they stopped us from passing, claiming it a private area.
The same happened in all the beaches of the Kinneret.
Children and youth are still leading this project.
Not in places with asphalt and tractors, but in open areas
that without the children would be either dirty or unaccessable.
The job is very hard, because you have to come hear every two months.
It's very hot here and there's a lot of water, which is why the plants
grow very fast.
Or they come after the holidays to pick up the garbage.
Some people still don't respect nature. They leave the trash and we clean.
It's important that we take pictures and when people see on TV
how kids are picking up garbage, it should make them think twice
before throwing garbage again.
60-70 percent of the path is already marked.
There are places where the path goes down and they're enclosed.
There are still many private properties enclosed with a fence
and you have to go through a legal process to remove them.
In some places the path goes under the water level, -
but in most places it is on top.
Places that used to be closed to the public are open now.
However, the places are chargeable for vehicles, but free for pedestrians.
The Kinneret is much cleaner.
We succeeded in educating the public, although there is still a lot to do.
People leave trash much less now, particuarly, in open places
they preserve the nature.
In the past it was like the Wild Wild West.
Today there is an opening ceremony for the first part of the path, -
which is also accessible to the disabled.
Part of the Kinneret will still remain natural looking, -
but some parts will be covered with asphalt, will be accessible for
the disabled and will have different services.
This is the first part and I hope there will be more like this.
Unmarked places are still problematic.
This is not children's job, but the engineers and the hotels
in Tiberias should take care of this and build these paths.
It's a public area and it should be planned well.
Sometimes we organize free guiding tours for the paths.
Hundreds and thousands of people participate in them.
An important point in the Kinneret path project is
to bring people back to the Kinneret.
Due to the bad situation that was in the Kinneret 7 years ago, -
people preferred going to Europe and Turkey, because it was dirty here.
We want to bring the public back to the Kinneret
and show them a new Kinneret through free tours we provide.
The efforts were awarded when the government decided to take care of
the finishing of the project.
In a ceremony held in Caphernaum Tourism Minister officially opened
the first part of the Kinneret path.
If I was a singer, I would sing "Sometimes dreams come true".
If I was a rabbi, I would say: "Thank you that we reached this point."
I will combine both of them, even though I'm not a rabbi or a singer.
This is an exciting moment.
This is a national project, -
which began 3 years ago, but officially begins today.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are the pearl of tourism in the world.
We are the Holy Land the center of which is Jerusalem.
Only 3 million toursist come here annually. It's a crisis, not success.
The Ministry of Tourism has set a goal for the next 3 years
of 1 million tourists more.
First of all, Christians come here because this is the Holy Land.
They come here because there are many holy places around here.
Hence, the Ministry of Tourism has invested finances and great efforts
in the project.
Our Ministry will continue developing the path.
I want that these texts and places would be read and seen by
millions of tourists and not only by the local people.
However, we don't invest here only because of that, -
but because this is a first-class tourist site.
I am standing on the beach of heaven in awe of the greatness of God.
You drew the heavens and the sun. I'm looking at the works of your hands.
It's all your creative power. -Pekka Simojoki
Translation: Sonja Mattayev