VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0613/01 0741511
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141511Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5868
INFO RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 9330
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 3799
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000613 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO EPA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/ENV AND NEA/AIA 
USDA FOR FAS/ICD/RSED 
AMMAN FOR ESTH - BHALLA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ENRG TBIO IS
SUBJECT: EZRA OUTLINES ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
Ref: (A) Tel Aviv 195 (B)07 Tel Aviv 3583 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In a speech on February 26, Israel's Minister of 
Environmental Protection (MEP) outlined the most pressing 
environmental concerns facing Israel today.  He touched on both the 
well-known issues, such as the Ramat Hovav toxic waste dump site, as 
well as on longer-term problems such as the pollution of aquifers 
from illegal construction dumping.  The Minister claimed greater 
enforcement of environmental laws is the solution; the skeptical 
audience was waiting to see what, if any, action would be taken. 
End Summary. 
 
Pollution Pervades 
------------------ 
¶2. (SBU) Minister of Environmental Protection Gideon Ezra, speaking 
at an Australian-Israeli Chamber of Commerce meeting in February, 
offered a frank assessment of Israel's major environmental 
challenges.  He started with Ramat Hovav, Israel's major toxic waste 
site (ref A).  Although it is distant from populated areas, he 
acknowledged that concerns remain regarding the air, land, and water 
pollution it generates. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Addressing air pollution, Ezra shared research showing a 
sharp drop in pollution during the Yom Kippur holiday, when by 
tradition, all of Israel stops driving for a 24-hour period.  This 
underscored the link between vehicular pollution and Israel's 
environment.  He reinforced the need to continue research into 
alternative fuels, and said that licensing of cars in Israel will 
become stricter due to laws that have been passed recently in order 
to prevent pollution. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Haifa Bay refineries and the pollution in the bay also 
received the Minister's attention.  He noted recent efforts by the 
Ministry to decrease production and use of carcinogenic substances 
in the bay area, home to one of Israel's industrial centers.  The 
Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute (IOLR) that 
monitors coastal waters on behalf of the MEP, however, found no 
significant change in the quality of coastal waters between 2005 and 
2006, although it noted some minor reduction in toxic metal 
pollution during that period.  However, the IOLR noted that the 
concentration of fertilizers and of urban and industrial wastes in 
most of Israel's coastal streams and rivers is significantly greater 
than that found in estuaries in other parts of the world.  (Note: 
The IOLR stated recently in a separate report that these higher 
concentrations are the result of high sewage flow and a low level of 
natural water flow, and that such pollution could cause cancer and 
nervous system damage, and hinder child development. End Note) 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Kishon River, which flows into Haifa Bay, continues to 
be the most polluted in the country, Minister Ezra acknowledged. 
While its level of pollution has decreased somewhat, the bottom of 
the river still contains large quantities of toxic metals.  Other 
rivers such as the Yarkon, Naaman, and Sorek rivers that drain into 
the Mediterranean also have high levels of pollution from 
fertilizers and metals. (Post reported an alternative list of 
most-polluted rivers ref B.) 
 
Recycling and Reclamation 
------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) The minister raised the topic of recycling, stating that 
not enough was being done to separate cans, bottles, plastic, and 
paper.  A recent MEP campaign to encourage recycling of batteries 
deserved favorable mention.  Recycling of tires too was a concern 
for the Minister, and he observed that they must be cut up before 
being buried, otherwise they continually resurface.  (Note: ESTOff 
inquired at the MEP why more glass recycling was not being done, and 
the response was that the distance such heavy recyclables had to be 
transported to Israel's sole glass recycling plant in the South of 
the country made it economically not feasible.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ezra reiterated that the improper disposal of construction, 
demolition, and excavation debris (so-called C, D, and E waste) is 
one of Israel's most severe environmental problems. The country has 
experienced a construction boom over the past five years, but only a 
small fraction of the waste this has generated is disposed of in 
regulated waste sites.  At these regulated sites, local authorities 
are responsible for the treatment of C, D, and E waste in the same 
way that they are responsible for treating municipal solid waste. 
The majority of C, D and E waste ends up dumped illegally in open 
areas, along roads, and in the West Bank.  The environmental and 
health impacts of illegal disposal and improper treatment of this 
waste are especially severe, Ezra acknowledged.  These include 
damage to surface and groundwater sources, soil pollution, reduction 
in land value, aesthetic nuisances, fires and air pollution, damage 
to open spaces, proliferation of pests and damage to the quality of 
life of residents and to the future development potential of local 
authorities.  The officer responsible for C, D, and E waste at the 
MEP, Uri Tal, separately has said most of the degradation (some 31 
sites) occurs in areas overlying the coastal and mountain aquifers, 
where irreversible damage of the aquifers is possible.  For example, 
this is a problem for municipal authorities in 17 different 
localities in the Kinneret Drainage Basin, threatening damage to the 
Sea of Galilee, Israel's only freshwater lake. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Minister Ezra reinforced his Ministry's position favoring 
more use of renewable energy in order to preserve the environment 
for future generations.  The solar energy generating plants planned 
for the Negev will be free of greenhouse gas emissions, for example. 
 Alternative energy sources still have an environmental impact, he 
observed, noting that in order to generate 100 megawatts the solar 
plants need 4000 dunam (16,000 acres) of space, and that in order to 
capitalize on wind energy, a significant part of Israel's limited 
coastline would need to be used. His implied message: alternative 
energies have their own costs. 
 
Next Steps 
----------- 
¶9. (SBU) During the Q&A session, there was clear agreement in the 
audience that there needs to be stronger environmental law 
enforcement.  One person in the audience even suggested the use of 
the civil police and army if necessary, but the Minister ruled that 
out.  Another attendee inquired about alternatives to landfill for 
disposal of asbestos waste.  Some audience members tried to focus 
Ezra's attention on their concerns regarding an ongoing asbestos 
removal project in Nahariya. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment: The frank discussion by the Minister reflected 
more openness and readiness to engage on the thorny issues than had 
previously been the case.  Future enforcement activity, however, 
will be the true test of the ministry's commitment to redress years 
of ignoring the pollution problem in the name of economic growth and 
national security. 
 
JONES 
 
 
 
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