Gaza War Won’t Derail Arab-Jewish Cooperation in Israel’s Arava Valley

Jun 11, 2021 | Larry Luxner
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At a remote desert outpost in Israel’s Arava Valley—far from the Hamas missiles and mob violence that shook this country last month—Jews and Arabs are quietly working together to tackle the region’s most pressing water, energy and ecological issues.

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is located at Kibbutz Ketura, a lonely farming settlement of about 450 people located just off Highway 90, a few kilometers from the Jordanian border in southern Israel. Its projects range from improving the cooling efficiency of solar panels to helping municipalities in the crowded Gaza Strip biologically treat their wastewater.