The shutdown of Israel’s desalination facilities, whether because of a photosynthetic bacterium originating in the Gaza area or an algal bloom in the Nile Delta, has once again exposed a problem that extends far beyond the current water crisis: the lack of sufficient environmental coordination between Israel and its neighboring countries. Algae, pollution, extreme weather and earthquakes do not recognize national borders, but mechanisms for cooperation among countries in the region are still not equipped to deal with this reality.
The need for coordination is not limited to the sea. Almost any significant environmental crisis in the region can cross borders and affect neighboring countries, including Israel. But the past several years of war and the academic boycott of Israel have made scientific and professional ties with countries in the region even more difficult — including countries with which Israel maintains diplomatic relations.
Algae on Palmachim Beach
(Credit: Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research)
Regarding the marine environment and ties with neighboring Arab countries, Dr. Shevy Rothman of Tel Aviv University’s Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, who researches fish, said: “The difficulties are nothing new. It’s not just because of the war. This goes back much further. In the past, there were researchers we could at least communicate with to some extent. When it comes to marine issues, you really shouldn’t be constrained by national borders because our problem is the same problem neighboring countries will face. We often find ourselves in a bind because they are unwilling to cooperate with us.”
She said that in the past, the main difficulty was establishing ties with Lebanon and Syria. “The Turks have been unwilling to speak with us since relations with them deteriorated, and in Egypt they used to cooperate with us, but now it’s out of the question,” she added.
Gallery
Pollution crosses borders. Murky water at Palmachim earlier this month
(Photo: Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research)
Dr. Rothman added: “There is a Lebanese marine researcher with whom researchers in Israel had some form of communication, even if not directly, through joint publications. A few years ago, he largely disavowed that arrangement, and whenever there was regional cooperation, he said that if we were listed on the paper, he would withdraw from it. Usually, if it is a regional effort involving several researchers, they won’t remove the Lebanese researcher. They’ll remove the Israeli researcher. We know that in Lebanon they are prohibited from having contact with us.”
Regarding researchers from Jordan, Dr. Rothman said: “In Jordan, there are some who continue to cooperate to this day. It has held up there, but it depends more on the individual researcher. Some Jordanian researchers will boycott us and others will cooperate.”
According to Dr. Rothman, the past three years of war have led to a deterioration in communication and the exclusion of Israeli researchers from regional collaborations. She herself was supposed to take part in a delegation to a conference in Djibouti in November 2023, which was, of course, canceled.
“Djibouti decided right at the beginning of the war to side with the Palestinians and said it was unwilling to have Israeli citizens on its soil,” she said.
On the importance of cooperation, Dr. Rothman added: “My agenda in life is science. I don’t live in a bubble. I live in this region.”
She said a paper with numerous authors was published in recent weeks that included regional maps showing reports and trends from countries throughout the region. Yet despite Israel being an important center for science and research, it appeared as a blank space, with Israeli researchers not even approached to participate.
The study was published by a Greek researcher, and when he was contacted and asked why Israel had not been included, it became apparent that he effectively had no choice.
“Scientifically, it presents a picture that simply isn’t accurate. They’re ignoring Israel,” she said.
Did the pollution come from there? A beach in the Gaza Strip
(Photo: Reuters)
“It’s a terrible shame for many reasons,” Dr. Rothman said. “We really are one of the most important places for marine research in the region. Israel has some of the highest-quality research institutions. There are many extremely critical changes taking place in the sea here, and we could be the ideal platform for taking part in a regional effort on everything related to nature conservation and marine research. Instead, we are being excluded from many studies. It’s often very frustrating, but we continue our work until the storm passes.”
Is there anything that can be done about the situation?
“I’m not sure. Some of them really don’t know how to separate the two,” Dr. Rothman said. According to her, when antisemitic or anti-Israel propaganda appears in scientific journals and publications, there is the possibility of addressing such issues through legal means.
Dr. Zafrir Kuplik, a jellyfish researcher and curator of the cnidarian collection at Tel Aviv University’s Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, said that before the past several years of war, there had been an attempt in his field to establish ties with researchers in Egypt.
“A country with which, ostensibly, on paper, we have peace,” he said. “But the Egyptians don’t cooperate. If there were cooperation — wow — for me, that would be a very big deal for jellyfish research, but no contact was established.”
Dr. Kuplik said personal connections are sometimes formed at workshops and conferences, including one such relationship with a researcher from Tunisia. He said she had never told him there was a problem working with Israelis in the field.
Notice from Egypt’s water authority regarding the pollution translated to English
Kuplik also described the exclusion of Israeli researchers not necessarily by parties from Arab countries, but by Europeans — an academic boycott connected to Europe. He said there had been cases at conferences in which Arab participants vetoed Israeli participation and refused to take part in the event if the Israelis remained. The Israeli participants were then removed “so the activity could continue.”
Prof. Noa Shenkar of Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History said of the issue: “I personally have good relations with women scientists from Turkey and Cyprus, and I wish I had them with more countries. At the most recent conference on invasive species, a student from Tunisia, whom I wanted to approach with a suggestion after her presentation, told me she couldn’t speak with me. That made me very sad.”
Eng. Sergio Dov Rosen, a coastal engineer and former senior scientist and head of the Marine Geology and Coastal Processes Department at the National Institute of Oceanography at Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, described past marine cooperation with Egypt.
“In the past, I participated in the first trilateral research project following the peace agreement with Egypt, on ‘Sediment Transport in the Nile Littoral Cell.’ It was funded by the United States. At the time, we cooperated with the Egyptians,” he said.
He said this was in the early 1990s. “I know there was later contact with researchers from Egypt on other issues,” he added.
Rosen said he met Egyptian researchers at conferences over the years without any problems. He also participated in international projects that included Syria and Lebanon, though he said he had no direct contact with researchers from those countries.
He recalled, however, that Lebanese representatives did not vote against his appointment to a committee dealing with sea-level and tsunami monitoring in the region.
“They abstained. They didn’t vote against me. If someone had objected, they wouldn’t have been able to elect me. I think now that could land someone in prison,” he said.
Another question is whether Israel’s official bodies maintain ties with neighboring Arab countries on environmental and marine issues — specifically, whether the relevant Israeli ministries are in contact with their counterparts in neighboring countries.
The Environmental Protection Ministry was asked, “Does the ministry maintain contact with its counterparts in neighboring Arab countries with which Israel has relations?” and “Was there any communication regarding the recent algae incident?”
The ministry responded: “The incident is being managed at the national level by the Water Authority and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.”
The Energy Ministry said: “As part of long-term preparations, professional officials are conducting a peer-learning and international review process with professional bodies around the world that are dealing with similar challenges, with the aim of examining advanced solutions and successful methods of response.”
The ministry did not specify which bodies were involved.
First published: 19:11, 09.11.26