While on a recent trip abroad, a senior Israeli defense official was asked by a foreign diplomat why Israelis were making such a fuss about the Schalit, Goldwasser and Regev kidnappings.

“I mean, aren’t you the ones who invented kidnappings in the Middle East?” the diplomat asked the Israeli.

True, Israeli commandos have, in the past, kidnapped Syrian and Egyptian generals from their beds, and Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists from their bases. Mossad agents even captured and smuggled Eichmann from Argentina and Vanunu from Italy.

So what’s all the fuss about? Why are we so emotionally vulnerable to kidnappings of our soldiers that the public pressure exerted on the government, via the media, corners the decision-makers and forces their hand in hostage negotiations? Why do we allow the kidnap weapon to be used to such effect against us by our enemies?

Experts on Israeli society point out that the first generations of Israelis were, generally speaking and of necessity, not so connected to their emotions and inner processes. Having to dry swampland and build a nation while simultaneously fighting several wars naturally focused the mind outwards. Killing, dying, kidnapping and being kidnapped were routine affairs. Building the state, elevating its army and institutions was everything. Showing the outside world what Israelis were made of was paramount. There was no time and no need for deep sessions with psychologists, psychotherapists, life-coaches and self-awareness workshops. This changed after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, which saw a popular outpouring of grief, and anger at the establishment. That emotional roller coaster fermented and erupted toward the end of the first Lebanon War. Israelis gradually grew less enamored with their leadership, while a new generation grew up with a different psychological makeup than their parents and grandparents. They opened up to their feelings.

The senior Israeli defense official asked by the foreign diplomat why Israelis were so touchy on the latest prisoner deal is a member of the older generation, those born before the 60s and 70s. To him, the Schalit, Goldwasser and Regev kidnappings are a continuation of an old story: Israel’s existential battle to survive in a hostile neighborhood, a region where the slightest sign of weakness can lead to catastrophe.

“People today forget that our entire history, we faced war; they forget that they need to bite their lips and fight,” he says, agreeing to speak only off the record. He believes the modern Israeli discourse is more akin to reality TV than to reality. There is too much emotion, too much hesitation, too many opinion polls and too little gravitas. A country like Israel cannot be run by people who feel they are contestants on a reality TV show - who have to compete for the adulation of the audience to stay on the show, he says, adding that a nation so easily rocked by kidnappings is in bad shape. This latest episode will end, the senior defense official says, but the season continues.

Does the deal strengthen Hizbullah? Yes. In the eyes of the Arab world, Hizbullah pulled off a major victory: It survived a war against Israel, kept a million Israelis in bomb shelters for a month and got its POWs back, including an important symbol, Samir Kuntar. Israel sent the IDF into Lebanon to retrieve its two kidnapped soldiers and got them back two years after the army withdrew, and through negotiations, not force. In the eyes of the Hizbullah leadership and much of the Arab world, the deal is a victory. And they will make it look like one just in case anyone over there has any doubts. As far as Hizbullah is concerned, the Second Lebanon War account is closed. It is now looking to close the Imad Mughniyeh account.

That it got Israel to agree to release Palestinian prisoners further raises its stock in the Arab world. Through this it strengthened Hamas and weakened the Palestinian Authority, further propagating the rise of extremists over moderates in the Middle East. Housing and Construction Minister Ze’ev Boim, voting against the deal, said, “Hamas is watching and taking this swap into account, and the price we will have to pay for Gilad Schalit will be higher. We come out weaker; we strengthen [Hizbullah leader Hassan] Nasrallah, whose image in the Middle East will be boosted. His way will be perceived as the right way.”

Boim was only one of three ministers who voted against the deal; the other 22 voted in favor.

Was all the death and destruction wrought on Lebanon during the war worth a deal for four captured fighters, Samir Kuntar and dozens of dead bodies? Nasrallah is not complaining: Hizbullah has been strengthened since the war, it has veto power in the new Lebanese government, and much of the shattered South has been rebuilt or is in the process of reconstruction, with sizable funding from Iran. In the years since Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 until the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Hizbullah amassed some 14,000 rockets of various types and ranges. In the two years since the war, they have amassed some 40,000. Some of their rockets can even reach south of Hadera. UN Resolution 1701 is in tatters, and UNIFIL is not a hindrance to Hizbullah’s operations.

Does the deal strengthen or weaken Israel? Depends on who you ask. The senior defense official thinks it’s a bad deal - it weakens our government system and strengthens “rule by reality TV format,” where every decision is based on popularity ratings and media headlines. It shows that only public pressure, lobby groups and media campaigns can get kidnapped soldiers back, and not a steadfast, decisive government.

Will kidnappings continue? Highly likely. Kidnapping and hostage negotiations have proven a successful tool for Hamas and Hizbullah, and there is no reason to believe they will stop now. Will the committee set up by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to draft new policy for prisoner exchanges withstand the first massive public and media pressure to “bring the boys home”? Highly unlikely. Will the next Karnit Goldwasser, God forbid there is one, follow in the footsteps of her highly successful predecessor, who banged on every door, got on every plane, interviewed on every TV station worldwide, just because a committee of retired generals and judges tell her she mustn’t? Of course not.

However, Dr. Ronen Hoffman, a lecturer on international relations at the IDC Herzliya and an expert on strategy and negotiations, says that although the latest deal may fall short on the security and diplomacy arenas, Israelis are strengthened by it because it underscores our moral and ethical strength.

“Paradoxically, what is perceived as our weakness is in truth a real strength. We allow ourselves to be vulnerable, and that reminds us that we are a moral and ethical people,” Hoffman says.

Bargaining over prisoners is a much more emotional affair than talks over land, demilitarization, water and other national and strategic issues, because real people are involved. The other side, Hizbullah in this case, uses this effect to play with our morale. Hoffman points out that Israelis have become intimately involved with the personalities in this story; we have been following them since day one. Through the press, we have joined the new wife, Karnit Goldwasser, on her quest all over the world. We cried with her on her wedding anniversary, and we saw her first Passover meal without Udi. We have seen and read in-depth interviews with the parents. We rage with Miki Goldwasser.

“Hostage negotiations turn national issues into personal ones. We all feel like we are negotiating for someone in our unit, in our family,” Hoffman says. The psychological effects of the personalization of the hostage negotiations cannot be underestimated, Hoffman asserts, adding that Israeli society is getting psychologically stronger.

Polls show that like the cabinet ministers, the majority of Israelis were in favor of the deal, even though Samir Kuntar is thought of in these parts as a despicable animal. The group of soldiers who make up the various “Friends of Schalit, Goldwasser and Regev” associations say it’s a good deal. They say that increasingly, army reservists are questioning whether the state would do everything to get them back should they fall into captivity. It’s a good deal, these people say, because it sends a signal to reservists that they will not be forgotten, and that encourages reservists to show up when they are called up.

Will it encourage more kidnappings? “Maybe, so what?” they say. “Kidnap the enemy in turn, or make it harder for the enemy to kidnap our soldiers, like the IDF brass should have done in the beginning; but do whatever it takes to get our boys back.”

According to all the polls, Israelis believe they can only rely on themselves, and that they only have each other. The polls show Israelis believe the government cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of the people. If such is the makeup of our society, can we ever negotiate from a position of strength? Does the deal uphold our deep moral commitment not to leave soldiers behind enemy lines, or is that ideal dangerously outdated and out of place in this neighborhood, leaving us open to constant blackmail? The answer is, of course, both.

It isn’t every day you get to meet your hero, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have met and interviewed mine today. Throughout my childhood, Jonty Rhodes was my inspiration, not just as a cricketer but as a role model. He was never really selected as a batsman or bowler [although later on in his career his batting improved dramatically]. He was selected as a fielder, whose prowess became legendary, and who could turn matches with his field work. I was never a good batsman or bowler, and nobody in my family had ever played cricket before. Rhodes’ example showed me that through fielding I could be part of a team, and cricket gave me so much growing up.

Anyway, here is an exclusive interview with Jonty Rhodes:

For those not familiar with South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes, the Cricinfo cricket website biography of the legendary sportsman is a good place to start:

“Rhodes worked harder than anyone else in a team of hard workers, frequently delaying the team bus at the end of practice for one more round of reflex catches hit from ten meters or less. Nobody has ever fielded better in the key one-day position of backward point, where he leapt like a salmon, threw opponents off balance, and stopped singles by reputation alone.”

The 38-year old Rhodes played for the South African national team from 1992 to 2003 until he was forced to retire due to injuries. He was voted one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1999, and is considered the best fielder the game has ever known. A gritty team player, Rhodes was repeatedly selected for the national side for his outstanding fielding, taking the place of batsmen and bowlers. His fielding saved his side many runs, it won games, and won Rhodes legions of followers worldwide.

In Israel this week to play in an invitation team against India A in honor of its 60th anniversary, Rhodes, in the country for the very first time, believes Israelis, who have shown “genius” in making the desert bloom, and are “tenacious” in their defense of their country and families, would make great cricketers. Saying his only experience of Israel was through Leon Uris’ book ‘Exodus’, Rhodes was “desperate” to come to Israel, and is taking the time off between his three games this week to travel to the north and Jerusalem with his wife. “I’m a Christian, so for me this place has a massive relevance and I was desperate to come. Leon Uris’ the Exodus is the closest I’ve ever got. I loved it, couldn’t put it down,” Rhodes says, adding that he hasn’t been to a new country since he played in Bangladesh for the first time in 1998. “My knowledge of Israel comes from the ‘Exodus’ and how tenacious and determined the people here are to have transformed the desert into this thriving economy, its genius, and the people here are tenacious to be able to make a living in a really harsh environment. I think they really would make great cricket players, if you can turn a desert into a garden you would be an awesome cricketer because you have determination and grit,” Rhodes says.

The games between the Israel invitation XI and India A take place in Ashdod Park in three matches on July 13, 14, and 16 starting at 10AM. The matches will be the only sport officially commemorating Israel’s 60th birthday celebrations this year.

The Israeli invitation team will consist of Jewish cricketers from around the world, including former South Africa international player Adam Bacher. Bacher, who captains the Invitation team, has been to Israel on several occasions in the past, and has represented strong South African teams to the Maccabia games.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Friday at the team’s practice ground in Hadar Yosef, Rhodes says developing cricket in a country with no history and culture of the game is difficult, but definitely positive. He also thinks Israelis have what it takes.

Rhodes’ fielding prowess spawned a generation of cricket players who, while not having the talent or skill to become batsmen or bowlers, nevertheless stuck with the game because they could throw themselves around a field and stop a ball with their bodies. Similarly, good coaching was not always available everywhere, and his example proved that a fielder too had a place in the team. That is an important lesson to keep in mind when thinking about developing a game totally alien to a country like Israel, where teaching correct batting and bowling technique may not be the most important part of the game. Coaching youngsters should not focus on technique, but on playing and enjoying the game, Rhodes says. “The West Indians bring their guys [international players] off the beach, same as India and Pakistan. Technique is not the most important thing there, but there are vast amounts of people playing cricket everywhere, and you should play cricket your way.”

The key, Rhodes says, is for administrators to make young players excited about the game, and a good way to do that is through the new 20/20 format, which is an action-packed, condensed form of the longer 50 over game. “Twenty-twenty [twenty overs per side] games are drawing in massive crowds all over the world. In a time when sport has to compete with entertainment [like movies], sport has to become sportainment,” Rhodes says. “Spectators are the key. If people aren’t watching the game, especially if its new to them, they’re not going to pick up heroes, because they’re watching basketball and football. You need to bring people down to a game and 20/20 in SA has introduced a whole new generation to the game. Families can come too, because it’s not as expensive as an international game of cricket played over 50 overs. I think it’s got to be family oriented, get the kids to come down and watch,” Rhodes says.

The twenty-twenty format also suits Israel’s climate, where most of the season takes place in sweltering heat. The shorter form of the game could raise interest in a public accustomed to action-packed sports like soccer and basketball, and who are confounded by the notion of standing around for 9 hours waiting for short bursts of action to occur. Likewise, the fact that a cricket game can last a whole day, and sometimes even five days, and still end in a draw, is just too alien to many Israelis.

In bringing this international match to Israel in celebration of its 60th anniversary, Israel Cricket Association Stanley Perlman hopes to spread the fanfare of the game in locally. “We are building it up. The demand is small, but it is the strongest non-Olympic sport out there right now,” Perlman says. But serious challenges lie ahead, as Israeli cricketing officials struggle to engender the game into the national psyche. Perlman and other officials have over the years assembled around 1,500 Israeli kids who are actively involved in cricket development, but only some 20 percent of those graduate to club level. Despite shortages in funding for youth cricket development, especially in the south, Perlman is confident that 3,000 Israeli kids will be involved in the cricket development program within three years. On the more senior level, Rhodes thinks the national side needs to play more international games than it is now. The last international game Israel played was against Croatia last August, and its next game is at least 18 months away. Israel is an associate [non test-playing] member of the International Cricket Council.

“What we do in South Africa is make sure that enough kids get to hear about the game because then the better ones come through, if there is a system in place to identify them. You need to identify the kids with good coordination and who are fast, and then you need to put them somewhere. If you do manage to find a youngster who wants to play the game, what do you do with him, where does he go? You need to identify youngsters as early as possible, so that they don’t get lost,” Rhodes said. One such youngster is Solomon Varsulkar, a 20-year old left arm spin bowler, who was the first Israeli ever chosen by International Cricket Council Europe as one of the world’s finest young talents, to participate in the 2008 ICC Cricket Academy 2008 in India.

Rhodes even has a novel idea of how to circumvent the problem of young Israeli cricketers giving up the sport once they enter the IDF: an IDF sport academy, which can select and train an army cricket team. Rhodes points out that many countries’ militaries have sports academies and teams, including South Africa, which produced several top players some decades ago, and all of its sports teams, including field hockey and cricket, were considered very prestigious teams. “Not only are you serving your country but you’re also playing sports in an academy that looks after all the sports. The army here is three years, so if a guy does his army service, but is based at the academy, he could be taught to play cricket,” the ever-optimistic Rhodes says.

Regarding the stiff competition that cricket in Israel faces from more popular sports such as basketball and soccer, Rhodes says that ‘the gentleman’s game’ can have a positive influence on the young Israelis’ temperament, especially the lack of patience Rhodes noticed on the streets, where motorists honked at each other at traffic lights even before the light turned green. “The best life lessons I’ve learned have been on the cricket field. Cricket is not fair: you are given out when you’re not out. You prepare, you practice really hard, you set yourself a goal, and you don’t achieve it. That’s what life’s about. You don’t always get what you want. Cricket is a game of patience and discipline. You can’t just walk away if things aren’t going your way. It certainly gives you great life lessons. Basketball is pretty much over in one hour. If you’re having a bad day you can sit on the bench for an hour and then you can go. In cricket you can bat it out, for three hours sometimes, and you can get naught [runs]. You can bat one ball, get out, and you still have to contribute, even though you’re feeling that’s the last thing you want to do. It’s a great leveler,” says Rhodes. Jewish cricketer Adam Bacher, who played several games for South Africa, says there are some parallels between Jewish culture and cricket. “The Jewish religion is a very disciplined one, you’ve got to have extreme discipline [to adhere to the laws], likewise in cricket. The real game is test cricket [over five days] which requires extreme discipline and humility and the ability to bounce back from bad situations - which is a theme of Jewish culture,” Bacher says. Bacher points to the expat community in Israel which numbers several thousands and lives mostly in Ashdod, Lod and Dimona, as the ones most likely to pass on the cricketing tradition and culture to other Israelis. “Kenya is a great example: nobody knew cricket there, but the expat Indians made it a way of life and spread it to the locals. And Kenya did very well in the last World Cup, making it almost to the semi-finals,” Bacher says.

Rhodes, of average height and stocky build, says cricket could be an attractive alternative to kids who feel they don’t want to play soccer or basketball, or who don’t have the physical requirements to excel in those sports. “There are other games for them,” he says. He is also in favor of maximizing Israel’s existing sporting facilities, such as indoor basketball courts, as venues for spreading the game of cricket. In a country as small as Israel, where land for large sports pitches is hard to come by, and the water needed to maintain them becoming increasingly scarce, indoor facilities may be a smart avenue for cricket development in the future. The situation is especially dire in the south, where there are no cricket facilities and no playing grounds that meet the needs of the players there. “If a guy is taking part in a soccer or basketball practice on the one side of the court, and he sees a bunch of guys playing cricket on the other side, he might want to give cricket a try,” Rhodes says, adding that coaching youngsters should not focus on technique, but on playing and enjoying the game. “The West Indians bring their guys [international players] off the beach, same as India and Pakistan. Technique is not the most important thing there, but there are vast amounts of people playing cricket everywhere, and you should play cricket your way.”

Daniel Kuhn contributed to this report

I took these photos this week in the Banyas waterfall and Tel Dan spring in northern Israel. I think water is a huge issue in these parts, and always was. I’m not the first person to think that one day the price of water will exceed that of crude oil. Thousands of years ago the earliest inhabitants of the Tel Dan and Banyas chose these spots because of their abundant water, which flows from the melted ice on nearby Mt. Hermon, and from underneath the ground.

I played with the camera focus and light, and tried to capture as much of the movement and contrast from within the splashing water, and I’m very happy with the results.

By the way, Tel-Aviv Municipality today hosted the 4th Annual Water Fight at Rabin Square. It sure looks like fun, and the organizers say “the aim of the event is for people to have fun. We want to make people smile and feel happy, and get wet at the same time.” I think its time to put a stop to this stupid event: taking water from the municipal fountain and wasting it on a water fight is just so pre-water-crisis-days.

This AP picture from today’s event at Rabin Square just says it all: Take the most valuable possession you have and throw it away:

Anyway, below is a sort of photo essay of one of our greatest natural treasures, enjoy.

Woke up this morning alive, everything is fine. I guess the curse didn’t work. Here’s the blog post from last night:

I’m going to bed very soon, and I’m still alive. If I die tonight in my sleep its because a ‘religious’ man cursed me in Jerusalem today. As my friend and I drove past him, on the road towards the tunnel that takes you to the center of town, a man dressed in black pants, white button-up shirt, a long black coat, black shoes, and a black bowler hat screamed out “Tamut Halayla” [You should die tonight.] And all because I was driving in Jerusalem on the Sabbath. There were other cars in the area and it wasn’t a haredi neighborhood. He didn’t scream at them. I think he was a redhead.

What’s sad is that this is no longer news. Not for a long time already.

Earlier today I took one of my oldest friends, a Jew visiting Israel for the very first time, to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He had wanted to explore his Jewish heritage, to try and connect, for the first time in many years, to his cultural and religious roots. I thought to take him to my favorite place in the world, the one place I felt belonged to me, as a Jew, as an Israeli, as a descendant of the ancient Hebrew nation. I have developed a relationship with this place over the years, I cherish this place, and I was hoping he would start his own relationship with The Wall.

I called up another friend of mine who is a young secular man living in Jerusalem and the three of us met in the old city. We got to the Western Wall promenade, the area before entering the actual prayer area itself. All around us were tourists, security officers and Jewish and Christian pilgrims. My Australian friend pulled out his camera to take a picture of the Wall, and not ten seconds later a private security guard dashed over to us. He told us we could not take pictures in the area over Shabbat. I told him he was mistaken, that we were not within the prayer area where there was a clear sign that said not to take photographs, or use a cell phone on Shabbat. He said it was law. I said that was rubbish. We started shouting at each other in Russian. I told him he had no right to tell us not to take pictures on the outside of the Kotel perimeter. He backtracked on the law thing, said it was tradition, that he didn’t believe in it himself but he was being paid to stop people from disturbing the sensitivities of others. He was was working for a private security company and was either taking it too far, or was doing exactly what he was being paid to do. Either way, not good.

Anyway, not wanting to make a scene, my friend didn’t take any pictures, and we all walked away feeling a little disappointed with it all. We all had our little moment at the wall, but by then none of us were in the connecting mood.

Later, we decided to drive to Ein Karem. On the way out of the city, we stopped at a traffic light on the road out leading away from downtown, just before the tunnel that leads to the center of the city, and nowhere near even the outskirts of any ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, a haredi man screamed at us: “Shabbas, Shabbas” [subtext: why are you desecrating the Sabbath by driving?]. Which is OK. I’m used to being screamed at by people who believe I am defiling the Sabbath, in Jerusalem. What he said next was new to me: “Tamut Halayla” [You should die tonight]. Now, the young Jew sitting next to me in the car, who was on his first visit to the Jewish state, was offended. I was also offended. But what were we going to do? Get out of the car and re-educate the guy? Maybe he was just a nutcase, or maybe he is the product of a nutcase community. But to say that to another human being, let alone another Jew, is horrible.

I left Jerusalem two years ago because I couldn’t take the increasing intolerance. My friends try and show me the beautiful side of religion, and my eyes are open to it, but whatever, I don’t know too many people who don’t think Jerusalem has become oppressive.

Anyway, if I die tonight because of the curse, keep an eye open for a redhead man in the dark suit and black hat.

There is nothing I can report to you from our one-and-a-half hour meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak at our offices today, as it was agreed beforehand that the briefing would be entirely off record.

What I can do however, is to give you my impressions of Barak at this point in time, and the thing that stands out most about him right now is that he is angry and feels that he needs to act: angry at the way the government is handling things in general; angry at Kadima, angry at what he believes are lost opportunities and wasted resources.

When talking about strategic and defense issues - Barak’s words were measured and his tone relaxed, and I got that reassured feeling that on these matters, Ehud Barak is the best possible person for the job. One year into the job as Defense Minister, Barak is confident that the security establishment is on the right track to meet the threats of the future, and he comes across as eminently believable.

When he started talking about politics, his tone became harsher, the volume of his speech jumped up several decibels, and his whole manner became more aggressive. He became animated, waving his arms around, stressing certain points banging his fist on the table. When Ehud Barak looks at Kadima, he sees a party that gave us the Disengagement [the law of unintended consequences is no excuse], Ehud Olmert’s corruption probes, Tzahi Hanegbi’s corruption probes, Avram Hirshzon’s corruption indictment, Haim Ramon’s indecent assault indictment, and the various corruption suspicions against Ariel Sharon himself. He sees a party that is occupied entirely with its own survival; a party that promised a new way, and now looks very much like the Likud it broke away from. He sees a government with its head in the clouds, a government that doesn’t see things clearly and doesn’t take decisive action. He can’t understand why most Kadima ministers want to take down Hamas in Gaza, when such a thing seems to him to be an impossible illusion. He believes Israel and Hamas are on a collision course, but that the movement itself cannot be wiped out until the Palestinians themselves choose different political paths. The most that can be achieved militarily is the decimation of the Hamas military and political leadership, but the movement cannot be snuffed out; Israel cannot dictate to the Palestinian people which political movements it chooses. From my discussions with army officials, I can tell you that senior IDF officers share this assessment.

When he looks at his good friend Ehud Olmert, he sees a politician that cannot continue in his position. I’m not divulging anything here as Barak has publicly called on Olmert to take a leave of absence and for Kadima to replace him. Who knows, maybe Olmert’s legal problems will turn out to be no big deal, which he hopes they will, and one day Olmert could make a return to politics. But not now.

He clearly doesn’t like the way Cabinet decisions are taken, or not taken, on almost every single issue on the national agenda. As a former commando, he loathes indecision, hesitation and drawn-out discussions that lead nowhere. In his mind, the house [the country] is on fire and he needs to save it. He is worried about where the country is headed and feels like he needs to shape its course.

Conclusion: Barak has officially started his campaign to be the next Prime Minister, again. He has already had similar briefings with the editorial staff of at least two other big newspapers recently. He doesn’t want elections now [polls show Netanyahu would be PM if elections were held now]. He wants Kadima to replace Olmert with Livni, and he wants more time at defense ministry headquarters, as his political comeback hasn’t caught traction yet. He’s not afraid of any of Israel’s enemies, and he’s not afraid of elections.

Next week, the Standards Institution of Israel (SII) is hosting an international conference with the relatively innocuous and convoluted title of “Crisis Management of Water Utilities - ISO/TC 224 WG 7.”

ISO stands for International Standards Organization, TC stands for Technical Committee number 224, and WG 7 is Working Group seven. In simpler terms, what is happening at the SII next week is of such critical importance worldwide that it took months of wrangling over the wording of the title of the conference, with some participating nations wanting to stay away from a more alarmist, yet more accurate, conference title such as “Security of Water Utilities in the New Era of International Terrorism and the Increase in Frequency of Natural Disasters.”

When it comes to the vital resource of water, and the complex issues surrounding it, Israel has long been a world expert. Situated in arid land and surrounded by enemies, the Jewish state has had to devise tools and methods to make the best possible use of the water available to it, as well as defend its water resources from sabotage and attack. Both peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have included water agreements. Potential peace agreements with the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Lebanon, if and when they come, will detail water arrangements.

Several experts, including officials at the SII and the Israel Institute of Energy and the Environment, a private energy policy think-tank in Tel Aviv, do not discount the possibility that someday in the future, the price of water may equal or surpass the price of crude oil. Several Gulf States have already started investing massively in desalination and water resources security.

“The next wars will be over water, not oil, and nobody is threatened by water war like Israel is,” says Jacobo Sack, a veteran official at Israel’s national water carrier, Mekorot, and now a water and wastewater quality consultant.

According to Israel NewTech, the national program promoting the Israeli water technology sector, safety of water systems is increasingly becoming a worldwide concern due to greater awareness to possible terrorism attempts since the September 11, 2001 attacks (terrorist plots to poison water sources in America and Italy were thwarted in 2001), as well as to the growing frequency and intensity of natural disasters as a result of global warming (the recent earthquake in China made up to 40 percent of the water in affected regions undrinkable) and to the higher risk of technical mishaps as systems become more complex (four tons of ammonia were mistakenly released into Israel’s water carrier in 2001).

NewTech says the potential threat that exists from contamination of water sources can quickly affect an entire region and large population. As water contamination can rapidly spread, it can endanger millions of people, create mass hysteria and have a devastating economic impact.

“While there are gaps in the system, the relevant people are doing what needs to be done to protect Israel’s water,” Sack says, refusing to talk about concrete threats and scenarios, as well as equipment and countermeasures deployed for water security.

Next week’s conference at the SII will bring together water security experts from 10 countries hoping to learn from their Israeli counterparts and hash out the first-ever guideline document on water security for adoption by the ISO. If and when it is adopted, the document will be heavily influenced by the Israeli experience and will include information on a range of equipment. The SII, by formulating standards in this field, is hoping to develop new Israeli technology in water reuse, security and irrigation (already three areas in which Israel leads globally) and encourage their export.

The last time Israel proposed guidelines to the ISO - on water reuse technologies and management - the proposal was so widely applauded that it breezed through the ISO’s formidable bureaucracy in about nine months. It was the first time any country had proposed such guidelines, and its speedy adoption is still a source of pride at the SII.

This time, however, is going to be different. The issue of water security is touchy among so many nations where differences of opinion are manifest regarding what constitutes threats. Several nations are uncomfortable with advancing technologies and methods that may cause unease among their populations as well as controversy on the political level. Officials at the SII say that even if a working paper on water security standards is produced at the conference, it will take at least three years before its recommendations are implemented.

To illustrate how difficult creating a water security standard is, seven years after the September 11 attacks, America still does not have a water security standard. After the attacks in 2001, the federal government made it mandatory for water utilities to assess their vulnerability and report that to the government. But only in December 2006 did a document, drawn up jointly by experts at the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Water Works Association, make its way through to the ASCE standards committee, which accepted it. The standards document still has not passed the American National Standards Institute.

C. Wesley Strickland, a member of the US Natural Resources and Water and Public Lands groups and who was on the committee that drafted the standards document, says a standard is needed to provide comprehensive information that is helpful to improving water security.

There is increased awareness across the globe to the needs of water security, says Strickland, who spoke to The Jerusalem Post by phone from his office in Santa Barbara.

“There is always someone who will try and get around the physical security measures in place. The idea is to increase the effort of that person to a point where it becomes not worth their while,” Strickland says, adding that his committee analyzed the full range of threats to water utilities, from vandals to sophisticated terror activities.

In the meantime, Israel is implementing cutting-edge water security measures and private Israeli companies working in the field are looking abroad for new markets.

But defensive technologies such as security guards, electronic warning alarms, permanent computerized water quality testing and police surveillance are not enough to secure water resources and carriers against sabotage and natural disaster, says Yaron Ben Ari, water technology program manager at the SII. Ben-Ari’s department is responsible for framing the guidelines that inform the work of various bodies tasked with securing the nation’s water, including the Israel Water Authority, IDF, Health Ministry, Interior Ministry, Israel Police, Mekorot and others in the water industry. As new threats arise, new thinking is needed, Ben Ari says.

“Every crisis, whether it is terrorist act, natural disaster or human error, needs models of response and crisis management,” he says.

Water reuse and water security are linked in the sense that the improper implementation of reuse technologies is likely to cause health hazards. Israel “recycles” about 80% of its water - a huge amount by international standards, with Spain coming in a distant second at 12%.

Israelis, especially in the south, have been drinking desalinated water from the tap for the past two years, but increasingly, that trend is not catching on in the rest of the country as the perception that tap water is unhealthy continues to take hold. The desalination plant in Ashkelon produces much of that region’s water, and is one of the most technologically advanced facility of its kind in the world.

“The quality of desalinated water in our taps is increasing every year,” says Jacobo Sack, a veteran official at Israel’s National Water Carrier, Mekorot, and now a water and wastewater quality consultant. The increasing awareness of Israel’s acute water resource shortage has put the issue of drinking water at the forefront of the national agenda. Increasingly, Israelis will rely on desalinated water, both for drinking and irrigation, and the number of desalination plans in the country is slated to increase.

But there seems to be a vast disconnect between the contention by experts that desalinated tap water is clean and healthy, and the perception of just the opposite by large segments of the population. While there are no hard figures showing how many people refuse to drink tap water, preferring instead the bottled option, the phenomenon is quite prevalent, especially in the greater Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem areas. Some of the most common reasons given for not drinking tap water are: inconsistent water quality testing, frequent Health Ministry warnings for certain areas, the perception that water-carrying pipes are old and rusty, and, finally the taste.

“Ninety eight percent of our water resources are being used, so there is nothing under the ground we haven’t gotten to. Desalination is the only answer and the quality of the tap water is excellent, I drink it, and my daughters drink it,” Sack adds.

“Mistakes do happen, but the Health Ministry has done a gradually better job of monitoring water quality. People don’t believe tap water is healthy because there is a misconception that the chlorine in the water is damaging to health, it isn’t. It changes the taste of water, but there is nothing unhealthy about our tap water. Similarly, people think desalinated water is dirty water,” Sack says.

Professor Eilon Adar, Director of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, is emphatic: desalinated tap water is the best possible water you can drink. “I’m a hydrologist. I drink tap water in my house and not because I can’t afford bottled water, but because it is clean and healthy,” Adar, considered one of the foremost water experts in the world, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. Adar says that the water quality in Israel’s water distribution system “is amongst the best in the world.”

So why doesn’t the general public believe that tap water is safe? Could it possibly have something to do with the frequent health ministry warnings advising residents of cities countrywide to boil their tap water before drinking it?

Some Israelis are psychologically unable to accept the fact that tap water is clean and healthy, even when that fact is based on hard science. “There is a myth that bottled water is better for you, I know that it is only a myth. But actually the reality is that there are elements from the plastic that can seep into the bottle and enter the water and that can be bad for you. In general, I don’t trust the tap water in Israel, I hear so much about pollution,” says a former Australian now living in Israel. Some just don’t trust the water-carrying pipe system, and others just like having cold water bottles handily available in the fridge. Many households filter tap water with various products, even though those companies clearly state on their packages that there are no health benefit in doing so. Still others will drink tap water when they are in the north, but not in the central or southern parts of the country. When it comes to water intake, it seems, Israelis prefer to play it safe, and safety is by and large perceived to be found in bottled water. “As a pregnant person I would not drink tap water because of the inconsistent testing and the quality of the piping is not very good,” says a Jerusalem resident, who adds that she has no problem drinking tap water in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona. Shmulik Shmueli, a member of Kibbutz Eilot near Eilat, and who is in charge of the Kibbutz’s water, says he only drinks bottled water. “I find tap water scary because I don’t know where it comes from and when I drink it I always get stomach aches.”

While there are many level headed Israelis who believe there is nothing unhealthy about drinking tap water, it seems that water industry professionals just cannot get their message across to the wider public, and as a result, many still feel that tap water is not safe. Adar says the ingrained perception likely started in the 60’s and early 70s when the level of dissolved salts in water was high and that was considered unhealthy for people’s kidneys. But the major reason people don’t drink tap water, according to Adar, is that they don’t like the taste. Adar says Mekorot is working on the taste problem.

Rafi Ifergan, VP for technology and engineering products, says Israelis better get used to drinking desalinated tap water, as there’s going to be a lot more of it around in the future. Right now, Israel’s household sector consumes 800 million cubic meters of water a year, of which 130 million cubic meters is desalinated water. Within 2.5 to 4 years that number will rise to 200 million cubic meters as two more desalination plants are established in Ashdod and Nahal Sorek. Within 5 years, Israeli consumption of desalinated tap water will rise to 500 million cubic meters, Ifergan says, adding that water consumption in Israel rises on average by 3 to 4 percent every year. There are four sources of water in Israel: the sea of Galilee, the coastal aquifer, the mountain aquifer, and desalination plants. And as natural water resources deplete, the importance of desalination becomes obvious. So why are people reluctant to drink tap water? Ifergan says Israel is part of a trend, mainly in America and Western Europe, which sees citizens who can afford it buying bottled water, as the marketing of that water becomes smarter.

A spokesperson for the Standards Institute of Israel, which overseas water re-use technology standards, says that while bottled water companies advertise their water as coming from natural sources, they never say that tap water is unclean. “They wouldn’t dare do that, because they know they can’t back it up,” the spokesperson said.

“Not only can you save money [by not buying mineral water] you can also save the hassle of carrying the bottles,” Sacks, the water consultant, says.

Mekorot’s Ifergan also points to the age of pipes in old buildings as a factor in the bad reputation tap water gets. “The problem here is aesthetic, not health related. Some buildings are old and have old pipes, and sometimes the water that comes out of them gets a certain color, so the citizen won’t drink it,” he says.

According to economic data on the soft drink industry in Israel, both of the country’s major bottled water companies have seen a very dynamic growth rate over the past decade. The reasons for this are the decreasing cost of bottled water as a result of increased competition, and the increased perception of the low quality of tap water, a perception fed by frequent Health Ministry announcements warning of contamination and suggesting residents boil water before use. Interestingly, an improving economy and growing health awareness is expected to be a major factor behind the expected growth in bottled water sales, even though the experts agree: there is nothing unhealthy about desalinated tap water.

Farmers using drinking-quality water from the world’s largest desalination plant in Ashkelon, on Israel’s southern Mediterranean coast, have discovered that the water is lacking in some needed elements, like calcium and magnesium, and too rich in boron. That’s not a problem for humans drinking the water, but it’s terrible for tomatoes, basil, citrus trees, flowers and other economically important plants. Mekorot’s Ifergan is as emphatic as the other experts: the quality of the tap water here is excellent. “It is tested during its production and transportation, and empirical results show that the quality is excellent,” he says.

Danielle Singer contributed to this article

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz has been grilled by the local press over the past few days for saying in an interview that should Iran continue developing its nuclear program, Israel will attack it. Some commentators even went as far as accusing him of putting his political primary race, which hasn’t even been announced yet, above Israel’s strategic interests.

Shaul Mofaz, a former IDF Chief of General Staff and Defense Minister, has for years been in charge of Israel’s strategic dialogue with the United States. This posting was given to him not just because he has the security credentials necessary to understand the issues at hand, but also to sweeten the bitter pill he was given when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert replaced him with Labor Party’s then chairman Amir Peretz at the healm of the Defense Ministry. That move was seen as purely political, and Olmert paid the price of having an inexperienced defense minister at his side when he chose to embark on a war with Hizbullah in 2006. Since then Mofaz has been doing his job quietly and studiously, with very little fanfare or media leaks. He has been at the heart of the most sensitive security issues the Jewish state faces for years, building a reputation as a solid Mr. Security, a dependable ex-general we can count on in times of danger.

So why did he throw it all away?

Mofaz is trying to position himself as Israel’s Mr. Security ahead of the Kadima leadership battle. His main opponent in the party is Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who, while considered popular amongst the wider Israeli public, remains very much an enigma to the population. She does not inspire confidence, warmth or loyalty, and her popularity amongst the electorate is based solely on the fact that she is considered a “clean” politician, with no corruption investigations currently opened her against her, quite a feat in today’s Knesset.

Will his comments help Mofaz gain control of Kadima? Unlikely, as he will be painted by his opponents as irresponsible, as someone who should have known better. Anytime Israeli politicians talk about hitting Iran, or Israel’s purported nuclear weapons, they are castigated. Mofaz was clearly trying to set himself apart from Livni, a woman, an unknown. He was also perhaps trying to outmaneuver Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, who, while himself a serious candidate for the tile of Mr. Security after serving in the secret service for over 30 years, is a political novice.

The polls show Livni out in front for the Kadima leadership, but not by much. Mofaz would want to reduce her lead even more, and what better way than to put himself out there as the security minded candidate of the whole bunch. That’s really his only calling card. His time at the Transportation Ministry has not turned him into a superstar and now Mofaz is sensing his moment

Mofaz figures that Israelis are hearkening to the days of the ultimate Mr. Security, Ariel Sharon. With all the talk of centrifuges and cascades and genocide, Mofaz is trying to position himself as a responsible, tough Mr. Security that can lead the country in the time of its most serious challenge since Independence in 1948. Had Mofaz made the comments in an interview on security issues to a security reporter instead of a political reporter, he may have been more careful, and taken more seriously. The fact that he interviewed with a political correspondent paints the entire story in a different shade of Code Red.

This is the second time in two weeks that Livni has been forced to state her position on serious issues. The first when Defense Minister Ehud Barak [whose office has already slammed Mofaz's comments] handed Olmert and Kadima an ultimatum to replace the PM as head of the party or Labor will work to hasten new elections. In the wake of the Talansky corruption probe against Olmert, Livni, the strongest candidate to replace Olmert, was forced to act, which she did, but, characteristically, without serious intent or consequence. Instead of calling for Olmert to resign, she said that “every country needed to be true to its moral compass.”

The second time Livni’s actions were dictated by others was Mofaz’s comments. By positioning himself as the man Israelis should most trust with their continued existence [remember, Ahmadinejad has vowed to wipe Israel off the map], Mofaz challenged Livni to stake out a role she could cast herself in at the nation’s helm. Again, and perhaps responsibly this time, Livni didn’t fall into the trap. Instead, she repeated the mantra that, when it comes to Iran, “all options are on the table.” It remains to be seen what attributes Livni will choose to highlight in herself when the time for campaigning for the Kadima leadership arrives. Will “being clean” suffice?

Have Mofaz’s comments damaged Israel’s strategic situation regarding Iran? Doubtful. The feeling here, both within the political-security establishment, and within the larger public, is that Israel will eventually have to act to stop Iran’s nuclear program because nobody else will. Sanctions are not working [Mofaz said as much], Iran will not stop, and George Bush is unlikely to embark on a major military adventure this far into the end of his presidency.

Furthermore, the publication several months ago of the American National Intelligence Estimate, which posits, incorrectly according to Israeli sources, that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003, makes it very unlikely that this president, or the next one, will be able to muster the political support needed for a war with Iran.

And war it will be.

Iran’s nuclear installations are numerous, widespread and well defended. Any attack on them will take sustained effort by a large military force. Israeli defense planners took heart this weekend when Howard Berman, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was in favor of lifting the ban on sales of the F22 “Raptor” stealth fighter-bomber. A weapon like this will be necessary if anyone wants to get through Iran’s Russian-built radar installations and reach Natanz, Busher, Isfahan and other sites. The thinking is that once these planes take out Iranian radar, hundreds of other, less sophisticated fighter-bombers can swoop in and bomb the targets with a much better chance of success.

Mofaz was just saying out loud what every Israeli knows in his heart: Jewish state will be left on its own to defend itself against a genocidal tyrant within arms reach of nuclear weapons. The government has been preparing the nation for that eventuality for years, aided quite admirably by Ahmadinejad’s constant talk of genocide. What Mofaz said was not new in itself, but does go against government policy of putting Israel at the forefront of efforts to stop Iran, policy set by Ariel Sharon, and policy reminiscent of Teddy Roosevelt’s dictum: Talk quietly and carry a big stick.

Now the question Israelis will have to ask themselves is whether to place their trust in a man who says what’s on his mind because he thinks it’s the right thing to do for the country, or in a man who speaks his mind because it may help him further his career. In short, a choice between Mr. Security and Mr. Politics.

Last year towards the end of May I stopped smoking. To be totally truthful, I’ve had one-and-a-half cigarettes since last May.

The first one was in Istanbul. I had forgot my passport in the hotel safe, was halfway to the airport in a minivan with the Greenhouse group I was doing a feature on, got dropped off with my luggage in the middle of the highway, took a taxi back downtown, got dropped off 5km away from the hotel because the whole area was sealed off to traffic during the Istanbul marathon, ran 5km of the Istanbul marathon, with my luggage, in the opposite direction to all the runners, while all the time on the phone to the hotel staff telling them the code to the safe where my passport was, asking them to get it ready for me to pick up thinking I could still make the flight back to Tel-Aviv, but in all the noise of the tens of thousands of runners around me the hotel person couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear her, so she got the password wrong three times and the safe was now permanently locked and the hotel security manager with a special access code would have to be brought to the hotel from the other side of Istanbul, but can only get within a 5km radius and would have to make the rest on foot, so I would have to wait at the hotel, which I did, while on the phone to Turkish Airways to see how late I could arrive before my flight, and lining up another taxi, and making sure he knows to drive like the wind to the airport. Just before the security manager arrived and collected my passport, I asked someone for a cigarette. It was a Marlboro, and it tasted really good. Good thing I had it because the day didn’t get any better. I got to the airport with 15 minutes to spare before take-off [taxi driver was a real sport], took my belt and shoes off on the run before I even got to the metal detector, got to the check-in counter where they processed my ticket, sprinted to the boarding gate which obviously was far away from the check-in counter and was stopped dead in my tracks by big Turkish airport security. Too late. Plane has boarded. Panting, angry, pleading, threatening, panting, please please please. No. You don’t understand I need to get on that flight there are sick people back home its an emergency call your manager if you have to come on the plane is still on the ground. Missed my flight, even though technically I got there before the plane actually took off and they could have let me on board really, if they wanted to. They also overcharged me for the next flight out that night saying the only seat available was business class which turned out to be a bloody lie as there were plenty of open seats all over the plane. Spend 10 hours in the airport and wrote this, got on the plane and wrote this in a mood. One day karma will reckon with Turkish Airways.

The other half cigarette I had the night of a really bad break-up. I started smoking it just after she drove off, got half way through the LM light and tossed it away. It tasted really bad.

And that was that. I’ve inhaled a lot of second-hand smoke since then, but haven’t put a cigarette in my mouth and lit up for exactly one year now.

What really scares me is hearing people say that after 3, 5, and 10 years they still feel like smoking. Does it ever go away? Sometimes I catch myself walking towards a smoker, or a group of smokers on the sidewalk just to catch the smoke around them. Sometimes I see them and I keep my distance. Sometimes after a good meal and dessert, and coffee, I feel like a smoke. But usually the craving goes away after a few seconds.

I started smoking at age 14 and stopped age 31. Life is better this way.

Israel can lead the world in alternative energy technologies and policies because it has the right mix of experience with desert farming, water desalination, and high technology, and a looming energy shortage, says Isaac Berzin, a maverick scientist and entrepreneur hoping to establish an institute for alternative energy policy in Israel that will guide the local industry onto the world stage, and ultimately, position Israel at the forefront of the alternative energy revolution.

Returning just a few months ago to Israel after becoming somewhat of a star in the US following his success in farming algae for energy, Berzin brings his breakthrough into a country already teeming with alternative energy bright sparks. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Berzin says his greatest breakthrough, he hopes, will be to position Israel as the testing ground, what he likes to call “the sanity test”, for local and foreign alternative energy technologies, with the aim of projecting Israel’s expertise in this field as a green light unto the nations.

On paper the idea is a good one: creating an Institute for Alternative Energy Policy to advise scientists, entrepreneurs and politicians on how to focus their research on finding solutions to the world’s energy crisis, while at the same time making them profitable and reduce dependency on oil.

But an institute costs money to establish and run. According to both Berzin and Dr. Alex Mintz, head of the IDC Lauder School of Government, there is good process in securing funding for the project. Mintz says he has received an endorsement from the White House, on official letterhead, over a cooperation agreement with the Department of Energy. The Israeli Ministry of Infrastructures is also technically on board. “It’s happening, there is interest amongst donors and its going well,” Mintz says. Berzin has been trying to convert his overseas stardom, solid scientific and entrepreneurial credentials into hard local cash to start his institute at the IDC Herzliya, which has already committed to hosting him.

Higher fuel costs [crude oil hovering at the US $ 120 per barrel mark] are driving the growth of alternative energy companies and the expansion of the renewable energy marketplace. Investors are beginning to pay close attention to these new companies. Like Shai Agassi, who has been trying to secure funding for cars that run on electrons and batteries, Berzin, 40, is optimistic that attitudes are slowly changing in this country.

Due to its climate, geography, and brainpower, Israel is a proven center of excellence and ability that can lead the world in alternative energy production, borne out of years of accumulated wisdom and practices needed to survive here, Berzin says. But industry observers told the JTA last week that more aggressive government policies, such as underwriting renewable energy initiatives and granting more land for power plants, are needed to bolster the development of alternative energy.

Berzin’s institute, once up and running, will try to provide portfolio solutions to the energy industry and the government. One of the solutions is the cultivation of crops in arid land using marginal, non-potable water. Since not only Israel has serious water shortages, this is of vital importance and the technologies and policies can be exported. Berzin extols the value of energy-producing crops such as castor beans, and more radically, algae and seaweed which can produce bio-diesel and ethanol and don’t lead to rising food costs. The timing is not coincidental, as the biofuel issue is rising to the top of the world agenda. On Wednesday, UN Chief Ban Ki Moon called for policy guidelines on biofuel impact on the world food crisis.

“The world is moving towards energy farming using non-fertile land and non-potable water,” Berzin says, adding that when it comes to those two variants, Israel has vast expertise which it could share with countries desperately seeking new energy sources, such as China and India. Fertile farming land and drinking water are too valuable a resource to use for energy, Berzin argues. In an interview last month with Haaretz, Berzin said he was hoping to export the idea of energy farms [based on algae, solar power or other alternative energy solutions] worldwide, a move which could help wean the world off oil and change the geo-political nature of international affairs. “A world in which China will not be dependent on Iran will be a different world. Some countries will lose part of their power. The message is one of energy freedom. If you have land, sun and CO2, you can grow your own energy. A revolution like this will make the world free,” Berzin told Haaretz.

“China has vast deserts, its economy is booming, it is desperate for energy, and it’s buying a lot of oil from Iran. Israel recycles about 75 percent of its water, which is by far more than any other country does. The secondary usage of water is the key, and Israel holds the key in this regard. Israel also has much experience and technology in desalination,” Berzin tells the ‘Post, adding that he wants to see Israel demonstrate and develop energy technologies to be used worldwide.

“In the past, humans were hunter-gatherers. Then, many became farmers. These days, we are still hunter-gatherers in terms of energy, in the sense that we seek out oil reserves and other forms of energy and gather them. What we are starting to see is the evolution into energy farming with the production of energy from corn and soybeans, for example. We are beginning to grow our own fuel,” Berzin says.

But biofuels have opened up deep divisions at a U.N. food summit in Rome this week, with some promoting them as a green way to wean the world off oil, and others demanding a halt to the transfer of food away from hungry mouths and into fuel tanks, Reuters reported. Once viewed as a way to divert surplus food production into “clean” non-fossil fuel energy, biofuels’ contribution to record high food prices have clouded their image. Hunger campaigners have called for policies promoting them to be reversed, but Berzin says that the current percentage of food products used for biofuels is very low and not adding to the world food price problem. The former U.N. special investigator on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, called for a halt to such policies, according to Reuters. His predecessor, Jean Ziegler, once branded the use of farmland to make fuel a “crime against humanity”.

“It is not moral to take food away from people in order to create energy, or abet the price in global food prices,” Berzin concurs.

Berzin obtained his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Ben-Gurion University in 1999 and then embarked on postdoctoral studies at MIT, after which he worked on a NASA project to plan a facility for growing cells in the international space station. In 2001, Berzin founded GreenFuel Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts to grow algae for energy production. His solution, algae farming using waste water, circumvents the tricky subject of the use of food to create energy.

This year, TIME Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world today, under the scientists and thinkers category. Berzin is considered a pioneer in the use of algae to produce energy. In choosing him, TIME said he was one of the people “reinventing the US$ 6trillion energy business.” “When God first appeared to Moses as a bush that was burned but not consumed.What can you burn without consuming it? Renewable fuels,” Berzin told TIME. Now back in Israel to live, Berzin will remain consulting GreenFuel, and told ISRAEL21c that he plans on building a GreenFuel-type project in Israel, but 10 times larger.

Berzin, in a lecture he will deliver in the coming weeks called, “Biofuel: The good, the bad and the ugly,” uses an example of a cup of coffee beans and a cup of petroleum to illustrate the point of how using food products to create energy is not always feasible or profitable. “The value of energy is low. An acre of farmland used to grow bananas is more profitable than an acre of land used to grow energy with other food products. One cup of coffee beans has more worth than the same cup size of petroleum,” he says.

Apart from having expertise in desalination, desert agriculture, the genetic engineering of plants, and drip irrigation, Israelis also have vast experience in photovoltaic technology. There are several Israeli solar energy companies who have global operations, and great strides have been made by scientists at the National Solar Energy Center, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Berzin, through his planned institute for alternative energy policy, hopes to harness the brain power and experience emanating from Israeli labs and farms, and “guide” the industry into profitable waters. “There is not one place in Israel that looks at everything objectively and sets policy,” Berzin says, adding that scientists working on alternative energy products and technologies may not be interested in return on investment and marketing, and rightly so, but more keen on developing their technologies. “People are working in the dark,” he says. Berzin hopes his institute can guide these scientists into the right direction and the right markets, while not becoming an incubator for specific companies and ventures. Berzin states that his institute will be run transparently, and that donors’ names will be published so that the public can see that the institute is not serving the economic interests of its benefactors. “I have no agenda other than to see Israel lead the world in green tech and alternative energy. We will focus on solving the energy issue and provide a compass to guide the industry to success through feedback and analysis,” Berzin says. Adding to his scientific credentials, Berzin has signed a cooperation agreement with the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory that will underpin all technology testing for his proposed institute.

Apart from guiding scientists and start-ups towards the right technologies, Berzin wants his institute to encourage the perception of alternative energy as a profitable industry. “Forcing environmental protection laws and regulations on industrialists is perhaps the right thing to do, but it makes them think they will lose money. The perception of the alternative energy industry is that it is profitable. That is very important,” he says.

But this leads to questions of fair play and objectivity. For instance, how will the proposed institute for alternative energy policy remain objective and transparent, and not become an incubator for the technologies and companies connected to those who donate money to it? For Berzin, this is a crucial point. “It’s not going to be the Isaac Berzin Institute. The IDC has no institute for technology development. We have signed an agreement with the NETL for us to be the sanity check on new technologies and policies. The aim of the institute is not to make the rich richer, the aim is to highlight directions that make sense and provide solid analysis and policy to decision-makers and the industry. Our integrity is crucial,” Berzin states.

“Policy should be based on in-depth analysis. So if there is a perception amongst the population that alternative energy makes sense and is a good thing, politicians will want good policy analysis so that they can say smart things and set smart policy,” Berzin says.

Berzin will head a council of Harvard and MIT experts in the energy field, and will collaborate with scientists at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and Ben Gurion University experts in desert ecology as well as other scientists working on alternative energy solutions in the Negev. The institute will endeavor to produce an annual IDC index for alternative energy production measuring how many new jobs have been created in the field, how much money has been invested, how many green tech companies have listed publicly and which projects have been sold. “The index will measure the activity of the alternative energy industry in Israel as well as measure the impact Israeli companies and technologies are having abroad,” Berzin says. Berzin says he has some seed money, “from people who know me,” and is now looking for heavy donors.