ISRAEL - The Big Water Problem

The unprecedented shutdown of five of Israel’s six desalination plants has exposed what water-policy and national-security experts say is a growing strategic vulnerability: the country’s near-total dependence on large coastal facilities for drinking water.

Large-scale desalination facilities already supply around 80 percent of Israel’s municipal drinking water, a share set to rise sharply under government plans to expand production in the coming decades.

“Desalination is supposed to complement, not replace, natural sources,” said Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Dror Avisar.

The supply of desalinated water is set to increase in the short term as part of a government target to reach 1.1 billion cubic meters per year, with new facilities near Acre in the Western Galilee and in central Israel’s Emek Hefer.

Following an unusually dry winter two years ago, the level of the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s emergency drinking water source, has been below the so-called second red line for most of this year. The lower red line is set at -213 meters (-699 feet) below sea level. Pumping beyond this risks damaging the ecosystem. A first-of-its-kind plan to keep it topped up with desalinated water remains limited and experimental.

-www.timesofisrael.com, 2 September 2026

Commentary: The words of Professor Dror Avisar are notable: “Desalination is supposed to complement, not replace, natural sources.”

Until now, Israel has managed—beyond expectation—to secure an abundance of water. Desalination supplies about 80% of Israel’s drinking water.

Now, new plans are in the works to assure water for the nation.

Regardless of Israel’s success in producing water, the bottom line remains that rain is needed.

When the Jews came out of Egypt, they experienced thirst. We read in Exodus 17:6: “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

About the water shortage, OneForIsrael.org states: “It’s very unlikely to see rain over the summer in Israel. Virtually unheard of. Prayers for rain begin in earnest at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and visitors to Israel will often notice the signs about the water shortage, and stressing the importance of water conservation. Like most things in Israel, rain and drought are also deeply spiritual subjects, and God has a lot to say about it all. And have you ever wondered why God chose that little piece of real estate rather than say… the South of France? A stunning part of China? Or lush Ireland? Why dusty little Israel?”

Deuteronomy 7:8a answers: “But because the LORD loved you.”

(See Israel’s Threefold Exodus, Item #1088, $14.50.)