The Dead Sea - the polluter pays - for public relations instead of repairing the damage

After every critical article about the Dead Sea factories, I was invited to visit there, which 'by chance' did not come to fruition. This time I managed to get in there as part of a road teacher's hat

In recent years I have written a lot about the environmental injustices caused by the Dead Sea factories. Some of the lists were sent for wide circulation to government offices, the Tamar Regional Council and factories.

The direct result was that I was invited several times by the factories for a visit to see the "environmental activity of the factories" I tried to coordinate the visit many times but without success.

I recently took advantage of being a tour guide, and joined the tour guide training on the subject of the Dead Sea.
Since I saw that the training was led by someone who was an instructor at the nature protection company, I thought that it was an attempt to influence public opinion or a public relations campaign.

It turned out to me that the person who was an instructor at the nature protection company was appointed the "environmental coordinator of the factories". It also turned out that the factories employ guides whose job it is to show the "beautiful face" of the factories...in other words, a public relations campaign against the claims of damage to the environment. In preparation for my participation in the training, I sent the instructor a number of questions along with links to lists showing the problems.

1 - What is the factories' position on the subject "The Leader of Peace" And the miniaturized enterprise?
2 - What is the factories' position regarding the drop in the water level in the northern basin?
3 - What is the position of the factories on the subject "The salt harvest" in the northern pool?
4 - What are the intentions and plans of the factories on the subject The rise in the level in the southern pools?

I was pleasantly surprised when throughout the training there was full and serious attention to the first two questions.

On the subject of "The Leader of Peace" the position of the factories corresponds to what I expressed in my lists, at least that's what it says. The same goes for the unnecessary "pilot".

Regarding questions number 2 and number 3: on the topic of the drop in the level, I proposed to moderate the production activity And obviously this is an offer that is not accepted. The factory representatives took advantage of my mistake to argue against me. I proposed to "dry the northern pond" while the correct terminology was that the northern wing of the northern pond should be dried. The representative of the plant said (rightly) that "the drying up of the northern pond means "significant damage to the plants' activity".
There was no reference to the factories' obligation according to the rule that "the polluter pays", or in the current case the polluter must bear the damage reduction.

As for the rise in the water level in the southern evaporation ponds, it became clear to me that the person who guides the training is also the person who is working to complete the restoration of the old workers' camp and its operation as a visitor center. Another spokesman for the factories and the guide had a convincing answer: according to them the water level in the southern pools is not rising. My words did not help because I have known the area for more than forty years. My words that directed them to the fact that the section of Highway 90 along Mount Sodom is frequently flooded did not help. My words about the southern defense embankment that the factories had to raise by six meters did not help. The two simply denied the facts.

Finally, the leader of the training turned to me and said that since he was reconstructing the workers' camp, if there was indeed a danger of flooding, it would be a problem that would be referred to the factory engineers and they would have to find a solution. As for the danger of salinization of the agricultural fields and the disappearance of the salinity of the plain - Yuk.

Although I received answers to a number of questions, it's a shame that people who value the environment do not notice the cynical use made of them. I could not ignore the impression that once again, instead of doing their environmental duty, the factories are engaged in public relations with the help of paid "environmentalists", or in less washed-up language, throwing sand in the eyes of the public.