After the proposals to establish an airport in Timana comes a new initiative - to build a border terminal in Arava that will damage the unique landscapes
After the Minister of Transportation announced "Establishment of an international airport in Timna"The Minister for the Development of the Galilee and the Negev who may have already completed the"Pilot for the sea channel” taking the initiative to “establish a border terminal south of the Dead Sea”...?
Assuming that even an economist remembers a bit of geography, it is worth noting that the Rabin terminal (Arava) is indeed located north of Eilat... but south of the Dead Sea, but this is pettiness for its own sake, so despite my lack of understanding of economics, let us examine the need and location of another border terminal.
Let's start with the location, to the south of the Dead Sea lies Maliha (swampy), the remains of a unique and special Maliha that became extinct with the "help" of the Dead Sea factories, adjacent to the Maliha is Moshav Naut-HaKar and its magnificent agricultural areas, it is hard to assume that the Moshavniks will give up years of toil in favor of a border terminal, further south, a river A prairie where seasonal springs spring up and partly agricultural areas, to the west are Hver hills which constitute a unique ancient landscape in the world.
Moshav Idan, Hatzava, the Moshavim Hatzava, Ein Yahav, Zufar and Paran form a sequence of settlements whose fields almost touch each other, including the Jujube Reserve, i.e. agricultural settlements, flower fields and a nature reserve. South of Paran and up to Kibbutz Yahal there is an area about 50 km long, most of which is fire plains, which brings us to the southern Arabah.... At a maximum distance of 70 km from the Rabin terminal. That is, the only location where there will be no damage to existing settlements or reserves and a unique environment is at a maximum distance of 100 km from an existing terminal.
"Who needs it", for whom and what will the proposed terminal be for? For the masses of Israeli travelers who want to move to Jordan precisely halfway between Eilat and the Dead Sea? Or alternately for the Bedouins who are temporarily returning to the Arabah and suddenly want to visit Israel? Maybe for about 200 day laborers who work on construction sites in Eilat? Or for the tourists staying in hotels in Aqaba? No no no, the latter have the Rabin Terminal and the former... come on.
We were left with goods, so maybe really after the Jordanians paved a road whose initial purpose was to transport potash to the port of Aqaba (the Jordanian steppe road was paved in the seventies at the same time as the works to extract minerals from the Dead Sea), maybe the Jordanians will suddenly decide that it is worth transporting minerals from the Dead Sea to the Israeli side?
The Jordanians have phosphate fields located about 100 km northeast of the port of Aqaba, might they want to export the fertilizer through the port of Haifa? In front of the southern part of the Dead Sea there are two winding roads that go up to the mountains of Moab, one to the town of Karach and the other to Tafilah, in Karach there is a Crusader fortress, in Tafilah there is olive oil, two "products" that "undoubtedly" need a connection with Israel? It is possible that the minister has unknown information that is not in the hands of laymen, otherwise it is not clear what is the need for the proposed terminal?
We will add and remind that in front of Yotbata there is a gate in the fence through which the students of Yotbata and the students of the Bedouin settlement opposite, agricultural instructors and others pass back and forth, all of them pass for fruitful cooperation between the settlements on both sides of the border, pass without passports and without an official border terminal, that is, when the need and desire arises one can find Solutions without titles in journals.
Since up to now there has only been negative criticism, here is a suggestion. May the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Development join hands (and forces) and instead of coming up with delusional and pointless ideas or need, they will do for the existing: take care and do for the hundreds of tourists who pass through the Taba terminal every morning, pass through or rather "spend "Hours (3 to 6 hours) of annoying waiting in a crossing that is not properly staffed and leaves a dismal, irritating and offensive impression on everyone who tries to pass, tries once and promises not to pass a second time,
Hundreds of tourists (every morning) brought by Jerusalem and the "Via Dolorosa" go through the path of agony at a border crossing that shames its existence. Would that the ministers would work for the manning of inspection counters, manning that would allow the correct, efficient and respectable operation of the border terminal in Taba! If the ministers will and instead of announcing unnecessary projects, they will work for the expansion of the Rabin terminal (Araba) and cooperation with the Jordanians, and despite the fears of Eilat hoteliers/tourists, they will work to pave an access route for airplanes from the airport (Aqaba) to the border terminal.
This will also eliminate the need for expensive and harmful projects, improving the service at the Taba terminal, or agreements with Jordan on sharing the airport, will surely bring headlines in the newspapers, and after that it must be assumed that a way will be found to "commemorate" the actions of the honorable ministers.
5 תגובות
collect,
I have my own opinions - as do you. You get a fancy platform to press and I get a less fancy platform to respond to. I think it is from your opponents that you can learn the most. Not everything you offer is always the right thing in its absolute value. Welcome criticism even if it is always negative (although it is not true that it is always negative).
There is a debate about the concepts of necessary and sustainable. If you think it is necessary and sustainable to have rich farmers who supply delicious peppers at the expense of an ancient desert area and essentially destroy the environment - I'm sure you will find opponents to that as well. Also the establishment of settlements or infrastructure in any other natural place that has not yet been destroyed.
I mean, every agenda will have opposition for different reasons. I, unlike ministers or capitalists, have nothing to gain in any of the cases where I oppose your words. I am not a political person and my equity amounts to a deep minus in the bank. So it is clear from this that the hidden and unknown motive known to me and the ministers of the government is not the same. I am just a person with the ability to read critically with some understanding of animal and environmental sciences and some PAZM in the Negev.
Criticism is a positive thing - always! She also tries to destroy all the elements that you are trying to transfer. Criticism is always better than silence. It promotes discussion and it promotes deepening your ideas. Put your personal ego aside and treat yourself at the most professional level that is expected of you.
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar
to my people,
To get from the center to Amman, there are crossings over the Jordan that make it possible to get there... At two o'clock!
There is a large and good airport near Eilat, there is a need for entrepreneurship to use it!
The train is indeed necessary,
"Any development in Arava is welcome." Like any development is welcome provided it is necessary! And sustainable!
Since you almost always have negative criticism of my words... You should learn the reason,
Or maybe the honorable ministers share the unknown information with you?
not known to the public?
Adam Red,
The theories are certainly beautiful and the maps are also charming - indeed a small area. Now go out and learn what the traffic of visitors or the number of residents in the Negev is in relation to its size. Theory and psychology should be integrated. When it seems easy to get there - they will get there. When it appears that in order to get to Amman you don't have to drive 6 hours to Eilat and go another few hours north and then return the same way - there will be more crossings. Sometimes what doesn't seem green is what brings the green. Even bicycle trips and jeep trails do not necessarily enrich the variety of species of the Mediterranean gorse and the Hebron sammit that are found. But the fact that these paths exist means that visitors visit and get closer to nature and in this way feel it more and feel the need to preserve it for their sake and for the future of their children.
To Ami Bachar. Reduce the distances so that it is easier to visit and live there?
My grandmother used to say that we have a country the size of a spit. The distances in Israel between place and place are ridiculous, and this is certainly true relative to the distances that prevail in most countries of the world.
There are many people who work in the Tel Aviv area and will not move to work in the Rehovot area, which is a 40 minute drive even in the morning "because it is far". It's psychology, these things are in the head.
You can get from the central region to the northern Araba within two hours of driving. It's nonsense, it's nothing.
Will a terminal in the southern Dead Sea increase tourism traffic from Israel to Jordan or vice versa? Blessed is the believer.
I agree with you that the prairie area needs to be developed. I don't agree with everything the greens do that they put sticks in wheels wherever they want to develop. There are certainly places where, if their resistance had been successful, the entire people of Israel would have continued to suffer. As a main example, we can bring Route 6, which, woe betide us, would not have been paved by chance and the Greens would have been successful in their struggle. But in this case the greens are right and not only for "green" reasons but also for purely economic reasons, a terminal in the northern Arava sounds like a completely delusional idea.
Any development in Arava is welcome. Both in terms of the relationship with the Jordanian people and in bringing the periphery to the center. We need an airport there, we need more terminals, we need a train and in general we need to reduce the distance from Gush Dan to Arava so that it will be much easier to visit and live there.