Desalination, Israeli-style

Published on February 13, 2013

The subsidiary of an Israeli company has been selected to design the largest seawater-desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere. Located in northern San Diego County, the plant will be designed and operated by IDE Americas, part of IDE Technologies, headquartered in Kadima.

Deluged day school, ruined Torahs and devastated communities left in Sandy’s wake

Published on November 1, 2012

When Rabbi Avremel Okonov arrived Tuesday morning at the school he co-founded 10 years ago in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, the water in the basement had already receded from the high water mark. It only came up to his knees.

The gift of water

By Rob Eshman
Published on October 10, 2012

On Sept. 2, I drove to the Valley, where it was 95 degrees. I pulled my car over onto the dirt shoulder of Woodley Avenue, walked down an embankment to the Los Angeles River, slipped into a kayak and paddled away.

Israeli water power that doesn’t give a dam

Published on September 27, 2012

You don’t have to build dams to get hydroelectricity from water flowing through municipal pipes, says Dr. Daniel Farb, the Los Angeles immigrant who previously shook up the Israeli clean-tech power scene with his Leviathan Energy company’s award-winning Wind Tulip.

The future of water in Los Angeles:  What the Israeli experience can show us

Published on July 25, 2012

Most people in Los Angeles don’t feel just how serious the city’s water predicament is.

A Reminder about Water Safety

By Albert Fuchs, M.D.
Published on June 15, 2012

Israeli lawmaker suspended for throwing water at colleague

Published on January 10, 2012

An Israeli lawmaker has been suspended from the Knesset for a month for throwing water at a colleague during an argument.

Don’t Put Unsterilized Tap Water Up Your Nose

By Albert Fuchs, M.D.
Published on December 23, 2011

Wasteland

By Annie Korzen
Published on September 26, 2011

Saving on Utilities

By Annie Korzen
Published on September 19, 2011

THE JOY OF FREEBIES

By Annie Korzen
Published on August 3, 2011

Vintage Stores and the big Dilemma…

By Julia Bendis
Published on June 20, 2011

Home buying options according to a Kindergartner!

By Julia Bendis
Published on March 24, 2011

Everyone is Suddenly Irish on March 17th!

By Julia Bendis
Published on March 18, 2011

Funny things kids say

By Julia Bendis
Published on January 2, 2011

U.S. official stumping Middle East on water issues

Published on April 16, 2010

A top U.S. official is traveling to Israel, Jordan and Egypt to promote cooperation in the use and sharing of water.

The visit this week by Maria Otero, the undersecretary for democracy and global affairs, "will underscore the need to elevate our diplomatic efforts surrounding water; harness the power of science and technology; leverage the full range of relationships; and build capacity at local, national and regional levels," a State Department statement said.

U.S. official stumping Middle East on water issues

Published on April 15, 2010

A top U.S. official is traveling to Israel, Jordan and Egypt to promote cooperation in the use and sharing of water.

Arava spills on solutions to L.A. water shortage

By Lilly Fowler
Published on October 10, 2008

A recent conference at UCLA's School of Law, "Transboundary Environmental Management in the Arava and Beyond," proposed that Los Angeles might gain some ground regarding its often-contentious water policies if the city turned to Israel's example.

The very best Tashlich custom is a toss-up

By Rachel Heller
Published on September 25, 2008

On paper, the Rosh Hashanah ritual of Tashlich is about doffing one's sins to start the new year with a clean slate. For Jason Mauro, 16, it's also about beach football

The Dead Sea is dying and it's a 'man-made disaster' [VIDEO]

Published on August 3, 2008

The Dead Sea's rapid disappearance has become a grave concern for environmentalists, industries that profit from the sea and Israel's tourism sector

Red-Dead canal idea stirs controversy

By Dina Kraft
Published on August 3, 2008

The World Bank is conducting a $14 million study of a plan to build a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. Environmentalists say the canal idea is a risky proposition to save the Dead Sea, which is rapidly shrinking.

OPINION: Save the Dead Sea by restoring the Jordan River, not by building a canal to the Red Sea

Published on August 3, 2008

The way to save the Dead Sea is by restoring freshwater flow from a rehabilitated Jordan River, not building an ecologically risky channel from the Red Sea

The River Jordan’s survival is at stake as pollution peril grows

By Emily Hauser
Published on March 22, 2007

Standing at Israel's Alumot Dam, a 30-minute walk south from the Sea of Galilee, it's a typical midwinter day: deep blue sky, birds everywhere and a brisk breeze that carries a nauseating stench. Reduced to a thin stream by this point, the Jordan River stops. A few feet south of the dam, untreated sewage gushes directly into the riverbed.

Water and pumpkins mark eco-friendly Sukkot

By Jane Ulman
Published on October 5, 2006

True Joy Through Water, a new outreach program created by Canfei Nesharim ("the wings of eagles"), an Orthodox environmental organization, it's designed to educate about the importance of water, its imperiled state and ways to conserve it.

USC Trojans march for restored Torah; Backyard tashlich in Fairfax

Published on September 21, 2006

USC Trojans march for restored Torah; backyard tashlich in Fairfax.

Visit to Ethiopia Changes His Life

By Marc Ballon
Published on May 25, 2006

"John has given real leadership to the issue of Ethiopian Jewry," said Barry Shrage, president of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, who earlier this year went to Ethiopia with Fishel and 100 American Jewish federation members. "He's always been the first one to speak up and stir the conscience of the federation movement."

Seven-Year Switch

By Rabbi Haim Ovadia
Published on May 18, 2006

The benefits of the seven-year cycle are immeasurable. First, the land recovers the trace minerals it needs without using ammonium-nitrate-based fertilizers, which endangers the aquatic ecosystems. Second, the social structure is corrected every seven years; the differences between the classes are eroded and a sense of unity and togetherness takes over. Lastly, the seventh year provides an opportunity to stop the insane race for provisions, power and glory. It allows people to reconnect to the precious gifts of their family and their inner self.

I Love You, Carnivore

By Rabbi Jonathan Klein
Published on March 2, 2006

My act of civil disobedience -- refusing to consume the flesh of once-living, breathing animals -- has virtually no effect, perhaps none whatsoever. Agribusiness decides far in advance how many cows to raise and then slaughter without regard to my individual case.

Home Pampering Easy as 1, 2, Ahhhhh

By Beth Gilbert
Published on February 16, 2006

No one deserves a spa experience more than you do. Just picture it -- warm tubs scented with essential oils, invigorating body scrubs, refreshing botanical blend face masks smoothed on in soothing circular massaging motions and misty showers with luscious gels.

Going in After Katrina

By David Finnigan
Published on September 15, 2005

After a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, sometimes an aid worker helps by delivering a baby, sometimes the job is just delivering a cheeseburger -- or perhaps a thousand cheeseburgers. And sometimes the simple act of providing a yarmulke to an old man can provide solace.

So it was for Rabbis Chaim Kolodny and Tzemach Rosenfeld of Hatzolah of Los Angeles, an organization of emergency-medical volunteers with particular expertise in assisting members of the Orthodox community. When they decided to embark for the stricken Gulf Coast in the wake of Katrina, they wanted to be available to help Jewish victims who could benefit from their knowledge of religious practice. But they also were prepared and eager to help anyone they could, and they had no trouble locating storm victims and relief workers who needed all sorts of assistance.

City’s Plight Brings Flood of Memories

By Rabbi Anne Brener
Published on September 8, 2005

In New Orleans, the Jews are the only ones buried in the ground. Others, if their mourners have any means at all, are laid with the expectation of eternal rest in stone crypts to protect them from rising waters. My mother used to say, "Someday, we Jews'll all be floatin' down the river."

Just as in California, where we know that one day "the big one" will come, in New Orleans, we knew that someday the water would overtake us. But the denial overtakes the wisdom, and we stay and build lives. I think of Pompeii. New Orleans was so beautiful.

Dive Into Home Swim Lessons

By Galia Yardeni
Published on May 26, 2005

One of the biggest dangers for children during summer is drowning.

A Hard Rain

By Frances Dinkelspiel
Published on March 31, 2005

Weather has always been an important determinant in Los Angeles' history. The twin effects of floods and drought from 1861-1864 completely finished off whatever remained of the rancho way of life, where dons reigned over thousands of acres of land and huge herds of cattle.

How the Maccabees Reshaped Jerusalem

By Bill Gladstone
Published on December 2, 2004

Less well-known, according to a leading Israeli archaeologist, is that the Maccabees also were major builders who transformed the face of Jerusalem and restored the centrality of the Temple in Jewish life.

Education Briefs

Published on October 16, 2003

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Reform movement has introduced a new religious school curriculum.

For the Kids

By Abby Gilad
Published on July 10, 2003

For the Kids

L’ Chaim Time Anytime

By Gaby Wenig
Published on January 16, 2003

For all the deli eaters out there who feel frustrated that the highfalutin French waters normally found at delis are simply not idiosyncratic or funny enough to hold up to their pastrami and rye sandwiches, former entertainment executive Jane Kaplan has come to the rescue with a water that is sure to quench your thirst and tickle your brain.

Israel Struggles to Find Enough Water

By Jessica Steinberg
Published on January 24, 2002

Many Jews know that on Tu B'Shevat -- the Jewish new year for trees, which falls this year on Jan. 28 -- you can plant a tree. In the future, however, you may be able to buy a water certificate.

Time to Sweat the Small Stuff

By Jonathan Rosenblum
Published on March 15, 2001

In most countries, forecasts of no water to drink by the summer would command banner front-page headlines. Not in Israel.

A Man of Wealth,

By Tom Tugend
Published on September 16, 1999

Ronald Steven Lauder has a dream.

At some point in the future, Israel's Negev desert, now "basically Arizona without people," will be a lush garden spot, made fruitful by a string of desalination plants purifying seawater.

A Drink from the Same Cup

By Orit Arfa
Published on July 16, 1998

If the pursuit of peace in the Middle East will not unite the parties concerned, then one life-sustaining element may. Israeli, Arab and American researchers and engineers have come together to find ways to produce more potable water for agricultural use, as demands for supplies of Middle Eastern and Californian freshwater continue to increase.