The city of Ashdod had to fix a pipe in their sewage system. It was going to take a few days to get the work done and they needed to close the pipe while they did the work. The solution seemed simple enough - divert the sewage into the Lachish River - then the pipes will be freed up for repair and it won’t cost the city any extra effort for the time being.

So from Wednesday to Saturday last week, all the sewage of the city of Ashdod went directly into the Lachish River.

As you can see from the photographs, the result has been catastrophic. This river, which has barely been able to survive under its current conditions, was inundated with so much sewage that thousands of fish were killed. The smell was horrific. And now that sewage is flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, causing beach closures and more destruction of sea life.

Zalul has been running a campaign for the Lachish River for over a year now.  The Mayor of Ashdod seemingly had gotten the message.  But now we are not so sure.

When will the municipality wake up and see that the result of these decisions is disastrous? That the short-term is easier, but the long-term implications hurt us all?