It was a gorgeous day and everyone was in a fabulous mood!

Zalul partnered with Billabong to hold a public beach clean up that also included over 50 high school students from the NFTY High School in Israel program.

Together we collected over 150 bags full of garbage from the beach where the Lachish River meets the sea as well as the southern beach of Ashdod near the ruins of Metzuda.

Billabong rewarded the high school students with stickers and sports bags for their hard work.

We all had a great time! Thanks to everyone for all your hard work!

Join us this Friday for a beach clean-up in Ashdod!

We’ll provide the plastic bags, gloves (for the really icky stuff), and prizes for all!

All you need to bring is water, sunscreen and a hat, and your amazing enthusiasm!

We can’t wait to see you there!

On January 24, 2008, Zalul Environmental Association announced a new round of campaigning for the Lachish River at a press conference in Ashdod. The campaign’s focus is on Mayor Zvi Zilker, who is also the chairman of the river’s rehabilitation committee.

During the campaign, a Zalul car will patrol the city of Ashdod to explain to residents the importants of saving the Lachish River and most importantly the reasons for a second campaign – specifically, the Mayor’s empty promises to save the Lachish River.

In the next stage, Zalul will begin public actions such as hearings, polling, and protesting in the streets of Ashdod.

Zalul announced that it sees all those that contribute to the pollution of the Lachish River - including the local authorities and factory owners, who discharge their sewage directly to the river – as directly and personally responsible for the pollution. As a result the campaign will also be directed against them personally.

Zvi Zilker, the Mayor of Ashdod, who also serves as chairman for the river rehabilitation committee, has a double obligation to the Lachish River.

Unfortunately however, he does not use enough enforcement to prevent the polluters from polluting the river in his jurisdiction and he does not do enough to stop the pollution coming from the drainage systems into the river. It is most unfortunate that he does not take his own promises seriously!

After the first wave of the campaign, Zvi Zilker promised that he would take all the steps necessary to stop the pollution flowing into the river. Recently it became clear the words and actions are two different things. The grace period that Zalul and the residents of Ashdod gave Zilker is now over. We are no longer willing to put the future of the Lachish River in the hands of Zilker and we are certain that his wrongdoings will soon be judged by a court of law. As always, Zalul is committed to the campaign until the end, when the Lachish River will once again be clean and pure.

View more photos from Zalul’s campaign for the Lachish River in our Flickr set.

This article was published at the end of October and somehow only crossed our desk today, but the content is still relevant and we really loved the way the Israel’s environmental problems were put into perspective (small country + lots of pollution = big problems).  The article is both critical and hopeful, citing some of the plans the government has for river rehabilitation while also pointing out their failure to stand up to industrial polluters.  Have a read by clicking on the photos above.

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?