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A unique ecosystem in Israel's Arava Valley, and home to endangered species, the Samar sand dunes were saved from destruction by the Green Zionist Alliance and its partners in early 2012. The government had planned on razing the dunes to use their sand for concrete. Although about a third of the dunes were destroyed, the remaining two-thirds have been saved to be enjoyed by both the animals that live there as well as Israelis for generations to come.

 

You can read about the Samar sand dunes and the campaign to save it here:

Israel's Samar sand dunes -- and the unique animal species that live there -- may be destroyed.

Israel's Samar sand dunes — and the unique animal species that live there — have been saved thanks to the efforts of Aytzim's Green Zionist Alliance. 

(Photo courtesy of Taal Goldman of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies)

 

 

A unique ecosystem in Israel's Arava Valley, and home to endangered species, the Samar sand dunes were saved from destruction by Aytzim's Green Zionist Alliance and its partners in early 2012. The government had planned on razing the dunes to use their sand for concrete. Although about a third of the dunes were destroyed, the remaining two-thirds have been saved to be enjoyed by both the animals that live there as well as Israelis for generations to come.

 

You can watch a photo slide show of the dunes by clicking here.

 

And you can read about Samar and the campaign to save it here:

By Dr. Daniel Orenstein

HAIFA (Feb. 3, 2012) — “With little regret but out of respect to protocol, the State of Israel announces the loss of Cerbalus aravensis, a newly discovered species of spider, which made its home in the Samar sand dunes in the southern Arava. Although the spider, like all of Earth’s diverse species, is the unique product of millions of years of evolutionary history ‏(or the no-less wondrous work of God, if you will‏), we saw fit to sacrifice it by plowing up its only known habitat for approximately NIS 1 million worth of sand. True, alternatives may have existed, but the Samar sand was the most easily accessed and that sand was needed for construction and gardening in Eilat. Now the species is gone. May the memory of the spider be blessed.”

 

But wait! Reports of the death of the Samar dunes and its biodiversity may have been somewhat exaggerated. The story of the ecological island of 2.3 square kilometers in the middle of agricultural fields, a veritable Noah's Ark of unique reptiles and mammals, plants and insects, is not over yet. A handful of activists placed themselves between the bulldozer and the sand last month in a last-ditch effort to save the dunes; a group of local residents are awaiting a decision on their petition to the courts claiming that contractors have already removed the amount of sand specified in their contract; the state attorney's office says that the contract limits the mining to one corner of the dunes; and conservation advocates have produced evidence that sand is available at a less-sensitive site around the Timna mines across the Arava highway. The battle to save nature in one corner of Israel continues.

 

What do we stand to lose? As biodiversity goes, it's a hard sell to make the spider's existence relevant. It is, after all, a spider. It's unlikely that its DNA holds the clue to a cure for cancer, nor is it a central part of our diet. No one makes a profit from selling the spider, and tourists do not travel across the world and infuse our economy with foreign currency just to see it. The fate of the sand cat or the sand fox, both of them larger and furrier than the spider, might have more popular appeal — but they are already almost locally extinct due to previous dune destruction.

 

But the spider and the cat and fox represent much more than their species. They and the rest of the millions of our planet's species provide us with what scientists refer to as ecosystem services that together make our lives biologically possible and worthwhile. The control of pest species, the pollination of crops, the balancing of gases in our atmosphere, and the continued availability of fertile agricultural land and forests all depend on an untold number of species. Since we don't know, and may never know, which species are keystones for our survival, and which are ecologically superfluous, we should protect them all.

 

Instead, we are eliminating species. Consider that, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, of the 5,500 known mammal species in the world, between 20 percent and 35 percent are threatened with extinction due to human activities. In Israel, 5 mammal species are already known to have gone extinct in the past century, and 62 percent of the 100 remaining ones are endangered. The Samar sand dunes are the last remaining Arava dunes on the Israeli side of the border — the rest long since transformed into agricultural fields and hothouses. If we allow them to be quarried, we are knowingly destroying the species within them.

 

Beyond their ecological value, the Samar dunes are a beautiful site for recreation, scientific study and education. Residents of Kibbutz Yotvata have a trans-generational tradition of walking out to the dunes on Shabbat. Students of Kibbutz Ketura's Arava Institute for Environmental Studies use the dunes for ecological research (leading to the discovery of the aforementioned spider by the University of Haifa's Dr. Uri Shanas).

 

In research I conducted last spring, I surveyed 150 residents of Eilat and the kibbutzim of the southern Arava and 70 percent were either against or strongly against development in the remaining sand dunes, with less than 5 percent supporting development. Ben-Gurion University graduate student Hila Sagi conducted tens of in-depth interviews with local residents and found that protecting the landscape of the Arava was of paramount importance, and the Samar dunes were repeatedly mentioned with reference to their aesthetic, recreational and educational importance.

 

Minister of Housing and Construction Ariel Atias proposed a compromise last month that would save some of the dunes that were scheduled for mining. But activists countered that since the dunes are the last of their kind in Israel, all that remains should be preserved, and ecologists point out that even if the dunes are only partially mined, species will certainly be lost.

 

This decision is a microcosm of the existential issues facing nature preservation in Israel in general. Government agencies have made good decisions in the past — the forests west of Jerusalem and the Palmahim beach are still open for nature conservation and recreation due to government decisions to protect them from superfluous development. So, too, can we preserve the Samar dunes from further destruction.

 

 

 

Dr. Daniel Orenstein is an advisory-board member of Aytzim: Ecological Judaism.

 

Israel's Samar sand dunes -- and the unique animal species that live there -- may be destroyed.

Israel's Samar sand dunes — and the unique animal species that live there — may be destroyed, unless we act now. 

(Photo courtesy of Taal Goldman of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies)

By David Krantz

 

UPDATE: Late tonight (1 a.m. Thursday Israel time Dec. 29), the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Green Course, Arava residents and the public will meet at the Samar sand dunes! Free buses leave from Tel Aviv's Central Train Station at 1 a.m. (early morning Thursday Israel time Dec. 29), next to Sixt Rental Car. Buses are scheduled to return to Tel Aviv tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 29 at 3 p.m.


NEW YORK (Dec. 28, 2011) — Today or tomorrow, the government's contractor plans to begin destroying the Samar sand dunes. But as long as the dunes stand, we have a chance to stop the bulldozers! The dunes were slated to be razed in October — the only reason that they're still here is because we rose up and made our voices heard. To save the dunes, we must raise our voices again. Louder. Now.

 

The dunes destruction wouldn't just be the end of an ecosystem; it would be the extinction of the endangered species that call the dunes home.

 

If you are in Israel, please go to the dunes! An impromptu demonstration may buy us more time to get the dunes preserved. Plus, it will help show the government that people care about Samar! You also can call the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at (02) 670-5555. And/or, you can call Netanyahu's political party, Likud, during business hours at (02) 675-3539, and/or fax (02) 649-6578.

 

If you're outside of Israel, please call the Israeli embassy and give diplomats and politicians the message: The Samar sand dunes should be preserved by the Israeli government as part of the inheritance of Israelis and Jews worldwide.

 

If you live in the United States, you can call (202) 364-5500, and/or fax (202) 364-5423.

 

In Canada, you can call (613) 567-6450, and/or fax (613) 567-9878.

 

In the United Kingdom, you can call (020) 7957-9500, and/or fax (020) 7957-9555.

 

 

If you live in another country, then you can find your local embassy through Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

We can win this, but we have to stand up and fight now — please call the embassy and please spread the word!

 

 

 

David Krantz is the president and chairperson of Aytzim: Ecological Judaism.

 

 

 

Other articles in this series:

 

Israel's Samar sand dunes -- and the unique animal species that live there -- may be destroyed.

Israel's Samar sand dunes — and the unique animal species that live there — may be destroyed, unless we act now. 

(Photo courtesy of Taal Goldman of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies)

 

By David Krantz

NEW YORK (Nov. 14, 2011) — We are being heard: The Samar sand dunes have been granted a temporary reprieve from destruction! Although the bulldozers were scheduled to start mining the dunes weeks ago, work has been indefinitely postponed in the wake of our efforts and the protests conducted by our partner environmental organizations in Israel. Environment Minister Gilad Erdan arranged for the delay in conversations with the developer. Collectively, our message is getting through to the government.

 

It's a great victory, but we can't rest — we need to make the reprieve permanent; we need to make sure that Samar is saved and preserved for now and forever.

 

Have you called yet to save the dunes? If not, please call the Israeli embassy and give diplomats and politicians the message: The Samar sand dunes should be preserved by the Israeli government as part of the inheritance of Israelis and Jews worldwide.

 

If you live in the United States, you can call (202) 364-5500, and/or fax (202) 364-5423.

 

In Canada, you can call (613) 567-6450, and/or fax (613) 567-9878.

 

In the United Kingdom, you can call (020) 7957-9500, and/or fax (020) 7957-9555.

 

And in Israel, you can call the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at (02) 670-5555. And/or, you can call Netanyahu's political party, Likud, during business hours at (02) 675-3539, and/or fax (02) 649-6578.

 

If you live in another country, then you can find your local embassy through Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

We're winning this battle, but we can't ease up on the pressure until the dunes are guaranteed preservation. Please call the embassy and please spread the word!

 

 

 

David Krantz is the president and chairperson of Aytzim: Ecological Judaism.

 

 

 

Other articles in this series:

 

  1. Almost Out of Time: Act Now to Save Samar
  2. Bittersweet Victory: Most of Samar Saved
  3. Saving Samar: Together We Can Protect the Last of Israel's Sahara
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