Let’s start with a riddle: how do you turn desolate and arid land into a verdant and bountiful paradise? The answer is very simple: water. In 1964, the “National Carrier” was officially launched – the main artery of a vast and impressive water enterprise that carries water from Lake Kinneret to Mitzpe Ramon. The system, 130 km in length, was the realization of the 40-year old dream of “water power”. This vision was even mentioned in one of the chapters of The Keren Hayesod Book (1921); Keren Hayesod was the main partner in financing the Israeli water company, Mekorot, providing 6,250 liras out of Mekorot’s initial capital of 35,000 liras. The company’s first campaign was initiated by its director, Levi Eshkol, later prime minister of Israel, who discovered a number of new sources of water and decided on an unprecedented operation to bring water to the Jezreel Valley settlements. But this was just the beginning. In the 1940s, in order to fully realize this wonderful vision, Keren Hayesod invited a senior world-class researcher in the field to visit; he officially confirmed that Israel had sufficient water sources to supply its needs. The idea received final approval and the rest is history. Cheers.
Photo: David Ben Gurion visits the National Carrier project, 1963