Peace Building Through Environmental Cooperation in Israel-Palestine

Presented by J Street Temple Sinai DC

Water insecurity and climate change represent existential threats to the peoples who share the Jordan Valley. Allocating diminishing water resources affects everyone and is exacerbated by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Out of these challenging circumstances, however, there arises the opportunity for Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians to work together to address problems cooperatively that will be mutually beneficial to all the peoples of the region.

Join us to learn about the work being done to promote peace building through environmental cooperation by a leading NGO in the region, EcoPeace Middle East. EcoPeace ME was founded in 1994 to promote sustainable regional development and the creation of a foundation for lasting peace. It is widely respected in the region and internationally. With three co-directors representing Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians, EcoPeace ME’s goal is that by working on environmental cooperation there can be built trust, interdependence, and advancement of a two-state solution. Significantly, on March 27 in Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a $3 million grant from USAID to EcoPeace ME, the third USAID grant under the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act (MEPPA) Partnership for Peace Fund (PPF). Our two speakers are Israeli Director Gidon Bromberg and Palestinian Director Nada Majdalani. They will discuss their new grant and their latest project, the Green Blue Deal, a regional water and renewable energy exchange.

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Gidon Bromberg co-founded EcoPeace Middle East 27 years ago. He has spearheaded the advocacy campaigns of the organization both in Israel and internationally and developed the cross-border community peace building program “Good Water Neighbors” that is seen as a model for other programs in conflict areas. He has written extensively on the relationship between water issues and Middle East peace and has presented before the UN Security Council, UN Climate Summit, US Congress, European Parliament and other international forums.

Nada Majdalani has served in leading technical positions with several international agencies in the areas of infrastructure development, mainly in water and sanitation, solid waste management, and sustainable and clear production. As a strong believer in the impact of proactive dialogue, she had been part of several Palestinian-Israeli youth groups as a moderator and activist including the OneVoice Movement and the Palestinian-Israeli Young Entrepreneurs Forum. In 2019, Mrs. Majdalani presented EcoPeace ME work before many international platforms, including the UN Security Council, NATO, Planetary Security Conference, and The Brookings Institution.