Israeli demand draining Sea of Galilee

Amos Onn has lived on the banks of the biblical Sea of Galilee since 1956, when he came from Jerusalem to start a new life at Kibbutz Ein Gev.

He was there when the lake flooded the neat, simple houses of the collective more than 40 years ago, paddling around in a kayak to rescue those stuck in their homes. Over the years he has watched the kibbutz flourish thanks to the lake’s waters: first it brought fish and provided the water for Ein Gev’s vegetable and fruit plantations; then it lured more and more tourists to the kibbutz’s sprawling holiday resort and famous fish restaurant.

“The sea level of Lake Kinneret [the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee] is like the mood of Israel. If the water is high, people are happy,” Mr Onn says.

This summer both the water level and the mood of the people living by the Sea of Galilee are plunging to record lows. The country has suffered four successive seasons of drought, with rainfall no more than half the annual average.

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