It poured in Israel today.  That might not sound like a big deal to most people, but to children who haven’t seen rain in about six months, it was miraculous.  They woke up so excited this morning.  The winds were fierce and the sky was dark.  It reminded me of the scene from “Forrest Gump”.  Forrest was in Vietnam and it started to rain.  Even sideways!  That’s what it felt like this morning.

My wife had to rush out and buy new rain gear for the kids.  They had somehow outgrown last year’s attire.  They came home from school to new rain boots, jackets and umbrellas.

In Israel, we celebrate the rain.  Israelis are educated from very early on in life that water is precious and Israel doesn’t always have much of it.  The rainy season is short, and for the better part of a year, we don’t see a single drop.  Conserve, reuse and improvise.  That’s the motto here.

I must say, though, that this tiny little country never ceases to amaze me.  When I first moved here, almost a decade ago, Israel was suffering from a severe water deficit.  I am happy to report that due to all of the conservation efforts, recycling and improvisation, Israel now has a water surplus and contrary to what one might read  in the media, no, Israel doesn’t steal water from the Arabs.

Several desalination facilities have been built over the past few years and they run along the coastline.  This has been a major weapon in the fight against drought.  Israelis also use drip irrigation techniques, recycle wastewater and cap the per-person consumption amount every month.  If a household uses more than the allotted amount, that household is taxed on the excess amount.

It’s so unfortunate that the rest of the world, especially our neighbors, haven’t learned to love us rather than hate us.  Imagine for a second if the Palestinian Arabs invested as much time and energy into their own people and infrastructure as they invest in terror.  They, too, would probably be called “a light unto nations”.