After the driest January on record, Israel is faced with a huge problem in the form of a multi-year drought.  While fighting wars on multiple fronts and political haranguing, it appears Israel lacks a concrete plan regarding how to address a decreasing water supply in a climate that has not been friendly the past few years.

In fact, at a meeting today, Dr. Yosef Dreizen is expected to tell the “National Investigation Committee Regarding

the Water Crisis in Israel” that there is no plan for water beyond 2010 in Israel.

According to an article in the Jerusalem Post today, Dr. Dreizen said:

“While long-term planning was considered essential, it was never considered practical.  There was never an understanding that after seven years of plenty comes years of drought.” Moreover, he charged, until the transitional plan,  the water economy had no master plan at all for 30 years.

The water crisis has been years in the making.  According to an article in Haaretz:

“The water crisis is entirely our own doing,” says water expert Dr. Peretz Dar, whose water- saving plan was shelved by the Water Authority several years ago. “The government allocated funds for desalination plants but failed to allocate the resources for conservation. We could have reduced consumption by 10 percent and covered a large part of the accumulated deficit in the Kinneret and aquifers,” he says.

Israel is quickly becoming an international destination for clean technologies, including the electric car.  It’s a shame that the same attention isn’t being paid to what’s happening in its own backyard.

Photo credit: Treehugger

Speaking to a group of students, Bank of Israel governor, Stanley Fischer said that it remains to be seen how the Israeli economy will do after the war with Hamas is completed. Citing the abysmal global economy, Fischer thinks that a strong Israeli economic recovery will coincide with a global economic revival.

Globes reports, “Everyone can be wise in hindsight, but as of now, the Bank of Israel forecast is for 1.5% growth - but clearly we will have to change it in light of the worsening situation and in line with the situation of the fighting. It’s hard to know exactly, but we are already in a difficult situation. “When will we exit the crisis in Israel? It depends primarily on the global economy.”

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.