A monument containing a stone from the Dead Sea was placed on Mount Everest in a symbolic link between the lowest and highest points on Earth Tuesday.
The monument is part of an exchange program between Nepal and Israel. A stone from the highest mountain will be placed in a matching monument by the Dead Sea on May 16.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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A well-known Chinese production company is set to shoot scenes in Israel this month for a Chinese epic called "Old Cinderella," which is expected to be a blockbuster movie thanks to stars such as Zhang Jingchu ("Rush Hour 3") and director Lu Chuan.
More than 15 of the 95 minutes in the movie are expected to feature scenes shot in Israel. During a recce in Israel in January, the production team chose Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea as their locations.
Read the full article at YNet.com
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In the lowest place on earth, industry, fertilizer and Zionism all came into play earlier this month, as hundreds of workers from Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) blocked the entrance to the company’s Dead Sea plant.
The action was part of a 1,300-employee strike protesting the takeover of the company by a Canadian potash giant, one of the world’s largest producers of the potassium-based compound often found in fertilizers.
Inside the potash plant, the walls were reportedly covered in bright-red bumper stickers with a picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reading, "Bibi – don't sell the Dead Sea to foreigners."
Read the full article at TimesofIsrael.com
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Some 35,000 acres of land previously under water are now exposed due to the shrinking sea line of the Dead Sea. Palestinians, who had hoped to claim it as their own for a tourism project, have lost out to the State of Israel.
The preliminary registration process in the West Bank is a procedure that ends with a declaration that the land belongs to someone and is registered as such in the Land Registry.
As part of the procedure, the Israel Defense Forces checks with the Jordanian authorities as to whether there had ever been a Palestinian village there, as well as if anyone had purchased any rights to the land. In this case, neither is possible since the land had been underwater.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com (subscription required)
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Here are some cool things to do during Passover in the Dead Sea area: the Ramat Negev Bird-Watching festival, open day for the entire family at the Ramat Negev agricultural experimental station, open Day at Aricha Village, Wadi Rayer (Hidden Village), in the Footsteps of the Exodus from Egypt, biking in the desert, camel riding at the Negev Camel Ranch, Negev jeep tours, and the AgriPassover - Potato Festival, northern Negev.
Read the full article at TouristIsrael.com
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On the second day of his Middle East tour, US President Barack Obama visited the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. At the facility, he viewed the Dead Sea Scrolls - ancient Jewish parchments discovered in the West Bank in the 1940's which include secular text dating from the third century BC to the first century AD.
Read the full article at JPost.com
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Lawmakers are debating whether to allow the possible sale of a company that produces chemicals from the Dead Sea to a foreign corporation.
At issue is the acquisition of Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), Israel’s second-largest company (in terms of its market value) by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.
A number of Israeli lawmakers are opposed to the sale, among them the members of the Yesh Atid faction, who claimed the sale would be tantamount to a "slap in the face" to "every citizen of Israel."
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
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Global real estate agency Bercleys on Wednesday unveiled plans to build the first shopping mall at the Dead Sea in Ein Bokek, Israel, at a NIS 200 million ($52 million) investment.
The one-story 10,000-square meter (107,640-square feet) shopping mall will be located in the heart of the Dead Sea hotel strip, near the water.
Architect Moore Yaski Sivan, who planned major projects such as the Azrieli towers, Ramat Aviv mall and Africa Israel building, will design the Dead Sea mall, which the company said would be completed within 30 months.
Update on 1 March, 2013 YnetNews.com
Read the full article at YnetNews.com
More Globes.co.il
Photos used with permission from 3dvision ltd
Continue reading "Bercleys to Build World's Lowest Mall at Dead Sea" »
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Fattal International Hotels & Resorts plans to open The Herods Dead Sea Hotel (formerly the Leonardo Dead Sea Hotel) on 26th March 2013. The outstanding interior design of the 215 room hotel is by German-based hotel interior architect Andreas Neudahm.
Reservations at DeadSeaFun.com
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The Tourism Ministry held its annual conference in Herzliya on Monday to discuss the future of tourism in Israel and the challenges it faces. It also celebrated outgoing Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov’s four year term.
"What we did in Eilat was a mistake," Head of the Israel Travel Agents Association Yossi Fattal said at the panel, "We built hotels there, not resorts. What we need to do in the Dead Sea are not vertical construction of hotels, but rather something that takes into consideration the area, something that connects to nature."
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
Continue reading "Israel Travel Industry's Future Plans: Create a "Wow" at the Dead Sea" »
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The Negev Desert area is hot right now - and not just in temperature. The Lonely Planet Travel Guide put the area second on its top 10 list of regions to visit in 2013.
"For decades the Negev was regarded as nothing but a desolate desert. But today, this region is a giant greenhouse of development. Think eco-villages, spa resorts and even wineries. In the next few years a new international airport at Timna is scheduled to open, followed by a high-speed railway to Eilat and more hotels. Time is running out to experience the desert as nature intended," the guidebook wrote.
Enjoy a visit to the Dead Sea on your way south to the Negev!
Read the full article at Israel21c.org
Continue reading "Lonely Planet Puts Negev on Best in Travel 2013 List" »
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The pictures are worth more than a thousand words...
View the pictures at BusinessInsider.com
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Meseznikov presided over the ministry during three consecutive years (2010-2012) when Israel set all-time records for incoming tourism, as the days of the second intifada faded further into the rear-view mirror and the country experienced consistent quiet and a thriving economy.
For Shmuel Tzurel, head of the Israel Hotel Owners Association, the hope is only that "whoever runs the ministry next will be as good as he was," and credited Meseznikov for his efforts to help the Dead Sea, "without which it would not have survived."
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
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Israel Corp. (ILCO), the Tel Aviv-based holding company controlled by billionaire Idan Ofer, may reap 15 times its investment in Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) if a $13.5 billion takeover bid by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world's largest fertilizer maker, is approved by Israeli regulators.
The deal, which could become the biggest acquisition ever in the Middle East, would allow Ofer, 57, to reduce the holdings he controls in his native country. The Ofer family has endured almost a decade of criticism for allegedly buying state assets at discounted prices, damaging the Dead Sea and selling an oil tanker to a front company for Iran.
Read the full article at Bloomberg.com
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The Israeli government said it will not allow Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world's largest fertilizer producer, to take over or merge with Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL.TV) because such a deal is not in the country's interest.
"The Israeli government will not allow any deal that endangers or impairs economic and environmental interests of the state of Israel and its citizens," the finance ministry said in a statement.
Read the full article at FoxBusiness.com
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The Dead Sea is shrinking at a record rate, prompting calls for Israel and Jordan to stop fertilizer makers from siphoning so much of the water whose restorative powers have attracted visitors since biblical times.
The salty inland lake bordering the nations dropped a record 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) over the last 12 months because of industry use and evaporation, the Hydrological Service of Israel said. That's the steepest Dead Sea decline since data-keeping started in the 1950s. Half the drop was caused by Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) and Jordan's Arab Potash Co. (APOT), said Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of the Friends of Earth Middle East.
Read the full article at BusinessWeek.com
Continue reading "Dead Sea's Record Loss Grows With Potash Makers Demand" »
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The Mine Clearance Authority at the Israeli Ministry of Defense has initiated another operation to clear the Arraba of mines. The new area that will be cleared of mines includes 1,360 dunams (approximately 336 acres) along the Arraba river leading to the Dead Sea, near the border fence.
The areas cleared of mines will be used for the purpose of agriculture, populating the area and for constructing housing units.
Read the full article at IsraelDefense.com
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Nepal and Israel have jointly launched a commemorative stamp featuring the highest point on earth, Mount Everest, and the lowest, the Dead Sea, to celebrate bilateral ties.
The stamps were released in simultaneous functions in Kathmandu and Jerusalem. The idea of bringing together the two extremes was conceived in Israel.
Read the full article at TheHindu.com
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Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov said Sunday that his ministry is "making a historic consumer move; after 20 years we are bringing transparency back to the hotel industry and promoting competition."
The ministry believes that the new rating system will create stiffer competition between hotels, reducing accommodation prices and improving quality.
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
More at Globes.co.il
Continue reading "Israel Tourism Ministry Wants New Hotel Rating System" »
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Israel's Tourism Ministry is planning to upgrade the hotel strip area at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Recommendations from a committee formed to explore the issue included development of the region between "Hamei Tzohar" - the Tzohar hot springs - and Ein Bokek.
Among the projects under consideration are construction of hotel rooms at various standards, architecture "that reflects the desert landscape" and development of a boardwalk along the shore, ministry officials said.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
More info at JerusalemPost.com
Continue reading "Israel Plans Tourism Overhaul at the Dead Sea" »
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One person was killed and five were injured on Monday when a pipeline carrying hydrochloric acid exploded near Kibbutz Ein Yahav in southern Israel.
The injured were evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. Four were in serious condition, while a soldier who was helping evacuate the injured was also lightly wounded.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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The Bik'at HaYarden Regional Authority north of Dead Sea "is a success story today," Authority Head David Elhayani told Arutz Sheva Friday.
"We are planning more than 200 housing units that are already in the infrastructure and planning stage," he said. "There has not been such construction in years."
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
Read more about the Jordan Valley
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This area in southern Israel is a fertile environment for peppers, and according to the Defense Ministry, it's also rich in landmines.
So many, in fact, that the government considers them a 'ticking bomb' for farmers and others in the area.
To deal with the problem, army officials have brought in the Mine Wolf and specially equipped teams to start clearing mines in the area stretching from the Dead Sea into the Arava Desert.
Read the full article at NTDTV.com
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Along the road leading to the Dead Sea, FashionTV sets up shop for their Dead Sea production featuring models Talia Barzman and Natali Kravchenko wearing beautiful creations by Rossello Shmaria and Tzesin Eden and posing by the water, and The Brownies Band giving an impromptu performance on the sand.
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Ahava cosmetic products from the Dead Sea will no longer be allowed to be labeled "Made in Israel" when sold in South Africa, the country's trade and industry minister Dr. Rob Davies announced in an official notice.
The notice will require South African importers "not to incorrectly label products that originate from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as products of Israel."
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
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While the Kinneret did well this past winter, another body of water in Israel did not fare as well. The Dead Sea's level has been going down for the past several months.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
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Google's "Street View" service in Israel has been officially launched, according to a Channel 2 News report on Thursday.
The Internet giant deployed its Street View vehicles last September on the streets of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Mitzpeh Ramon in the central Negev and even the Kinneret and the Dead Sea.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
Google Street View
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Meir Dagan, the former Mossad chief and current head of the port authority, can now add another title to his curriculum vitae: uranium prospector.
It was announced on Tuesday that Gulliver Energy Ltd, a publicly traded company that in 2011 appointed Dagan as chairman, will begin to search for uranium in a nearly 1,200-acre area between the southern town of Arad and the Dead Sea.
Read the full article at TimesofIsrael.com
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Update...almost a year later...and STILL NO!
25 March, 2012 - The government on Sunday will set up a commission that will discuss the implications of legalized gambling in Israel.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
20 June, 2011 - Will a casino open in Israel in the near future? If it were up to Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, very soon Israeli gamblers would be able to give up on trips abroad and stay in the Holy Land to play roulette or slot machines.Continue reading "Minister: Israelis Deserve Casino Too (Tell the Minister "No, No, No!!!")" »
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French Jewish architect Marc Mimram has an idea that borders on the utopian: to build a huge, multistoried bridge stretching 37 kilometers in order to physically connect the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the two areas under Palestinian Authority rule.
The bottom story is designated for desalinated water; the two next stories are for vehicle traffic; above them, another waterway brings salt water from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, topped by a story with two-way railroad tracks.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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Dead Sea Works Ltd. (Beer Sheva/Israel) has awarded ThyssenKrupp GfT Bautechnik GmbH (Essen/Germany) a major contract to seal a dam in the southern Dead Sea. The contract includes the delivery of 55,000 metric tons of material.
The 18 kilometer long project will become one of the world's biggest diaphragm walls with inserted sheet piles.
Read the full article at ThyssenKrupp.com
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Israel Railways has prepared a major plan for providing train service throughout the West Bank to serve both Israelis and Palestinians.
The plan, prepared at the request of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, calls for establishing 11 new rail lines, according to a map that Haaretz has obtained. Katz has on several occasions expressed his intention to build a railway network in the West Bank.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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Pilgrims and tourists who visit the Dead Sea soon will have more than mud packs, seaside resorts and Lot's wife to call on. Coming in April is a new multi-million dollar museum on the Jordan side of the lake about one of the world's most fascinating natural features. It's all about the geological, human, and ecological history that spans many centuries.
Located in Ghor es-Safi, Jordan, The Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth has a scheduled April opening very near the Byzantine era monastery that commemorates Lot's cave and his flight from the wicked ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Read the full article at WashingtonTimes.com
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An agreement with Israel's Defense Ministry has been signed for the first time ever to allow a contractor to clear landmines -- thousands of them -- beginning in March. Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the Mine Clearance Authority to move ahead with the agreement this week.
The government tender, the first of its type to be signed in Israel, calls for the scenic Ne'ot HaKikar area -- a popular tourist haven -- to be the first to be cleared.
Ne'ot HaKikar is located in the Arava Valley, south of the Dead Sea, and home to several kibbutzim and moshavim that grow specialized fresh produce for export and that are also home to several artisans.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
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(Reuters) - Experts at a leading British museum should pull out of a European-funded study into tiny particles because one of their partners is an Israeli company that operates in the occupied West Bank, British scientists and public figures said Tuesday.
More than a dozen scientists, some from leading British universities, wrote an open letter with film-makers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach calling on the Natural History Museum in London to stop working with Israel's Ahava, which makes skincare products from Dead Sea minerals.
Read the full article at Reuters.com
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In light of the looming energy crisis and dwindling condition of the Dead Sea, Israel Chamber of Commerce President Uriel Lynn recently appealed to relevant ministers that they reexamine the idea of creating a canal between the Mediterranean and Dead seas.
Lynn sent a joint letter this week to Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Energy and Water Minister Dr. Uzi Landau, urging them to create a committee that would investigate the opportunities afforded by such a plan, according to his office.
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
Update 8th January - Dead Sea Petition Reaches 15,000 Signatures JerusalemPost.com
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The level of the Dead Sea is continuing to drop. In early December it stood at 425.5 meters below sea level, 26.5 meters lower than October 1976, when the level began to fall.
In a few weeks the World Bank is to release the main points of a plan for a pipeline that would bring 1.2 billion cubic meters of water annually from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea through Jordan, in order to address the problem of the shrinking Dead Sea. The plan is contingent on the approval of Israel and Jordan as well as an environmental impact report.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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The Water and Energy Ministry (formerly the National Infrastructures Ministry) is set to grant a license to Gulliver Energy to search for uranium in the Negev. This is the first time uranium mining will be taking place in Israel. The chairman of Gulliver Energy (formerly known as Urieli) is former Mossad chief Meir Dagan.
The uranium search will center on an area in the southern Negev, where oil exploration is being conducted by the Zerach exploration company. That exploration is taking place near the Dead Sea, at the Maya exploration site, south of Tzuk Tamrur, another exploration site near Arad.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
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Antto Melasniemi, a culinary designer in Finland, will come to Israel again and build a solar kitchen at the Dead Sea, as part of an annual seminar held by the department of industrial design at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Within the ecological context, Melasniemi aims to explore certain questions as part of this project, such as what is a kitchen and what is cooking, in relation to nature and to human nature.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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Israel Chemicals Ltd., which extracts minerals from the Dead Sea to make fertilizer and potash, declined to the lowest in more than two years amid speculation slowing global growth will drive food prices lower.
The shares declined 2.3 percent to 35.25 shekels at the 4:30 p.m. close in Tel Aviv, the lowest level since April 2009.
"There is a worry that a worsening macro economy on a global basis will bring down demand for grain and food," said Gilad Alper, an analyst at Excellence Nessuah Investment House Ltd. in Ramat Gan.
Read the full article at BusinessWeek.com
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Harvard researcher creates neurons that light up as they fire.
In a scientific first that potentially could shed new light on how signals travel in the brain, how learning alters neural pathways, and might lead to speedier drug development, scientists at Harvard have created genetically-altered neurons that light up as they fire.
The work, led by John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences Adam Cohen, and described in Nature Methods on Nov. 28, involved using a gene from a Dead Sea microorganism to produce a protein that, when exposed to the electrical signal in a neuron, fluoresces, allowing researchers to trace the propagation of signals through the cell.
Read the full article at Wired.com
More at EurekAlert!.com
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Tourists rarely see IDF activities at the Dead Sea, but soldiers are on constant watch in the area for weapons smuggling from Jordan. "While people sit on the beaches, they are in front of the frontier with Jordan. Yet, you barely notice the military presence in this area." says Cpl. Iris Morales. The Dead Sea area is both a frontier and an international health resort, but although the border with Jordan is relatively peaceful, it poses great challenges to the IDF.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
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The Dead Sea was not among the winners in the New7Wonders of Nature contest despite a high profile campaign by the Israeli government, according to a list of provisional results released at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday.
Among the winners, were the Amazon of South America, Halong Bay of Vietnam, Iguazu Falls of Argentina and Brazil, Jeju Island of South Korea, Komodo of Indonesia, Puerto Princesa Underground River of the Philippines and Table Mountain of South Africa.
Knesset members that had been involved with promoting the Dead Sea's cause stressed that Israelis must continue to fight for the salty body despite the loss.
"Precisely because it didn't win, we must restore the Dead Sea and preserve its status as a world wonder of nature," said MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz). "We urgently need to deal with the dropping level in the northern basin as a result of dehydration and over-pumping, and rapidly performing the harvest of salt in the southern basin. If the government does not do this and continues to bury its head in the sand, the Dead Sea will gradually disappear."
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
From Israel's Minister of Tourism: VoteDeadSea.com
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The retreat of the Dead Sea is a problem not only for environmentalists, but for the [Israeli] Civil Administration's legal experts who must establish who owns the land uncovered by the receding coastline.
In some parts, the coast has retreated by as much as half a kilometer, necessitating the relocation of parking lots, stores and other tourist facilities that are now too far from the water. Since the sea's northern section lies in the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration is responsible for approving plans to relocate the facilities.
Read the full article at Haaretz.com
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In a last effort to encourage votes for the Dead Sea as one of the new seven wonders of nature, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has released a video in which he emphasizes the wonderful effect that having the Dead Sea win will have on tourism.
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The Dead Sea is among the top 10 finalists in the international New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign, which will conclude on Friday 11.11.2011 at 11:11 Zurich time (13:11 Israel time), the contest
organizers announced on Sunday.
Joining the shared Israeli- Palestinian-Jordanian contestant in the leading group are the Grand Canyon (United States), the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Halong Bay (Vietnam), Jeita Grotto (Lebanon), Jeju Island (Korea), Komodo Island (Indonesia), Puerto Princess Underground River (the Philippines), Sundarbans (Bangladesh and India) and Mount Vesuvius (Italy).
Until the contest's conclusion, those interested in Israel can send SMS messages casting their Dead Sea votes by texting the words "Dead Sea" in English, Hebrew or Arabic to the number 2244, or by visiting www.new7wonders.com or votedeadsea.com.
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
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Each personalised voting certificate includes:
One vote for the chosen Finalist, which will be counted by N7W towards the election of the New7Wonders of Nature.
A personalised colour PDF certificate which will be sent by e-mail to you, which can be printed and displayed to show your support for the chosen Finalist.
Read the full article at New7Wonders.com
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Dead Sea in top 10; organizers expect site to be flooded with last minute voters.
As the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition winds down to its final two days, people around the world are making last-minute efforts to see their favorite sites surge ahead while the competition organizers are encouraging voters to cast their ballots as soon as possible, to avoid a server disaster.
"People should try to vote online today or tomorrow, because all the indications are that traffic at new7wonders.com during the final 48 hours before voting closes on Friday at 11:11:11 a.m. GMT will be phenomenal," Eamonn Fitzgerald, head of communications at New7Wonders, posted on the competition's website on Monday.
Read the full article at JerusalemPost.com
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Thursday will be 'Dead Sea Day' across Israel, in an attempt to promote the Dead Sea in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. Voting booths will be put up in cities nationwide in which citizens can vote for the Dead Sea in the '7 Wonders' campaign, which is to end next Friday.
Read the full article at IsraelNationalNews.com
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Your guide to Israel's Dead Sea tourism – helping you plan a visit to the Dead Sea on your next Israel vacation. Book a hotel or boutique accommodation. Learn about vacation tips, local festivals and current events. Read about the history, ecology and health benefits that make the Dead Sea a unique natural wonder of the world.
2013
May 30 - June 1
Masada Project
September 21 - 25
Tamar Festival
September 22 - 24
Hot Air Balloon Festival at Timna
November
Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit - Salt Lake City
November 28 - 30
Ya-Salam Belly Dance Festival
November 29 - 30
Musical Cooperative at Zman Midbar
2014
January 8 - 11
International Belly Dance Festival
January 16 - 18
Red Sea Classical Music Festival
January 16 - 19
Red Sea Winter Jazz Festival
June 14 - 16
Israel Opera at Masada: La Traviata
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