Jordan River

Perché un nuovo libro su Giovanni e Gesù? Il Battista e il Nazareno sono
due gigantesche figure ebraiche che hanno avuto un influsso determinante,
per due millenni, sulle culture che si sono ispirate al cristianesimo.
È da loro, soprattutto, che derivano i grandi miti del giudizio universale
e del regno di Dio e i modelli etici e culturali della necessità di un
mutamento radicale di vita, della giustizia sociale, della riconciliazione e
di molti altri.
Questi due personaggi sono spesso accostati l’uno all’altro, ma è anche
vero che, nell’opinione più diffusa, la figura di Gesù ha oscurato quella del
Battista. Succede addirittura che molte storie del cristianesimo comincino
con Gesù dimenticando l’esistenza di Giovanni. In realtà, l’inizio di tutto
sta in Giovanni e nel suo grande rito collettivo dell’immersione in acqua.
Non si può comprendere Gesù, la sua azione e le sue idee, se prima non si
è capito Giovanni. La sua attività, il suo successo e molte delle sue idee stanno
alla base della vicenda di Gesù. Abbiamo scritto perciò questo libro proprio
per esaminare in modo approfondito il rapporto tra Gesù e il Battista.
Per questo riesame, abbiamo fatto ricorso a schemi interpretativi che ci
vengono dalla storia delle culture e a una visione particolare dei movimenti
creativi che nascono, a volte per periodi abbastanza brevi, nella storia umana.
L’idea dei periodi creativi è nuova ma anche antica. Antica, perché Jacob
Burckhardt aveva parlato di momenti cruciali di accelerazione storica
suscitando ulteriori riflessioni, come ad esempio quella di George Balandier.
Ma l’ipotesi è anche nuova perché l’abbiamo modificata e articolata
facendo ricorso alla dialettica tra istituzioni e bisogni, alle teorie delle crisi
endemiche e alle funzioni determinanti dei giacimenti culturali, presenti
in ogni società o aggregato etnico.
Nei brevi periodi creativi, il successo di un’innovazione che mira a
risolvere situazioni endemiche di crisi provoca per emulazione una serie
di altri tentativi innovativi che convergono o divergono nel progetto di cambiamento radicale della società. Esempi celebri vanno dalla Riforma protestante alla Rivoluzione francese, a molti altri.
Il libro mette in luce sia la somiglianza sia la differenza tra i due leader, Giovanni e Gesù, che furono, ambedue, caratterizzati dalla creatività che si scatena nei brevi periodi innovativi.
Si tratta di una creatività che continuò poi per decenni fra i loro seguaci, i quali diedero vita a una straordinaria efflorescenza di gruppi in tutta l’area mediterranea e mediorientale e mesopotamica. Per questo, abbiamo premesso nel capitolo 1 un breve affresco della estrema diversità, opposizione, e spesso conflittualità dei primi gruppi di seguaci di Gesù, dopo la sua morte fin verso il 150 E.C.
Sia Giovanni che Gesù cercarono di rispondere alla crisi endemica della società giudaica dopo l’occupazione romana. L’originalità delle loro divergenti risposte dipese dai diversi ambienti sociali, umani e territoriali. Gesù prese molto dal Battista, ma il suo contatto con la gente che viveva nella povertà e nella malattia lo sollecitava in modo particolare. Un’ottica socioantropologica ci permette di ricostruire l’originalità e la creatività di ambedue.
Non abbiamo inteso scrivere due nuove biografie di Giovanni e Gesù, né ricostruire in modo completo le loro fisionomie religiose. Abbiamo voluto insistere sul loro approccio ai bisogni fondamentali della popolazione giudaica e sulle soluzioni che a loro parere avrebbero potuto risolvere la crisi che essa attraversava.
Abbiamo letto i Vangeli (e le altre fonti disponibili) con un’attenzione costante alla crisi della società che trapela nelle loro pagine, ai bisogni della gente e alle soluzioni che i due leader proponevano. Ciò ci ha permesso di scoprire tracce molto significative e spesso poco note del rapporto tra Giovanni Battista e Gesù.

The River Jordan is mentioned by name about 165 times in the books of the Hebrew Bible, in narrative,
in poetry, and, more than any other toponym, in geographical texts. At first glance, this does not seem
surprising; the Jordan is by far the longest and most voluminous perennial steam in the land, flowing
naturally (that is, before calculating the loss of water in the modern period due to use by humans), at a rate
of about 1.3 billion cubic meters a year. However at second glance, the importance of the Jordan within the
Bible actually is surprising: because of its situation within the rift valley, and without modern abilities of
pumping and transporting water over long distances, the Jordan was actually only useful to a fairly small
number of people. Cities such as Hazor, Beth-shean, Rehob and Jericho, all situated near the Jordan but not
right on its banks, relied more on local streams and springs than on the river itself. Additionally, neither the
narrow and swift Jordan above the Kinneret nor the slow and meandering Jordan below the Kinneret were
ever all that useful as a means of transportation.
Despite all of this, the Jordan does have a unique position within certain biblical texts, as a symbolic
boundary of the Promised Land. This position is best known from those texts that describe the arrival of
the tribes of Israel at its banks: Moses is not allowed to cross, Israel’s crossing under Joshua is described in
miraculous terms, the two and a half tribes that remain on the eastern side are described as being ‘outside’
the land. This is further supported by certain geographic texts such as Num. 34:12, which picture the Jordan
as a boundary line.
On the other hand, there are also texts which picture the Jordan as an integral part of the land, with Israel
in fact settled on both sides. These texts are mostly concentrated in the Elijah and Elisha cycles, but not only
there. Other texts, such as the Psalms and prophetic books, use the Jordan allegorically.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the Jordan within the reality of Iron Age Israel, and
to see how that role is reflected within the biblical texts, which present different and sometimes conflicting
images of the River Jordan.

FOR CITATIONS:
ISAAC, J. and SALEM, H.S., 2007. Potential mechanisms for resolution of the water conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Paper presented at the "International Conference on Sustainable Development and Management of Water Resources in Palestine", UNESCO, Amman, Jordan, 27-29 August 2007. (International Conference Paper).
https://www.google.com/accounts/Login?hl=en&continue=http://www.google.com/ and
http://www.hwe.org.ps/Conferences/conf2007/publications/HilmiD2Z.pdf

ABSTRACT
Water, in particular, is a sensitive and critical issue for all parties involved in the Middle-East
conflict. Thus, water has been a major issue that should catalyze the peace process or could
inhibit it. Resolving the water conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, as outlined in this
study, is of paramount importance, which is due to the following reasons: 1) It will introduce, for
the first time in the region's history, an integrated water management's scheme that, if adopted,
will certainly be of great value for resolving the water conflict among all the parties involved in
the conflict, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian people, representing the
future State of Palestine. 2) For politicians, it would lessen the chances of conflict; for
industrialists and agriculturalists, it would foster stable growth; and for citizens, it would result
in guaranteed regular supplies of household water. In this study, the Palestinian-Israeli water
conflict is addressed, and mechanisms for resolving it are proposed.

In early 1950s, few years after its establishment, Israel has diverted the course of the Jordan River into its borders occupied in 1948, before occupying the entire Palestine and Golan Heights to Jabal al-Sheikh (mount Hermon), the main source of the Jordan River, in 1967. By this, Isarel has to block any possible attempt by Arab states to divert some tributaries of the Jordan River, reducing the amount of water reaching the river in response to Israel diverting its course and delivering its water to the Negev desert.

The Coypu, Nutria or the Giant Swamp Rat (Myocastor coypus Molina, 1782) in Palestine.

جُرذ المُستنقعات العُملاق (الكيب ، كويبو ، نيوتريا) في فلسطين

By : Sharif Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Mohammad Ahmad Ahmad Mostafa Abdallah Mohammad Khalaf-Prinz Sakerfalke von Jaffa.

Abstract: The Coypu, Nutria, Giant Swamp Rat or River Rat (Myocastor coypus Molina, 1782) is one of the largest Palestinian fresh water mammals, beside the Persian Otter (Lutra lutra seistanica Birula, 1912). Coypus were originally introduced from Chile, South America, to Occupied Palestine for fur farming in 1948 and 1956, but only later was it discovered that their fur does not grow well in Palestine’s relatively hot climate. Some escaped or were set free from their breeders and without any natural predators the population has exploded in Lake Hula, northern Occupied Palestine, and has since become an invasive species in Palestine. The species spread from several localities in northern Palestine southwards to most freshwater habitats (both natural and artificial) in the Mediterranean coastal plain region of Palestine, even polluted ones; and to the Jordan River and its tributaries; and have also been found in several localities in Jordan. Their burrows penetrate and damage the water channel infrastructure, the river banks, dykes and irrigation facilities, and their feeding methods lead to the destruction of large areas of reed swamp. It was found that where the Nutria is established the endangered Otter population is disappearing.

Reference: Khalaf-Prinz Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Sharif Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Mohammad Ahmad Ahmad Mostafa Abdallah Mohammad (April 2022). The Coypu, Nutria or the Giant Swamp Rat (Myocastor coypus Molina, 1782) in Palestine. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Volume (Band) 40, Number 208, April 2022, Seiten(S) pp. 1-33. Published by Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Khalaf Department for Environmental Research and Media, National Research Center, University of Palestine, Gaza, State of Palestine. (With English and Arabic abstracts). https://mammals-of-palestine.webs.com/coypu-in-palestine & https://issuu.com/dr-norman-ali-khalaf/docs/coypu_nutria_in_palestine

مُلخص : يُسمى جُرذ المُستنقعات العُملاق أيضاً بالأسماء التالية : الكيب ، كويبو ، نيوتريا و جُرذ النهر ؛ ويُعتبر من أكبر ثدييات المياه العذبة الفلسطينية إلى جانب القُضاعة الفارسية (ثعلب الماء الفارسي) . ولقد تم جلب جُرذ المُستنقعات العُملاق من موطنهِ من تشيلي في أمريكا الجنوبية إلى فلسطين المُحتلة من أجل الفراء في عامي 1948 و 1956

This article advances a critique of the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia’s (ESCWA’s) representation of the Jordan River Basin, as contained in its recently published Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia. We argue that ESCWA’s representation of the Jordan Basin is marked by serious technical errors and a systematic bias in favour of one riparian, Israel, and against the Jordan River’s four Arab riparians. We demonstrate this in relation to ESCWA’s account of the political geography of the Jordan River Basin, which foregrounds Israel and its perspectives and narratives; in relation to hydrology, where Israel’s contribution to the basin is overstated, whilst that of Arab riparians is understated; and in relation to development and abstraction, where Israel’s transformation and use of the basin are underplayed, while Arab impacts are exaggerated. Taken together, this bundle of misrepresentations conveys the impression that it is Israel which is the main con...