One of the greatest success stories of our Partnership 2000 Living Bridge project is the Australia-Arava Leadership Group (ALG), which was established in Melbourne and the Arava in 2002. The group, which initially set out create personal connections between peers in both communities in order to address issues of interest to both sides, has grown over the years into an active and enduring entity. Group members discuss proposed Partnership projects by email, phone and Skype conference, and also bring up ideas of their own, thus effectively making volunteer leadership a major component of the Partnership.

Three ALG delegations have already taken place, and many close friendships have been formed, none stronger than that between Peter Rubinstein of Melbourne and Peter Rabin of Moshav Tsofar in the Arava. Peter and Peter initially met during the first ALG delegation from Melbourne to the Arava in 2002, and it was love at first sight! They have since both participated in the following delegations, and Peter Rubinstein has also visited the Arava a number of times on his own, since, in his words, his bedroom in Peter and Reuvat Rabin's house awaits him, and he gets his laundry done…

Peter is Melbourne born and bred, and attended Mount Scopus College. He was involved in the UIA Young Israel for 16 years, serving on the board for ten. It was during this time that Peter heard about the ALG, which he felt would provide a direct connection to Israel, and a great opportunity for hands-on involvement. Peter visited the Arava again in October 2007, having come to Israel as a member of an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce delegation, the highest-ranked delegation of its kind to visit the country, which included the Water Ministers from three Australian states, and three Water Authority heads. Australia is currently suffering from its worst drought in history, and the delegation hopes to benefit from Israeli expertise in desalinization.

Peter explains that Australian dairy farmers today have only 5% of the water allocation they once enjoyed, and must therefore create new alternatives in order to stay on their farms. Peter's company Sustainability Ventures offers these farmers a plan in which the water they use for dairy farming is re-used for growing vegetables, such as capsicums, by the hydroponics method, after which it is again recycled for use in aquaculture. Peter says that much of his inspiration came from the Arava - check out the company's website at: www.sustainabilityventures.com