An Airport; A Valley -- and the Many Meanings of Chronic Indecision

Abstract

A proposal to build a major civilian airport in the Jezreel Valley constitutes one of the country’s most prolonged and acrimonious environmental conflicts.  The article considers Israel’s search for a location to site the country’s second international airport. The anticipated environmental and health impacts caused by a civilian airport on life in the Jezreel Valley are detailed along with the heated opposition of the local residents and environmentalists and the perspective of the powerful military agencies backing the project.  The conflict reveals numerous insights about the changes in Israeli society and the ecological challenge it faces as it seeks to balance the country’s historic and scenic landscapes in an increasingly crowded reality.  Siting a new airport on an artificial island in the Mediterranean constitutes the optimal solution for resolving Israel’s longstanding air traffic conundrum.