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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/29/israel-drought-minister-rallies-thousands-to-pray-for-relief
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Israel drought: minister rallies thousands to pray for relief | Israel drought: minister rallies thousands to pray for relief |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| With technology coming up short, Israel’s agriculture minister sought an unconventional solution on Thursday to end the country’s water shortage: rallying a few thousand worshippers at Jerusalem’s Western Wall to pray for rain. | With technology coming up short, Israel’s agriculture minister sought an unconventional solution on Thursday to end the country’s water shortage: rallying a few thousand worshippers at Jerusalem’s Western Wall to pray for rain. |
| Four years of drought have strained Israel’s array of desalination and wastewater treatment plants, harming its most fertile regions and catching the government off-guard, with farmers bearing the brunt. | Four years of drought have strained Israel’s array of desalination and wastewater treatment plants, harming its most fertile regions and catching the government off-guard, with farmers bearing the brunt. |
| Agriculture minister Uri Ariel, an Orthodox Jew, has a hand in determining water policy and how the resource is allocated, but to balance the science with the spiritual, he teamed up with leading rabbis to organise a public prayer session. | Agriculture minister Uri Ariel, an Orthodox Jew, has a hand in determining water policy and how the resource is allocated, but to balance the science with the spiritual, he teamed up with leading rabbis to organise a public prayer session. |
| “We significantly lowered the cost of water, we are carrying out many studies on how to save water in different crops, but prayer can certainly help,” Ariel said. | “We significantly lowered the cost of water, we are carrying out many studies on how to save water in different crops, but prayer can certainly help,” Ariel said. |
| Several thousand gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s old city, the holiest place for Jews to worship, and chanted a special prayer to end the drought. | Several thousand gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s old city, the holiest place for Jews to worship, and chanted a special prayer to end the drought. |
| However, some pundits were sceptical. Top-selling newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published a commentary that said Ariel should instead focus on promoting policies to fight climate change, such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. | However, some pundits were sceptical. Top-selling newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published a commentary that said Ariel should instead focus on promoting policies to fight climate change, such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. |
| “Prayer is not a bad thing, but the minister has the ability to influence [matters] in slightly more earthly ways,” it said. | “Prayer is not a bad thing, but the minister has the ability to influence [matters] in slightly more earthly ways,” it said. |
| Israel | Israel |
| Drought | Drought |
| Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa |
| Water | Water |
| news | news |
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