Temple Beth El invites you to Make Our House Your Home inviting the imagination to run riot. Little wonder that the peo- ple who have settled on this re- mote, sweltering plain are so passionately attached to it. They are farmers who grow vegetables and melons, dates and citrus, flowers and fish (in special tent-covered ponds). And as farmers they say that water is the problem here, not land. "For peace, we'll give up these fields and look for others," says Peter Anderson of Iddan (originally from Australia). "Or perhaps the Jordanians will lease them back to us." But the farmers in the Ar- ava are already using all the wa- ter in the area — pumped from subterranean aquifers — and now the Jordanians want half of it back. They argue that it comes from the rain falling on their mountains, seeping into their wa- ter table. Right now, there are no Jordanians living on the plain to use it. But inspired by the suc- cess of the Israeli farmers, Am- man wants to settle people there. "If Kibbutz Yahel were to lose its fields, we might share some of our land with them," says Mr. Levine of neighboring Ketura. "But we can't afford to share our water. We're already exceeding the quota set by the government." "Even if Lotan retained all the water we use today, we'd still have a problem," echoes Mr. Ze- vulun. All agree with the gov- ernment's position that the solution is not to divide the wa- ter but to multiply it, by finding ways to generate more of it for both countries. But on other vital issues, the people of the Arava can't com- ment on the government's posi- tion because they've been unable to find out what it is. "No one has come to Iddan, no one has talked to us or given us any informa- tion," complains Anderson. "We asked Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and chief negotiator Eli- akim Rubinstein where the bor- der runs," says Yahel's Cohen, "but they seemed to be as much in the dark as we are." The point of these questions is not just to ease anxieties about the future. "The kibbutzim here are in the process of investing millions of shekels in new crops and equip- ment," says Mr. Zevulun. "If something is going to happen, we want to know. "That plaint, of course, is not a new one. It has long been aired by settlers in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, to little avail. In response, they have held ral- lies and protests to get the gov- ernment's attention. Will the Arava follow suit? Mr. Cohen, whose kibbutz stands to lose the most, is also the most outspoken on this matter. "Nothing will be accepted quiet- ly," he warns. "People will be- come belligerent if the government presents us with a fait accompli and doesn't ensure that our economic capability isn't affected." But his neighbors, Mr. Levine and Mr. Zevulun, sound skeptical that the Arava's farm- ers will rise in revolt. "We're Labor people," Mr. Levine relates. "Over a year go, some of us went up to the Golan and talked to the settlers there. They asked for our support. We nodded our agreement and then drove off and said: 'Hit will bring peace, let them give it all back.' I guess what goes around, comes around," he adds sheepishly. "But we really do want peace. So I don't think people around here will block the road with burning tires." Mr. Zevulun attributes the lack of agitation to temperament, as well. "We're a different breed from the people in the West Bank and Golan. Like them, we're first-generatioii settlers. But we've assimilated into our envi- ronment: the heat; the laid-back mentality of the Bedouin; the open, liberal attitude of Eilat" (most of Lotan, he reports, voted for Meretz). "This may sound like I'm 20 years behind the times," he continues, "but I truly believe that settling here is an important national mission; that in 10-15 years, as Peres says, things will be very different here." Such sentiments are hardly con- ducive to riots. The kibbutzim here are in the process of investing millions of shekels. And such sentiments appear to be the true consensus in the Arava. At "101," a rambling, open-air cafe boasting a collection of American memorabilia — a jukebox, pinball and slot ma- chines, pool tables, kiddy rides — two monkeys languish in the heat while a peacock shepherds her chicks and an obese rooster pecks at leavings under the tables. The scene looks, for all the world, like a Levantine version of the Cafe Baghdad. The bus- es plying the route to Eilat stop at the sterile, air-conditioned restaurants to the north and the south of it. But the locals prefer the atmosphere of "101." Now it flies a Jordanian flag (next to an Israeli one) and a banner salut- ing Jordan for advancing toward peace. "If King Hussein has taken that step of seriously entering into the peace process," says Yosef, who works the cash regis- ter, "he needs feedback from us. Rabin needs it too. He needs our up-front support. And this is our way of giving it to them." Anxiety and impatience notwithstanding, that pretty much sums up the word from the Arava. BRING YOUR FAMILY TO MEET OUR FAMILY at a NEW MEMBER SHABBAT SERVICE FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 1994 8:00 P.M. Babysitting Available Temple Beth El Michigan's First Reform Congregation 7400 Telegraph Road Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (810) 851-1100 Membership information will be available Flexible dues structure to accommodate all family situtations BRAND NEW1994 VOYAGER 199*Mo. Buy For Only -44 0 13,995" 24 Month Lease ............................................................................................................. ""s Auto, Air, .AIWFM Stereo Cassette, Rear Deftvoftkkk ‘. us lueh Mo s \‘\, ,•; . SHUMAIII vt A d --- CHRYSLER motor sales, inc.) Corner of Pontiac Trail & S. 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