For all the hype about Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the geographical centre of Israel is the desert town of Beersheba. In fact, nearly half the Holy Land is non arable. Yet today, Israel is considered a ‘unique water solutions hub’.

To understand this contrast, I visited WATEC, Israel’s biannual conference on water technologies. With delegations from Germany, USA, China, Africa and elsewhere, this is a key event on the global arena in this field. To take one small example of why, I read in the introductory literature how Israel is cooperating with the city of Shouguang in China to upgrade its water and infrastructure performance.

Walking round the exhibition, I was struck the wide range of solutions and partnerships on offer: –

• WE@EU is an innovative pan-European project, dedicated to enhancing research in water efficiency. A core player is the Migal Technology Centre in the Galilee, along with partners from the UK, Spain and France.
• I was particularly fascinated with the practical approach of Lishtot. With the aid of its light, hand-held probe, you can detect within two seconds if your glass of water contains impurities. They hope to reach the market by the end of 2016.
• Another favourite of mine is Solaris Synergy. The founders noticed that as 65% or so of the world is composed of water, most solar energy cannot be caught by traditional panels. Thus they have created and installed successfully floating photovoltaic systems.

WATEC was not the only major international conference taking place this week in Israel. Jerusalem hosted two thousand delegates, including Buzz Aldrin, at the 66th International Astronautical Congress. And Israel’s mobile conference, sponsored by the Calcalist newspaper, as ever drew throngs from overseas, as it usually hints at what Israeli companies have to offer at Barcelona in six months time. (The country has a track record of securing top prizes.)

These incredible capabilities, which will change the lives of billions around the globe, have been hidden from the world’s view. The media has found itself forced to focus on the Palestinian violence and those behind it. Sad.

Very sad. Because when it comes down to it, we all have a choice: To hate and to kill, or to embrace the path of partnership and understanding as have the people of Shouguang.