Invitation From The Consul General Of Israel In Miami To Go On A Mission To Israel With European And North American Mayors - Part V

It was quite interesting to hear a lecture on new methods in water desalination. As mayor, here in Hallandale Beach, I have been keenly focused on desalination and have fought to ensure that we preserved our own water plant. Obviously, water is the key to everything, and Israel has learned to harness it, grow, and become self-sufficient in this area. Negev is almost like our breadbasket. Multiple farms and covered areas that continually grow.

I was very intrigued when we were briefed on the new technology addressing desalination. Our water plant was designed for nanofiltration. That is what we do now, and we still do lime softening for the regular water from the county. We are currently adding another skid, so we will be able to produce over 9,000,000 gallons.

We have a stable water supply from Broward County and partner with North Miami Beach in the event of an emergency. To address future growth, we are reevaluating our plant. We will be looking at desalinating water.

The next part of this tour was probably the most difficult. I personally had not been back to Israel since October 7th and dreaded this necessary visit. The Negev is where the Nova festival was held.

Many people, including Israelis, do not realize that they have established a Tkuma Car Wall Memorial. Tkuma is one of the first kibbutzim founded in 1946. They are along the Gaza border. Kibbutzim are small villages focused on farming. This area is rich in agriculture even though it is at the beginning of the desert. The fact that all these farm villages and farms are located in the desert is proof of the strength, ingenuity, and resiliency of the Israeli people. We did not have time to tour any of the sites of attacks.

Tkuma area is a few kilometers from Nova and was on a stretch of a road that became known as a horrific kill zone. On arrival at the site, we were met by a wonderful IDF soldier who had returned to Israel with his family before October 7th. Immediately after the 7th, he enlisted again as a volunteer. He did not realize at the time that he would be assigned to Tkuma, which had become a recovery site.

To explain the site in simple terms, it was a field that was converted into a yard that now held 1,600 destroyed and abandoned cars. 400 were salvaged; the rest are sitting in what is now a memorial site, with 250 that were totally burned out.

We found out that over 6,500 Gazans led by Hamas came in and invaded Israel, brutally killing, torturing, and kidnapping innocent Israelis.

Nova was not part of their original battle plan. A battalion was to be sent to Sderot, our sister city. That battalion was divided once the manned gliders flew over the concert site and reported it. They split up and, in doing so, closed the access road on both ends. This was one of the main routes. Those entering had no idea they were being led to a trap. This road became a kill zone.

People who were fleeing from Nova were not only gunned down, but their cars were also burnt with the occupants. These cars were towed to the vacant field in Tkuma, where they literally had to be vacuumed out and tested for DNA. The burned cars were then stacked in a wall to make room for more vehicles.

Some of the cars seen in various news reports were preserved. In honor of those who had fallen, the memorial was established. Visitors can tour the site as we did. They also had two Hamas vehicles that many of us saw on news reports. You could clearly see how they were all outfitted and stripped down to accommodate weapons and ammunition.

The other notable vehicle was an ambulance from Nova. People trying to take cover presumed they would not attack the vehicle. It had turned out that 18 bodies were crammed into one truck. It was riddled with bullets, but they also exploded and flipped it over. No matter what they say about Gaza, many, many people were culpable of knowing these attacks were going to take place and did nothing.

As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns, and ideas to make our City a better place on my Phone/Text at: (954) 632-5700. Or you can email me at: jcooper@cohb.org. Please visit me on my Facebook page at: MayorJoyCooperHB. Like! Follow! And share!