Desalination plant shutdowns break dam on water security risks

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing · Sep 7, 2026 · 22m

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Environmental reporter Sue Surkes joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode. We open by diving into the unprecedented shutdown of five of Israel’s six desalination plants last week. Surkes reports that the closures have exposed a growing strategic vulnerability: the country’s near-total dependence on large coastal facilities for drinking water. Surkes explains that the plants, all along the southern Mediterranean coast, were forced…