The holy river water is still clean

Israel announced yesterday that the Jordan River water is still clean enough for religious followers to perform a baptism ceremony.
> The river is about to die

Christians perform baptism on the Jordan River.Photo: zimbio.com .

AFP reported that the West Coast management agency of the Israeli army announced it had checked water quality at Qasr al-Yehud, where Jesus was baptized. The move comes after the environmental organization Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) said that the level of water pollution downstream of the Jordan River has reached a dangerous level and believers should not baptize in the river. St.

'Bacterial examination at Qasr al-Yehud proves that Jordan River water in this area is still clean enough to perform a baptismal ceremony. The results show that for every 100 ml of water there are 88 coliform bacteria, while the Israeli Ministry of Health standard is 1,000 coliform bacteria in 100 ml of water , "AFP quoted the Israeli army announcement.

FoEME rejected the Israeli army's test results, pointing out that other tests showed much higher levels of Jordan river pollution.

'The concentration of bacteria in the river water changes every hour. In fact, several million cubic meters of untreated wastewater from households in Israel, Jordan and Palestine are being discharged directly or indirectly downstream of the Jordan River , 'said Gidon Bromberg, director of the FoEME branch in Israel. expression.

In the last few years the flow of the Jordan River is gradually turning into a small creek due to wastewater replacing clean water.

Qasr-al-Yahud is located in a military area near the city of Jericho in the West Bank. In the last few years the Israeli army allowed baptized followers in Qasr-al-Yahud on special occasions. Israeli officials can permanently open the area in the near future.

'I am very happy that tourists, who have an important role to play in Israel, can continue to visit and baptize in Qasr-al-Yahud safely,' said Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov. .

Jordan also has a baptismal place a few meters away from Qasr-al-Yahud.