The Nile - Father of All Rivers

The Nile River has been the major source of livelihood and inspiration for the peoples of Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan since ancient times. The history of these cultures and their mutual interdependence on the Nile was the subject of a unique international conference held at TAU entitled "The Nile - Civilization, History, Myths," which brought together forty scholars from ten countries. The Conference was organized by TAU Middle East historian Prof. Haggai Erlich and was sponsored by TAU, the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Ormat Industries Ltd., the Ministry of Science, and Ben-Gurion University.

About 80% of the water that reaches Nasser Lake, the main water source of Egypt, originates from the Blue Nile and other rivers in Ethiopia. Historically, when the Nile waters from Ethiopia failed to flow into Egypt, the result was deep anxiety, drought and famine. In 1987, after several years of drought in the Ethiopian mountains, Lake Nasser receded to a dangerously low level, forcing Egyptian engineers to cease producing electricity at the site. Continued drought in Ethiopia might have caused the river to dry up completely, resulting in a human catastrophe of untold proportions. An ensuing rainy year in Ethiopia, however, filled the waters of the lake to their regular level, and the disaster was averted.

On its side, Ethiopia has enjoyed rapid economic growth since 1991 and is in dire need of development projects which require diverting the Nile's waters for its own use. To date, Ethiopia has refrained from constructing high dam projects which may pose a threat to Egypt's livelihood. The demographic forecast and subsequent dwindling water resources may, however, escalate this issue into a regional crisis. Egypt's dependency on Ethiopia's water remains one of the most sensitive issues in Egyptian domestic and foreign policy today. Moreover, hostilities between Egypt and Ethiopia have been infused with religious and cultural elements through the generations, creating a set of myths which have overtaken the realms of memory and history. "The Nile has therefore become a river enmeshed in mystery, not only for those who reside along its course, but also for academics who study it," says Prof. Erlich.

Only recently, Egyptian newspapers have been full of accusations of an Israeli-Ethiopian plot to dam the Blue Nile and divert its waters. Would not an Israeli conference on the Nile only increase Egyptian fears? Prof. Erlich was asked by Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper. "On the contrary," explained Erlich. "We would like to foster positive dialogue between the two parties and help diffuse tensions over the Nile water issue. I see this Conference as a mission with an historical perspective: to expose myths of fear and anxiety, and create modes of understanding between the cultures. It is not a conference on water problems," he said. Topics covered at the Conference ranged from discussions of the Nile's role in the spread of religions, to its role in cross-cultural communications, and to the Nile as the focus of regional conflicts and Western intellectual and political involvement.

The Ethiopian government and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent unofficial observers to the Conference, but they did not participate actively.

The Conference organizing committee comprised Professors Israel Gershoni and Ehud Toledano of TAU, Prof. Nehamia Levtzion of the Hebrew University, Prof. Gabriel Warburg of Haifa University, and Dr. Yoram Meital of Ben-Gurion University.