Naharayim

A view of the plant and the artificial lake.

Naharayim (Hebrew: "נהריים", lit. "Two rivers") is a site on the border between Israel and Jordan where an hydroelectric power-plant was established in 1930. The Yarmuk River flows into the Jordan River at Naharayim. The plant, established by Pinchas Rutenberg, produced much of the energy consumed in the British Mandate of Palestine until Israel's War of Independence in 1948. The plant was abandoned and destroyed during the war.

History

Yarmouk Lake Dam power plant

Rutenberg, a Ukrainian-born Zionist and engineer immigrated to the Mandate Palestine in 1919. After submitting a plan to the Zionist movement for the establishment of 13 hydroelectric power stations and securing financing for the plan, he was awarded a concession from the British mandatory government to generate electricity, first from the Yarkon River near the Tel Aviv, and shortly thereafter, utilizing all the running water in western Palestine.

The Naharayim site was chosen for the strong water flow, the ability to regulate the flow through storage in the Sea of Galilee, and the ability to secure the site from attacks by the hostile Bedouin population. Ground work began in 1927 and lasted 5 years, providing employment for 3,000 workers.

Arab Israeli conflict

In the days before Israeli independence, Naharayim was the venue for two meetings between Golda Meir and King Abdullah, in an attempt by Yishuv to head off Jordanian participation in the war. The families of the employees were evacuated during April 1948, leaving behind only workers with Jordanian ID cards.

Peace park

The remains of the power station are currently part of the proposed Jordan River Peace Park on Peace Island on the Israel-Jordan border. The project is being spearheaded by the trilateral NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, and Amman.