Israeli volunteers in race against time to clear tar from beaches after historic oil spill

Israeli soldiers search for tar grains while cleaning the Palmachim Beach near the city of Rishon Lezion

Credit: ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 

With the end of lockdown on the horizon, Israelis have spent many a gloomy winter month dreaming of a trip to the beaches along the Mediterranean coastline.

But this week, instead of sunning themselves below the skyscrapers of Tel Aviv, thousands have instead pulled on their wellingtons and begun the long and gloomy task of clearing several hundred tonnes of tar from the shore.

A catastrophic oil spill, which is suspected to have been caused by a passing tanker, has coated more than a hundred miles of coastline — and countless sea creatures — in gloopy tar.

The spill is already being described as potentially the worst ecological disaster in Israel’s history, and the government has launched an urgent investigation to find the vessel responsible.

Israeli soldiers listen to a briefing ahead of cleanup operations at Sharon Beach Nature Reserve near Ga'ash

Credit: Ariel Schalit /AP

On Thursday, a motley crew of soldiers, civilian volunteers and even an off-duty doctor gathered at Ga’ash beach, near Tel Aviv, where they scraped tar from rocks and retrieved clumps of filth from the beaches.

“I took a day off from the hospital and came to do such an important activity,” said Dr Gil Gilad, a 54-year-old oncologist. “We saw a heartbreaking scene, a lot of dirt, beautiful nature covered by tar, the sand is mixed with tar.

“There is a lot of work to be done separating the dirt from the sand and to bring nature as it was before. It is an important thing to do, I hope many more will come to help. It gives a lot of satisfaction,” Dr Galad added.

Ana, a 30-year-old from Kfar Saba and her friend Slava, 31, spent four hours helping to clean up the beach in the driving rain.

“We heard there was a need for volunteers and we don’t work right now because of the coronavirus, so we came to give a hand,” said Ana.

“The work is not easy, because we are talking about very small pieces of tar that are in the sand.”

Scientists examine the body of a dead fin whale that washed up from the mediterranean sea on February 21, 2021 in Nitzanim, Israel

Credit: Amir Levy/Amir Levy

Israeli environmentalist groups say the country is now in a race against time to minimise the damage to beaches, with one group setting up a national database of clean-up volunteers.

“We are working as fast as we possibly can,” said Arik Rosenblum, the CEO of Echo Ocean.

“There are two terrains to clear, sand and rocks, and in both of them, when the air gets hotter, the tar begins to harden."

He warned that if Israel fails to clear the rocks of the tar before it hardens then all of the wildlife that relies on the terrain as a habitat could die off.

"Right now we can pick up the tar with our hands but in a few days we will need to use chisels and hammers," he said.

"If the weather stays cold, then we might gain a few extra days."