Israel, a country with a population of fewer than 10 million people, roughly the size of Bangkok's population, is delighted and proud to make a modest contribution towards urban sustainability in Bangkok.
Israel is working in partnership with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to fulfil Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt's vision to make the capital of Thailand "a more liveable city for all".
Israeli ambassador to Thailand, Orna Sagiv, told the Bangkok Post how Israel is sharing its innovative creation to make Bangkok inclusive through this close partnership.
Ms Sagiv said Israel would share its experiences and innovations to help Bangkok solve problems such as water pollution, traffic and transportation.
Although the plan is still in the initial stages, as a lot of discussions with stakeholders have yet to be done and the funding remains unsettled -- if it is completed, Bangkok will become more of a city for everyone, she said.
Start of the friendship
She stated that the collaboration between Israel and the BMA started last August after Mr Chadchart was elected as Bangkok governor in May 2022.
"We met him in August and we came up with a few ideas: canal cleaning and urban flooding forecasts, which could be solved with Israeli technology and experts.
"I know some other nations have been working with Bangkok but we're happy to share our experiences," she said.
Last October, the embassy donated 50 frangipani trees to the BMA to plant across Bangkok to help reduce pollution.
The embassy and the BMA held a frangipani tree-planting ceremony at Benjakitti park to mark the friendship between the two organisations. The tree planting, she said, was more than just about making Bangkok greener; it also reflected Jewish beliefs and culture.
"Planting trees is something very important to our culture because planting trees in Jewish culture means "living there, lying there" -- significant because Jewish people had been in a diaspora for many years.
"When you plant trees anywhere, that then becomes your home. Besides, when Israeli kids were born, like me and my brother or my children, we received birth certificates from the country telling us that trees were planted on behalf of us," Ms Sagiv said.
She said that planting trees with the Bangkok governor was a part of making the connection and to symbolise the close ties between Israel and Bangkok.
"When you plant and grow something together, it is very significant. I hope these 50 trees will benefit the people of Bangkok," she said.
Urban water security projects
Ms Sagiv went on to say that Bangkok and Israel shared some similarities in urban development, and one of the similarities was a water problem.
Water security was a problem that Israel had been dealing with since its inception in 1948. Due to its geological aspects, water scarcity was a problem, and Israelis had to find very innovative solutions to deal with it.
She said that Israel is one of the few nations where the majority of the country's drinking water is desalinated from the sea. About 75%-80% of Israeli drinking water is desalinated.
"To ensure the value of every water drop, the Israeli government has reused and recycled 90% of its used water for agriculture," she said.
Bangkok is one of the cities facing the same problem of water security, with water loss occurring due to broken pipes being a big issue, she said.
"In many places in the world, including in Bangkok, a lot of water is lost while on its way from the water reservoir to the house. You know, at the end of the day, those are tubes, and some of them have leaks, and in Israel, we have very advanced solutions for this. We are now able to locate the leak and also to close the leak without stopping the water flow to populations, all within three days," she said.
Moreover, dirty canals in Bangkok are also a challenge that the ambassador has witnessed.
She said that in the current, the city's canals are unhygienic for people, especially those living close to them. Therefore, she would like to work with the BMA to clean the canals by providing Israeli water security solutions that have been used to clean Tel Aviv's canals.
"Israel is a small country with a few canals that go through the main city, such as in Tel Aviv and from the North to the South. This canal used to be so dirty and contaminated. The people could not consume it at all, nor could they even row a boat in it.
"If someone fell into it, it would be very unhealthy. Throughout the years, we have developed very advanced technology to clean that river. And today, people can jump into the river," she said.
Aside from this, she added Israel was also advanced in water contamination prevention in both water reservoirs and water pipes as well.
Inclusive playgrounds
Another project that Israel and the BMA are working on is playgrounds that allow every child to play, especially children with disabilities.
She said that this idea was inspired by her motherland, where wars and acts of terrorism often occur, causing many Israelis to lose their lives and others to become disabled, including children. Therefore, the Israeli government has adjusted laws to facilitate and ensure that every disabled person has access to the same facilities and services as those without disabilities.
"[This is] the thing that is close to my heart. When I am talking about disabilities, I am not talking about only people in wheelchairs, but even people who cannot hear or see and people with mental problems.
"We must have facilities that are accessible for them, and they deserve the same opportunities, not only for jobs but also other opportunities, like everyone else," she said.
She said there were many public parks in Israel where people came to spend time for enjoyment and many of the playgrounds had turned into inclusive playgrounds where children with disabilities could play with other children.
"I made a suggestion to the Bangkok governor to have such a playground in Bangkok, such as in Benjakitti Park.
"For me, this is part of inclusivity. You do not want the children with special needs to be told to play 'over there, in that area, because that area is for you'.
"No, you can play together with the children that do not have any problems or special needs without seeing the differences. It will help internalise the idea of inclusivity into the children's minds so that they feel like they are the same.
"Also, if they are grandparents, especially those in wheelchairs, they can be perfectly fine by themselves and can even go in their wheelchairs to play with their grandchildren," she added.
Sharing experiences in transport and smart cities
The Israeli ambassador said that the embassy and the BMA are working on making Bangkok traffic and transportation much smoother.
There are many Israeli startup companies that specialise in traffic light management technology and which make smart transportation that could also help Bangkok become a smart city.
"We feel that Bangkok is at the forefront of Thailand, and if those solutions are adapted and implemented here, again, they could, later on, be used in other places," she said.
At the same time, as Israel is currently developing its own transportation, such as its sky train and subway, she added that Israel is ready and happy to learn from Bangkok's experiences with transportation.
