HERZLIYA, Israel, July 25, 2019 — While touring Israel this week, Grammy nominated artist Dr. Judith McAllister and Reverend Dr. Michael Stevens of University Church in Huntersville, North Carolina along with David Nekrutman, Executive Director for Ohr Torah Stone’s Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) in Jerusalem visited Watergen in Herzliya today, to thank the company for helping with the water challenges in Flint, Michigan. “For the last 5 years, no one was able to deliver an affordable sustainable water solution for the community and now Watergen is making this possible,” remarked Dr. McAllister. She added that, “we are witnessing the miracle of making water from the air and this no less of a miracle than Moses taking water from a rock.”
Since 2014, over 100,000 residents were affected by Flint’s lead contaminated water source forcing the community to rely on bottled or filtered water. In the last 5 years, no one was able to deliver an affordable water solution until Watergen, an Israeli based company that produces water from the air. It took the partnership of Armstrong Williams, a nationally syndicated talk show host, WatergenUSA and NBC25 to send a Watergen unit to Greater Holy Temple in Flint. The unit services over 3,400 households and there are plans to bring in more units in the months to come.
Reverend Dr. Stevens, who has visited Israel over 22 times and has been one of the prominent African American voices in supporting Israel and the Jewish people, sees Watergen’s innovation as a living witness to what Isaiah says that the people of Israel will be “a light unto the nations.” According to the United Nations 1.2 billion people live in areas of water scarcity, “and Watergen’s technology is now a game changer that can greatly improve the lives of people around the world,” said Stevens.
The meeting was facilitated by David Nekrutman who has been involved in Jewish-Christian relations for over 18 years. Nekrutman and Stevens have worked together in bringing African American leaders to Israel including Dr. McAllister. “My heart is to advance the relationship between the African-American Church and the Jewish people,” commented Nekrutman. He added that, “both of our faith communities have a particular understanding of suffering that can be a catalyst to uniquely work together in furthering G-d’s Kingdom under the mandates of Holiness and Sanctification.”
“Tikkun olam – repairing the world – is a paramount value rooted in the bible,” remarked Rabbi Kenneth Brander, President of Ohr Torah Stone. He added, “We are privileged to witness the myriad ways in which the Jewish state uses technological innovation and creativity to promote this value and, in this case, to save lives by very literally pulling water out of thin air.”