Michael Evenari

Israel can be spotted fom satellites easily, as the greener and darker (more humid) part of the region. The work of Michael Evenari and other pioneers of Agricultural research in Israel contributed to the effect

Michael Evenari (hebr.: מיכאל אבן-ארי, Lion's Stone) (born as Walter Schwarz 9/10/1904 in Metz - 15/4/1989 in Jerusalem)[1]) was an Israeli botanist of German descent.

Life and career

Remains of a Nabataean cistern north of Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel.

Eveneari grew up as Walter Schwarz close to Marburg and Buchenau. He studied botany at Technische Universität Darmstadt and received his doctorate 1927 under the auspices of Martin Möbius.[2] He fled from Germany on 1. April 1933 and was active in Jerusalem as professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[3] He was a brother in law of writer Gerson Stern, his parents were German Jews and merchants from the Lorraine, which had opted for Germany after World War I and were forced to emigrate after Metz became French again. Evenari joined Hagana and fought in the Israeli War of independence.[4]

His works on the Nabataeans runoff rainwater management was crucial for modern Israeli agriculture and explained as well how the Nabataean culture was able to supply thousands of inhabitants in a similar arid climate. Evenari showed that the runoff rainwater collection systems concentrate water from larger areas and in so far allow to grow plants with higher water needs in the given arid environment. The mechanism explained a variety of ancient agricultural features, terraced wadis, channels for collecting runoff rainwater, and the phenomenon of "Tuleilat el-Anab", grape mounds.

Politically, his works were used instrumental in the controversy between Israeli settlers and Bedouins.[5] Evenari was critical about the Bedouins, who largely failed to reuse the previous advanced approaches and did not achieve anything comparable in the drier parts of the Negev. In 1956 Evenaris wife Lieselotte drove him to apply his research findings about historical farming to rebuilding new farms, which became an important contribution to agricultural research in Israel.[4]

Evenari himself cared about the cultural heritage of the bedouins but saw the more as fathers than 'sons of the desert'.[6] He worked as well on Algae fuel, a special sort of renewable resource and biofuel.[7]

1966 Evenari was appointed member of Leopoldina and 1977 Technische Universität Darmstadt provided him with an honorable doctorate. Evenari received the Israel Prize 1986 and 1988 together with Otto Ludwig Lange Balzan Prize. 2001 the Evenarí-Forum für Deutsch-Jüdische-Studien: Technik-, Natur-, Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften, a Jewish-German center of studies in Darmstadt was named in hs honor and 2010 a Stolperstein bearing his name was laid on Darmstadt university campus.[8]

Works

Links

References

  1. ↑ Biography on exilarchiv.de
  2. ↑ Ulrich Lüttge: Geschichte der Botanik in Darmstadt (PDF; 11,6 MB)
  3. ↑ Society for the Protection of Science and Learning entry
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Geniale Nomaden Die Spuren der Nabatäer Jürgen Voigt, Spiegel 2001
  5. ↑ Of Nubians and Nabateans: Implications of research on neglected dimensions of ancient world history, Jesse Benjamin, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Nov 2001 v36 i4 p361(22), as well in Conceptualizing/Re-Conceptualizing Africa: The Construction of African Historical Identity, Maghan Keita, BRILL, 2002
  6. ↑ Evenari M (1974) Desert Farmers: Ancient and Modern. Natural History 83(7):42-49
  7. ↑ Evenari M., A.M. Mayer, and E. Gottesman. 1953. Experiments of culture of algae in Israel. In: Burlew J.S. (ed). Algal culture. From laboratory to pilot plant. Carnegie Institution, Washington, DC, p. 197–203.
  8. ↑ "Stolpersteine" für im Nationalsozialismus entlassene Wissenschaftler, in: Informationsdienst Wissenschaft 2010
  9. ↑ "Author Query for 'Evenari'". International Plant Names Index.