(Besides its historical importance, the Sea of Galilee has a very practical importance in today's Middle East. It is the principal source of fresh water for human consumption in Israel. Many environmentalists think that the Sea of Galilee is close to the borderline of becoming polluted. These scientists talk about "the absorptive capacity" of an area, by which they mean the number of people and animals who can live in an area before the natural resources are inadequate to support the population. The majority of environmentalists think that Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights are very close to absorptive capacity. Thus it is that we must be concerned about fighting breaking out over control of the water supply in that region.)

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