"A death sentence for tourism in the Kinneret." That is how Yossi Nava, mayor of Tiberias and chairman of the Kinneret Cities Association, describes the Health Ministry's demand to place signs at Sea of Galilee beaches detailing required safety measures for bathers, following concerns over the presence of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, commonly known as the "brain-eating amoeba."
The demand comes at a time when the tourism industry around the Kinneret is in a deep crisis. According to data from local authorities and the Kinneret Cities Association, a dramatic plunge of dozens of percent in the number of vacationers in the area was recorded during the Tishrei holidays compared to the same period last year. In the industry, the decline is attributed, among other things, to reports regarding the fear of the amoeba's presence in the lake's water.
To put things in perspective, data from the Kinneret Cities Association summarizing the bathing season that will end this coming Saturday (October 10, 2026) show approximately 2.5 million vacationers since the beginning of the year across the association's 16 quiet beaches, compared to 3.3 million vacationers last year, representing a decrease of about 800,000 vacationers.
The main reasons for the decline in the number of vacationers are the closure of Kinneret beaches under Home Front Command directives due to the Roaring Lion war from February 28 to April 9, a period that included Passover and Eid al-Fitr, which are usually crowded with vacationers, as well as the tragic incident in which a child was infected with the amoeba last September (at the start of the holiday season), following which vacationer occupancy during the Tishrei holidays was significantly lower than in previous years.
The case that led to the Health Ministry's guidelines was the illness and death of a 9-year-old boy from Pardes Hanna. In early September, he was hospitalized in very serious condition, suffering from acute encephalitis. An epidemiological investigation revealed that about a week before his hospitalization, he vacationed and swam at Kursi Beach on the Kinneret. Laboratory tests confirmed that the symptoms were caused by infection with the rare amoeba, known as the "brain-eating amoeba." After nearly three weeks of fighting for his life in the hospital, his death was declared in late September.
Since 2022, three additional cases of harm from the amoeba have been diagnosed in Israel, but none were linked to Kinneret water. The first case, in 2022, was likely linked to exposure in a winter pond in the Beit Netofa Valley. Two additional cases, in the summer of 2024, were likely linked to exposure at a water park on the Kinneret shore.
'The chance of infection in open lake water is microscopic'
Following the difficult case, Prof. Moshe Gophen, former head of the Kinneret Research Laboratory, told Walla that the chance of infection with the amoeba in open lake water is microscopic. According to him, the source of infection should be sought in closed water systems to which the deceased child was exposed, such as showers, faucets, or pipes.
"In closed facilities, there is water circulation and the temperature rises, which makes life good for this amoeba," Prof. Gophen explained. He recalled that in previous cases where the amoeba was diagnosed in Israel, suspicion and diagnosis were always directed at closed systems or neglected water reservoirs. Therefore, according to him, the attempt to link the case directly to the Kinneret is premature and lacks a factual basis.
The current case occurred right before the Tishrei holidays. Kinneret area tourism operators had been looking forward to the holiday period for a long time, after difficult years in which the war, and before that the coronavirus pandemic, dealt a severe blow to the industry. According to Nava, "The hard blow was caused by the Health Ministry's conduct and its public statements regarding the danger of infection with the amoeba."
Now, following the demand to post the signs, he is coming out against the move once again. "I told Moshe Bar Siman Tov, director-general of the Health Ministry: 'Why are you in such a hurry to put up signs now on all the beaches, when the season ends in two days?' This is a death sentence for the Kinneret. If you want to close the lake completely, close it in an orderly manner and compensate the businesses, but do not kill us slowly."
Nava emphasizes that local authorities around the Kinneret do not take public health lightly, but demands a professional, joint dialogue rather than making unilateral decisions that could frighten the public without sufficient foundation.
Following the dispute, authorities in the Kinneret area decided to hire the services of Prof. Itamar Grotto, former deputy director-general of the Health Ministry, to review the research and data and formulate a professional, responsible stance ahead of discussions with the Finance Ministry and Health Ministry.
Health Ministry: 'The risk of infection is very low'
The Health Ministry stated: "The Health Ministry shares in the grief of the family of the 9-year-old boy who passed away after contracting the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. According to the findings of the epidemiological investigation conducted by the Health Ministry, the boy stayed at Kursi Beach on the Kinneret, which was the only freshwater body he was in. The amoeba is naturally found in freshwater sources, but thrives under certain environmental conditions, such as a specific temperature.
"The Health Ministry operates in accordance with accepted international protocols in such cases, and has published information to the public regarding the possible risk and ways to reduce exposure, including recommendations regarding bathing practices. In the ministry's publications, it was emphasized that the risk of infection is very low.
"The ministry is in contact with the Kinneret Cities Association and submitted a demand to post signs explaining the presence of the amoeba and detailing precautionary measures in the Kinneret beach area, in accordance with standard practice in similar cases identified around the world."