More than a dozen former members of an elite Israeli naval unit are filing suit against the government for endangering their health by requiring them to swim and dive in the horrendously polluted Kishon River, and occasionally even drink the river’s putrid water as punishment. More than 30 of the naval commandos have been struck with cancer and about 10 have died. Some of the living refuse to come forward for fear of retribution from the government. Though contaminants from the river sometimes took more than 40 minutes to scrub off in the shower and some men lost consciousness under the water, the military continued to require training dives in the polluted river until the nation’s largest newspaper drew attention to the issue.
