Issue 9 2b_jrtemplate1.qxd

t a l k s w e r ed i s a p p o i n t i n g b u tt h i s h a s n o td i m i n i s h e d t h e e n t h u s i a s m o fi n d i v i d u a l s t o d ow h a t t h e y c a n t oa v e r t g l o b a ld i s a s t e r . H e r e w e h a p p e n i n g i n t h eJ e w i s h w o r l d SO WHAT HAS RELIGION TO OFFER?J E R E M Y G O R D O N AT T E N D E D T H E W I N D S O R C L I M AT E C H A N G E C O N F E R E N C E spoke about how, like many in his church, to launch and discuss a series of ecological he didn’t think ecology was an issue for initiatives from religions across the world realised that unless we learned to treat the resources of the planet differently it would spoke of the situation with the Himalayan glaciers which are melting at a rapid rate (the global temperature has risen by ¾ of a Julian Sinclair and Michael Kagan. Hazon is temperature of this area of the Himalayas decade). This is placing the water systems that support 1.5 billion people in jeopardy.
Melchior, leader of the Green Party list in the Buddhists trying to explain the carbon cycle Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founding father of eco-kashrut. I attended on behalf of J-Hub in getting polluters to clean up the polluted presented at the conference is a vision of river he lived near, jumped in, followed by Jewish persistence, born out of thousands of from around the world met in Windsor at an 13,000 of his followers. The result was some years of ‘ever-dying’ but yet surviving, and event hosted by HRH The Prince Philip and Firstly – a belief in the importance of a J E W I S H R E N A I S S A N C E J A N U A RY 2 0 1 0 that small steps count. The Jewish Climate agriculture. By 2010, we will have 40 Jewish CSAs around the country: it’s now the largest concept of shmitah – sabbatical rest for theland. It calls for Jewish organisations to faith-based CSA in North America. Nowwe’ve started talks with the Sikh community where we want to be and for the short-term As I take a seat opposite Nigel Savage in his The easy part, at least for the religious explains that one aspect is the moral good leaders, is articulating where our traditions of putting Jewish purchasing power behind sensitise us to the needs of the environment.
local organic farms which are often barely created Adam to ‘work and protect’ the He has the energy and determination of a Wall Street Garden of Eden, though Nigel Savage in his broker but his objectives couldn’t be more different. speech at the conference suggested, “You could argue that the Jewish people have been his objectives couldn’t be more different.
surviving. “A second moral good is that thinking about sustainable energy ever since Nigel is founder and executive director of Hazon, a Jewish environmental organisation grown organic produce at a fair price. It is a third good that if you don’t pick up your healthier life while at the same time opening produce that week, it gets delivered to a recycled his staff into a snake, got Egypt to local food pantry. As of last year, we gave turn off all its lights for three days, and over 17,000 lb of goods to people in need.” convinced an entire nation to go on a 40-year A fourth good, he tells me, is the Jewish- in the City of London, Nigel’s life changed related activities, such as Tu Bishvat seders out the small steps. So let me suggest three. Jerusalem to learn at the Pardes Institute. He discovered Planet Earth quite by accident, while on a three-day hike in Israel. As a emissions. This project provides a full survey physically useless, he tells me, and this was and report for £200 and costs and sources the the first time that he started thinking about eats far less meat than he used to. “In 2006, we decided to shecht (slaughter in accordance different amounts of energy that can be saved physical world. He realized that, although with Jewish ritual laws) a goat at our food underutilised, outdoor education could be “a experience and had a big impact on people. I Green Jewish Website, look at some of the grew up eating meat five or six days a week – same time getting people to think about the today, even though I’m not a vegetarian, I eat consumables, spend less. Make do with what you have and use the money saved to invest environmental organisation in America.
in sustainable projects, sustainably produced “Everything we do is about enabling and electricity or secure the future of an acre of difference in the world, and transforming their life in the process. We have a number of people who have become significantly more Jewishly involved through taking part in our destruction of the Temple, the expulsion from programmes.” People have been inspired to Spain or even the horrors of the last century.
ride their bikes to work, others quit their jobs We adapt quickly and boldly and we refuse to be scared into paralysis. Rabbi Yissocher Frand has recently published a book with the wonderful title, It’s Never Too Little, It’s Never Too Late, It’s Never Enough. I don’t think the book is about the ecological state we are in but with a title like that, it could be.
agreement between a farmer and a group ofurban members where members pay in advance for a share of a farmer’s produce for lead to human injustice. So on the one hand, I really believe in free markets. At the same community is better and bigger and so on.
like to see as his life’s main achievement.
time, free markets need intermediation in And it’s true that in terms of size and He doesn’t have a ready answer. Then he resources you can’t compare them, but in says, ‘If I was to die tomorrow, I think I governments to establish rules that enable us another sense, I think the British Jewish would be proudest of the fact that there are to create societies that are in everybody’s community, particularly in London, is quite a coherent, cohesive community. Interest in the environment and in social justice has they not come into contact with Hazon.
the first place. That’s what shemitah People who are living richer lives, people years) is about; that’s what yovel (the or stronger or richer; people who are living world, and we simply are our best selves, doing it with arrogance, if we say we are which relies on high levels of consumption, religions, and here’s what it means to be Jewish to this group of people in the 21st learn from the US, he replies that there’s century, here is a little piece of us at our agree with the idea that private markets are already a lot of ‘great stuff’ going on in the best selves, the process of doing so will the least bad of the available systems.
turn out to be good for the world and good Centralised economies always sooner or later Britain is often rather self-deprecating: network of pilgrimage cities. “Cities should Mayors of Jerusalem, an influential position be providing facilities and services in as because, as she says, “mayors in Israel are green a way as possible. Pilgrimages all have powerful”. She was asked to stand by Nir spiritual leaders and this is how the message can be communicated, by their preaching to to be elected as mayor. “He wanted me on their flock – how they should behave, travel, his list because we had been so successful in what to do with their garbage – and on the reaching out to voters through the campaign we waged against the The Safdi Plan. This initiatives announced was a seven-year plan recommended intensive housing in the green Jerusalem Hills and would have encouraged decentralising the city.” The campaign was run through the SPNI, the Society for the greenhouse gases, more responsibility will be Protection of Nature in Israel, of which Tsur placed on cities – and she is passionate about the greening of Jerusalem. “It is a goal for Jerusalem, a coalition of 60 environmental organisations in the city. Naomi Tsur is now responsible for planning decisions in the city.
she says: “Jerusalem has undertaken to cut its Naomi Tsur Change conference and I meet her when she change. For example we are putting in a light is on her way back to Israel. She feels the rail system, we are encouraging bike riding – conference served a useful purpose. She is there are now more bike shops per thousand happy that the Jewish delegation, (ranging of the population than in Chicago. We will be from Orthodox to Reconstrutionist) managed to agree on a set of principles, and that it got water gardens and encouraging people to use on so well with the other faiths represented.
the water cisterns pre-1974 houses have in Meeting Naomi Tsur brings several surprises, The Sikhs particularly, she said, were keen to their backyards as a source of water for their the first is that she is an olah (immigrant to work with the Jewish delegation. “Sikhs and gardens – many have been neglected.
Jews have always got along well. I was asked to chair a round-table – the people sitting persuaded to change their behaviour. It is achieved this office through green activism; round included the head of the Franciscan here she believes that religious communities the third is that she has no sense of self- order, the head of the Sikh environmental are key. “People will take notice of what their movement, a Ba’hai, and a member of the being down-to-earth and practical, as well as quietly passionate about her beliefs – and of as a way of bringing together the religious at the conference was to have initiated a and the secular. (She sees herself somewhere J E W I S H R E N A I S S A N C E J A N U A RY 2 0 1 0 between the two: “I am Shabbat observant – that “when we were in exile we lost the link though we are haves, we should behave as if but I wouldn’t be observant enough for some people, and perhaps too much so for others.”) are side by side but they are not talking to To this end she is facilitating a meeting of sufficient impact. She feels there should be more getting out and lobbying together.
“I want to bring about a meeting of the When I tell her that at present in the UK poles of Israeli thinking. The Liberals are Jewish world there seems to be more interest preaching love of the environment and the in social action, she says: “There is an lobbied to gain greater recognition of the role religious Zionists are preaching love of the cities can play in combating climate change.
land. Being ‘green’ is identified with the environmental justice. Tikun olam (repairing secular and Liberal camp. But aren’t love of the world) should have a physical content.
decisive than we hoped it would be, cities will once again have to take the lead.” environmental assets should be in socially other huge problems, Naomi Tzur is aiming irresponsibility towards the environment was that this city will be one of the leaders.
This is just a taster of what’s out there. Hopefully you’ll find at least some of the ideas and projects so inspiring you’ll want to create something similar in your own community. Please let us know if you do! THE JEWISH CLIMATE CHANGE
CANFEI NESHARIM
CAMPAIGN
positive change in the world – launched teach Israelis “to take responsibility for materials, as well as providing support to Visit their website to sign up for action. workers, and the way the land is treated. Wilderness Torah and its earth-based
COALITION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
THE JEWISH CLIMATE INITIATIVE
AND JEWISH LIFE
BIG GREEN JEWISH
Jewish Farm School runs farm-based
and social justice, teaching “practical Social Action Forum, founded in 2006 as a Action Group) at The Board of Deputies of ARAVA INSTITUTE
involvement in environmental advocacy.” “integrates organic farming, sustainable interfaith environmental co-operation.
SVIVA ISRAEL
traditions, and to act on that learning by

Source: http://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/taste-jr/green-and-jewish.pdf