Environmental Justice Subscribe
A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on environmental justice.
Blogs
Vote for Green Israel in the WZC Election before April 30th!
- March 27, 2015
You can support the Israel you want to see. All American Jews can vote in the World Zionist Congress election going on right now. One of the most common questions, we get is why it costs $10 to vote. As Mirele Goldsmith, a Green Israel slate member answers: "The American Zionist Movement has contracted with an independent company to run the online election. This is to insure that the election is fair. The registration fee is being used exclusively to pay for the election. It is not a donation to the WZO. I wish there was no fee, but it is a small price to pay ...
From Uncertainty to Action: What You Can Do About Climate Change
- March 27, 2015
The Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) is sponsoring its first conference, a time for community members from across New England concerned about climate change to come together. The conference will focus on a Jewish response to climate change, ideas for action, and how climate change is fundamentally a social justice issue. It will provide organized opportunities to connect with others interested in working together. Summery of the conference: Panel exploring what Judaism adds to our understanding and ability to respond to climate change Two rounds of workshops, ...
May I Have Your Vote for Green Israel?
- March 10, 2015
Because people voted for the Green Israel slate in past elections, there have been major improvements in how the JNF does business. It has adopted significantly better policies on forestry, stream restoration, and soil reclamation. JNF is taking the lead on green infrastructure and has established a program to prioritize quality of life improvements in Arab communities that have long been neglected by the JNF. The JNF has power, and we can leverage that power by voting.
Eden Village is hiring farm educator apprentices for 2015 growing season!
- January 26, 2015
Eden Village Camp is Hiring! Submit Your Application About Eden Village Camp: Eden Village Camp aims to be a living model of a thriving, sustainable Jewish community, grounded in social responsibility and inspired Jewish spiritual life. By bringing the wisdom of our tradition to the environmental, social, and personal issues important to today’s young people, we practice a Judaism that is substantive and relevant. Through our Jewish environmental and service-learning curricula, joyful Shabbat observance, pluralistic Jewish expression, and inspiring, diverse staff ...
Stop Now! ‘Shmita’ and Climate Change
- January 25, 2015
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Climate change is not a scientific or technical problem. The science is clear and the solutions are ready; it is an ethical problem. Will we, who have benefited from the burning of fossil fuels, take responsibility for the damage and make it right? There are at least three lessons we can learn from shmita.
I Am a candidate to Be a Delegate for the Green Israel Slate at the World Zionist Congress
- January 14, 2015
Jews are properly concerned about the well-being of Israel and wish her to be secure and prosperous, but what about security, wealth, and comfort of another kind -- the quality of Israel's air, water, and ecosystems? What about the physical condition of the eternal holy Land? What about climate change that, according to the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva v’Din), may result in an average temperature increase of up to 6 degrees Celsius, a drop in average precipitation of 20-30 percent, severe storms when rain occurs, increased desertification, and an ...
Review of “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism, ” by Rabbi David Sears
- December 30, 2014
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David Sears. The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism, Create Space Independent Publishing Platform; 2nd edition (December 29, 2014), 400 pages Reviewed by Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. Currently most Jews eat meat and other animal products and relatively few Jews seem concerned about the cruel mistreatment of animals on factory farms and in other areas. However, David Sears landmark book, now in its just released second edition, with its many examples of Jewish teachings about compassion for animals, has the potential to change all ...
Hanukkah 5775 – Night 8 Re-Dedication Meditation
- December 23, 2014
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen On this last night of the Festival of Re-Dedication, we light all eight candles, we complete the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and we add one last item to our list of promises to ourselves for the year to come. Hanukkah Night 8: The Litany of Harm: For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness! For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness! For all those who suffer from ...
Hanukkah 5775 – Night 7 Re-Dedication Meditation
- December 22, 2014
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen On this penultimate night of Hanukkah, we light seven candles, we continue the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and we consider a seventh way to strengthen our resolve to change the world in positive ways. Hanukkah Night 7: The Litany of Harm: For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness! For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at risk. We stand in witness! For all those who suffer from ...
Hanukkah 5775 – Night 3 Re-Dedication Meditation
- December 18, 2014
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen On this third night of Hanukkah, we light three candles and continue to add to the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and we provide a third action to our personal list of ways in which to increase the sanctity of our lives and the lives of those around us. Hanukkah Night 3: We continue the Litany of Harm: For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness! For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding put lives and homes at ...
Hanukkah 5775 – Night 2 Re-Dedication Meditation
- December 17, 2014
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen On this second night of Hanukkah, we continue to increase in holiness by lighting two candles and by adding to the “Litany of Harm” and the “Call to Action,” and by adding a new action to our personal list of ways in which to re-dedicate ourselves. (See Night 1 for a full introduction.) Hanukkah Night 2: We continue the Litany of Harm: For all those in island nations, where rising sea levels and superstorms threaten their very existence. We stand in witness! For all coastal cities and villages, where storm swells and flooding ...
Shammai, Shmita and Hanukkah
- December 10, 2014
As we head into winter, the light changes and creates changes inside of us. Dusk descends upon the Earth earlier and dawn arrives later. An evening walk takes us through luminous pockets of blue, white, red and green. For some, winter light brings a melancholy and longing for bright summer sunlight. For others, the candles and iridescent colored bulbs bring excitement and nostalgia. It is with this consciousness of light and its effects on the human condition that the Jewish people observe Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. During Hanukkah, we ...
Start-Up Moshav: Growing our Demonstration Garden in Berkeley, California
- December 2, 2014
Young Urban Moshav provides a community engagement approach to creating the local Jewish Community Center's new educational garden.
Reject Keystone XL
- December 2, 2014
Dec. 2, 2014 Thirteen Jewish organizations, under the umbrella of the Green Hevra, have issued the following joint statement today publicly calling on the U.S. government to reject the Keystone XL pipeline: It has become abundantly clear that we are consuming far too many fossil fuels. In this Sabbatical/Shmita year, when the Torah calls for deeper gentleness toward the Earth, we are especially conscious of the dangers to the Earth from the drilling, transporting and burning of tar-sands oil. The resources that would be devoted to the Keystone XL ...
Lights for Lima NYC Vigil on December 7, 2014
- November 21, 2014
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CALL FOR STRONG ACTION BY WORLD GOVERNMENTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE VOICES OF FAITH CANDLELIGHT VIGIL SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 at 4:00 PM UNION SQUARE Vigils will be taking place in Washington, London, Sydney, and around the world.Learn More. World leaders will be meeting in Lima, Peru, on December 1-12, for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20/CMP10). They’ll be working to establish the fundamentals of a strong, global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – an agreement that we hope will then be finalized in Paris in 2015. These leaders need to know that ...
Climate Change and Elections
- November 6, 2014
Over the past few months, most of us have been inundated with television, internet, and paper advertisements in connection with the 2014 elections. Certainly there are a variety of important issues, but unfortunately, even though the majority of Americans believe that climate change is real, a very minor percentage rank it as priority issue when making a decision how to vote (see http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/23/most-americans-believe-in-climate-change-but-give-it-low-priority/). This is somewhat disheartening, and is an area where I believe Jewish ...
Out of the ark and into the garden: The story of Noah in the Sabbatical year
- October 24, 2014
There are three places in the Torah which talk about human beings and the animals – including wild animals – sharing one food supply. In Eden, in the ark during the flood, and in the Sabbatical year or Shmita. There’s a lot more to these stories, but you don’t really need to know much more to understand the basic message of the Torah. We lived with the wild animals once, rather than carving out separate spaces for us and our domesticated fellow travelers. According to the Torah, that is the real truth, and all the owning and property and buying and selling is an ...
Religious Environmentalists
- October 14, 2014
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This month I want to highlight the various groups that continue to do amazing work throughout the various faith communities. Coming together as Jewish environmentalists to collaborate and share ideas is crucial, but I am also a strong believer in working with other faith communities, especially when it comes to advocacy. The following are several groups I think do fantastic work and can be excellent partners and/or resources in connection with environmental learning and activism: GreenFaith (http://greenfaith.org/): GreenFaith has an amazing fellowship program ...
Cranberry Shabbat with Mayan Tikvah
- October 5, 2014
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Cranberry Shabbat Saturday, October 25, Raindate, November 1 Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston Join us for our annual Cranberry Shabbat. We will intermix songs and prayers with wild cranberry picking, and share a picnic lunch at the end. Please bring something to share and your own drinks and utensils. (Warm soup sounds good for a picnic in October!) Also bring containers for the cranberries. Most of our pickings will be given to a homeless shelter for their Thanksgiving dinner. There may be muddy spots, so be prepared footwear-wise, and it could be windy and chilly ...
Al Chet – Confession for the Earth
- October 3, 2014
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by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen Eternal God, You created earth and heavens with mercy, and blew the breath of life into animals and humans. We were created amidst a world of wholeness, a world called "very good," pure and beautiful, but now your many works are being erased by us from the book of life. Not by our righteousness do we plead our prayers before You, Holy One of All, for we have sinned, we have despoiled, we have destroyed. And so we confess together our collective sins, and ask for forgiveness: For the sin which we have committed before You intentionally or ...
