94 results for tag: Israel / Zionism / Middle East

Trees without Bulldozers: Environmental Justice for the Bedouin

NEW YORK (March 17, 2011) — When David Ben-Gurion envisioned making the desert bloom, bulldozing Bedouin villages to make way for new groves of trees is not exactly what he had in mind. But, in the name of environmentalism, that is exactly what Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael / Jewish National Fund did recently, bulldozing the village of al-Araqib for the 21st time since last July as part of its $600-million Blueprint Negev project. It gets worse: In order to plant the new grove of trees, KKL-JNF also bulldozed about 850 olive trees owned by the villagers of al-Araqib. And the bulldozing has not been bloodless: Village residents and ...

Urban Crayola tools

Oh wow..! What a day it was… we started early morn the truck arrives with trees and bougainvilleas in all rainbow shades that lift our hearts already. The new immigrants coming straight from Ulpan (Hebrew class) folding sleeves and starting to work the staff from Netafim (a big local-based and international irrigation company) that have been aiding us from day one and have agreed to come and pitch in. It’s happening at last – we are growing and will now be able to offer 30 more plots for growing vegetables in the middle of the urban prairie. This move is after our 50 plots are already operated by families from the adjacent Ethiopian ...

Topsy-Turvy World: Environmental Campaign Relaunched

GZA members enjoyed their tour of the Topsy Turvy Bus at the Green Israel Summit this past October. NEW YORK (Feb. 11, 2011) — Long past December, this year’s Chanukah miracle is that the oil is still burning. Fueled by cooking oil first used during the Green Zionist Alliance’s Chanukah party at Greenpoint Shul, the Topsy Turvy Bus begins its third Jewish environmental tour today in Raleigh, N.C. The GZA’s Chanukah oil alone, though, may not have gotten the bus past Delaware, and the miracle would have stopped there. But scores of people and about a dozen co-sponsoring organizations have ...

My Oh Mayim: Rethinking Water Usage in a Land Flowing with Milk and Honey, but Little Water.

Ushavtem mayim b'sason.Draw water in joy. A classic song of joy danced to at every celebration by millionsof Jews worldwide. Jews sing and dance about water at every proayer service and celebration. Through our prayer, song and dance, we hope that Israel willhave enough water for the coming year. The last couple of years have seen the harshest drought to hit the region in decades. Demand for water is high and continues to grow as population expands, therefore Israel's fresh (sweet) water resources are quickly drying up, and Israelis know it. Israeli society Is quickly working to address the region's water shortages before the ...

Power to the People? Energy Battle in Israel Pits Firms vs. Public Interest

NEW YORK (Feb. 4, 2011) — This month, the Knesset will make one of the most important votes in its history. After all, it’s not every day that a country has the opportunity to revolutionize life for its people. Of course, it’s not every day that a country discovers more than $300 billion in the ground. But after finding some of the largest natural-gas deposits in the world just off of its coast, that’s the situation in which Israel finds itself. The Tamar and Leviathan gas fields can change life for every Israeli. Currently, Israeli law requires that only 30 to 33 percent of the profits from selling natural ...

Eco-Israel Spring 2011 Semester

Hi everyone, As a newbie to Jewcology I am just figuring my way around here so I'll make this brief and to the point. Hava & Adam Eco-Educational farm is gearing up for our sixth semester of Eco-Israel which starts February 21. We still have some spots left so if you know of anyone who wants to experience hands-on what it means to live more sustainability, to learn natural building methods, medicinal herbs, permaculture design, recycling, gray water and all that good 'ole ecological living send them to our website (http://eco-israel.org). Our program is 5 months and very reasonably priced and with potential Masa funding it's a ...

Trees: The Ultimate Environmentalists

15 Shvat, 5771 — Trees just might be the ultimate environmentalists. They provide shelter and food for animals large and small. They nourish the soil with their fallen leaves, and protect it with their strong roots. And trees not only pump oxygen into the atmosphere, allowing every animal on the surface of the planet to breathe, they also filter out greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as precursors to acid rain, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. How many other environmentalists can claim that? We can only aspire to help the environment as much as trees do. So perhaps one of the most import...

An Unexpected Connection

What do Jerusalem and Charlottesville, Virginia have in common? Each has a highly successful pedestrian mall designed by Lawrence Halpin. Jerusalem has Rechov Ben-Yehudah (Ben Yehudah Street). Charlottesville has the Downtown Mall. You might be wondering what the significance of all this is, but all that will get cleared up momentarily. Pedestrian malls as well as highways, rail lines, suburbs, and cities are all human artifacts. Designed by landscape architects, architects, and urban planners, these spaces at their best are a reflection of the culture and environment in which they exist. When functioning properly, they can enhance local ...

Sharing God’s Green Earth: Planting a Green World by Engaging the Greater Community

NEW YORK (Dec. 23, 2010) — On the eve of the eve of the most widely celebrated Jewish baby’s birthday ever, a holy day for billions of Christians around the world, it’s important to remember that we Jews only make up about two tenths of one percent of the world’s population. So if we’re going to green the world, we can’t do it alone. We need to engage with our brothers and sisters of all faiths. In Israel, that means that we need to work with Christians and Muslims, both within Israel and in Israel’s neighboring lands as well, because nature knows no borders. The Green Zionist Alliance, for example, ...

Think Israel, Act Local

Most of us know by now that our personal actions have global consequences. What and how much we drive, fly, eat, and shop, contributes to a litany of global environmental challenges, topped by climate change. The mantra, ‘Think global, act local’, was adopted in the 1980s as a rallying cry for personal responsibility in a global age. Environmental concerns to this point had primarily been local; however a new generation of global environmental challenges were forcing people to look beyond their home communities. Unfortunately, this new global vision came with its own challenges. While the statement’s sentiment is true, it ...

After the fire: It’s time to help — and heal

An Israeli firefighter walks past the remains of a house in Yemin Orde. (AP, via Newsday) By David Krantz NEW YORK (Dec. 6, 2010) — 42 people dead. 250 homes ravaged. 12,300 acres razed. 5 million trees burned. In the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in Israeli history, we are left wondering how we can help Israel recover after the fire. Fortunately, many organizations are taking quick action, and there are many ways that you can help. Donations to any of these organizations will help fire-relief efforts. In terms of forest, there’s a lot of replanting to do. ...

Come pray for Rain! ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????

Come Join (and bring) children from all religions to join in a prayer for rain at Ein Chiniya spring. Monday, December 6th, there will be a musical gathering at Ein Chiniya (just past the checkpoint by Ein Yael, southwest Jerusalem) with musicians Ehud Banai, Shlomo Bar and Khalil al-Mustafi. All are invited, perhaps Hashem will have compassion in the merit of the voices and prayers of our littlest humans, perhaps in the merit of the children Avraham being together, The gathering will start at 11:00am, ,11:15 will be drums and prayers, and at 11:30 will begin this special concert! Don't let the forecast hold you ...

Chanukah: The Holiday of Energy Conservation

NEW YORK (Dec. 2, 2010) — Chanukah isn’t just our Festival of Lights — it’s our Holiday of Energy Conservation. And the Maccabees are the answer to climate change. Think about it: They made one day’s worth of oil last for eight days! If we conserved energy like the Maccabees did, we could put OPEC out of business. The Maccabees did it with a miracle; we can do it through small changes. The Green Zionist Alliance is working to conserve Israel’s energy through transitioning buildings to energy-efficient lighting and agency fleets to fuel-efficient vehicles while installing energy-generating solar panels ...

Turning the General Assembly into a Green Assembly

NEW YORK (Nov. 15, 2010) — It’s not easy being green, but it’s certainly possible. While the Jewish Federations’ General Assembly and International Lion of Judah Conference in New Orleans accomplished important work this past week, it did so at the expense of the environment. Organizers of the conferences didn’t provide recycling or composting containers. Instead, the two meetings produced a massive amount of non-biodegradable plastic trash. Every single meal was served on plastic with individually wrapped plastic flatware. Boxed lunches came with plastic water bottles. The community-service component of ...