72 results for tag: Supporting the Environmental Movement in Israel

Making Dance Green

By Stacey Menchel Kussell, director of Renewal: A Film About Art and Ecology Contemporary ballet and environmentalism are not topics that often go hand-in-hand. That is until you meet Israel’s Vertigo Dance Company. The dance group’s unique approach to ecological activism is the inspiration for my new film Renewal. Dance is one of Israel’s most impressive art forms, and it engages people worldwide regardless of language. Renewal is an opportunity for new audiences to learn about a unique and powerful aspect of Israeli culture, and gain new perspectives on dance and environmentalism. The documentary profiles Vertigo, a ...

Israel Environment Tour

Baruch Sienna, a Jewish environmental educator, will be leading an amazing nature/environmental tour to Israel this Feb. 26-Mar. 7, 2013. We will be hiking, birdwatching, and visiting (and eating at) organic farms, learning from environmental organizations about water pollution/restoration, waste/recycling, and alternative energy initiatives in Israel. The places we are visiting are awesome. For a full itinerary, visit www.arzaworld.com, or call toll free: 1-888-811-2812 to register or for more information. Email: israel.naturally2013@gmail.com. ...

Green Israel Shabbaton: Canoeing and Camping in the Green Mountains

Canoe through the wilderness of Vermont's Green Mountains with the Green Zionist Alliance! When: Sept. 7 — 9, 2012 Where: The Green Mountains of southern Vermont, just ~3½ hours drive from New York or Boston Join us as we revel in the beauty of early fall in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont. Enjoy a Shabbat outdoors with warm days and cool nights. Learn about environmental challenges facing Israel as well as Jewish perspectives on global environmental issues. We will paddle to a secluded campsite on a mountain lake where we will relax, reflect, study and pray. Click here for more informatio...

The Yarkon Disaster: 15 Years Later

Fifteen years ago four Australian athletes died when the bridge they were crossing collapsed over the Yarkon River in Israel. But only one of them died from the fall. The other three were killed by something more unexpected: The river's pollution. Click here to continue reading this article.

Support a joint Israeli- Palestinian organic farm!

Despite all the headlines and rhetoric of conflict here is a positive project for understanding and co-existence- Heavens Field Farm- where the emphasis is on our belonging to the land, not ownership. A small group of Israelis and Palestinians are working together to create an organic farm- a piece of land where both sides will aspire to respect each other and the Land that is our common source- of life and strife. Please check out the video and campaign on http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/95349?a=552277 . We are trying to raise our seed money for the first years planting and programming on-line. And contact us about ways to become involved ...

Think Jewishly, Act Globally: Teva Ivri at RIO+ 20

Dear Friends, A few weeks ago , I traveled with the Israeli delegation to The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The conference, titled “The Future We Want,” was an opportunity to evaluate the global progress on environmental issues since the last summit in 1992 and to commit to future changes. An amazing cross-section of humanity – heads of state, tribal kings, medicine women, and ordinary activists like me – gathered from all corners of the earth to discuss how to reduce p¬overty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection across the planet. ...

GZA Fights Fracking Deregulation in Israel

The Israeli government’s Ministry of Energy and Water is trying to exempt oil-shale frackers from regulations, which might give oil companies free reign to drill throughout the Elah Valley. But the Green Zionist Alliance has joined with others to lead an effort to stop the exemptions and stop fracking in one of the last few open spaces left between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. NOW IN ENGLISH: The 36-page translation of the KKL-JNF report. The 34-page Hebrew-language KKL-JNF report. Letter from Dr. Orr Karassin of the Green Zionist Alliance to the Ministry of Energy and Water (in Hebrew). More resources on fracking ...

“Esh, Esh Medura” (Fire, Fire, Bonfire)

by Einat Kramer, Director – Teva Ivri One of the most “Israeli” phenomena that I know is the bonfires of Lag B’Omer. Immediately after Pesach, even before the clean spring scent fades in the heat of the summer, the streets of our country are filled with children looking for firewood. They are everywhere; in forests, building sites, and among the garbage cans, they collect wood (or anything resembling wood), hauling it off in “borrowed” supermarket carts to their secret hiding place and guarding it fiercely until the holiday. Shortly after Independence Day, the energy of the firewood ...

Trees, Bikes and Nature on Yom Ha’atzmaut

NEW YORK (April 26, 2012) — Falafel fests, movie nights, dance parties — Americans celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut in many ways. But what do Israelis do on Independence Day? They head outdoors. Last year so many people jammed into the country’s de-facto national-park system, run by KKL-JNF, that parks were closed because they reached capacity. So, how many people was that, you ask? About one in every five Israelis — more than 1.5 million people — which is also about the same number of trees that have been planted in Israel since 2007 because of the work of the Green Zionist Alliance. That’s right, ...

New Materials Released for Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment!

The fourth topic in the Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, Sustainability in the Land of Israel, has just been released! Rabbinic teachings on Yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling the land of Israel) highlight the common Jewish duty to live sustainably. Our Sages made short-term sacrifices in order to preserve their resources, actions we should emulate to help us find ways for today's reality on the Land. See all Sustainability in the Land of Israel Materials! Share Year of Jewish Learning Materials with your community. Contact us about becoming a sponsor!

Clean the Land: Love It. Live It. Clean It.

It’s happened to each and every one of us. You’re at the beach in Tel Aviv, surrounded by white sand, blue sea, shining sun…and, of course, bronzed bodies. With the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store, you run to the water and jump in. “This is just too perfect! This has to be a dream!” you think to yourself. You dip your head, envisioning yourself recreating one of those movie scenes where you emerge from the water with your hair slicked, basking in the Mediterranean sun. Unfortunately, when you break the surface, you find yourself donning a hat…an empty Bamba bag that somebody ...

Cleaning and Greening Our “House” for Passover

In the days before Passover, Jews around the world traditionally spend time cleaning and checking our homes for “chametz” – leavened foods forbidden during the holiday. It is also traditionally a time for soul searching, for clearing out old “stuff” and ways of doing things. During this season of renewal, we at Teva Ivri are finding ways to check not only our homes but also our “houses of prayer.” Along with the Council for a Beautiful Israeland Green Now, Teva Ivri has just announced the first “Greenest Synagogue Contest” ever held in Israel. By launching the contest during the ...

Photo Slide Show of Samar Sand Dunes

SAMAR SAND DUNES, Israel — A barbed-wire fence runs along the edge of the dunes here, but it's not to protect them — it's to keep people from accidentally walking across the country's border with Jordan. Not that Samar hasn't needed the protection — the government was poised to raze the dunes and turn them into concrete for hotels and sidewalks. But barbed wire would not have been strong enough to hold back bulldozers. No, the bulldozers were stopped by something far more powerful: You. Thanks to the efforts of the Green Zionist Alliance, our partners in Israel and all of our supporters — ...

Israeli Technology Turns Sludge Into Electricity

By TechIsrael Staff Photo by Sustainable sanitation It may look like mud, but sludge – the “leftover” semi-solid part of the stuff we flush down the toilet or pour down the drain, is a creature unto itself. Far more toxic than plain old mud, sludge has the potential to bust a city's budget, as it needs to be treated and disposed of. But it doesn't have to be that way; in the hands of Israeli startup Global Recycling Projects Ltd. (Ecoarrow), sludge pulls its own weight – providing “free” energy by turning sludge into – electricity! It's a neat trick that GRPL pulls off using solar ...

Bittersweet Victory: Most of Samar Saved

SAMAR SAND DUNES, Israel (Feb. 5, 2012) — Nestled in the Arava Valley, in between Israel’s Eilat Mountains and the Edomite Mountains of Jordan, a tragedy and a victory sit side by side. Part of Samar — a square-mile patch of sand dunes home to scores of animals, some near extinction — has been stripped of its sand in order to make concrete. But next to the wasteland, a victory: More than two-thirds of Samar has been saved, due to the efforts of the Green Zionist Alliance and its partner organizations in Israel. On a recent day here the Samar sand dunes were tranquil and serene. The scorched earth where the dunes ...

Meet GZA Co-Founder Dr. Alon Tal in New York and California

The acute deterioration in Israel's environmental condition is only part of the social agenda that brought one million Israelis to demonstrations this past summer. Are we seeing a change in the Israeli political map and the public's ecological awareness? What policies are needed to address the steady damage to Israel's open spaces, biodiversity loss and the disappearing Dead Sea? Green Zionist Alliance Co-Founder and Green Movement Co-Chair Dr. Alon Tal, recognized by Haaretz as Israel's leading environmentalist, will present a new green agenda for Zionism and consider scenarios for progress in Israel. ...

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE SAMAR

UPDATE: Late tonight (1 a.m. Thursday Israel time Dec. 29), the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Green Course, Arava residents and the public will meet at the Samar sand dunes! Free buses leave from Tel Aviv's Central Train Station at 1 a.m. (early morning Thursday Israel time Dec. 29), next to Sixt Rental Car. Buses are scheduled to return to Tel Aviv tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. Israel's Samar sand dunes — and the unique animal species that live there — may be destroyed, unless we act now. (Photo courtesy of Taal Goldman of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studie...

Bikes, Trees and Gardens: Greening Israel Since 2001

NEW YORK (Dec. 16, 2011) — Saving wilderness, fighting fracking, protecting Israel’s 99 percent from the world's 1 percent — what a decade it’s been! This month marks the end of the 10th anniversary of the Green Zionist Alliance. Back before Israel’s Tent Cities and Occupy Wall Street, the Green Zionist Alliance began 2011 by becoming part of a successful effort to change the equation of what percentage of natural-resource profits goes to companies and what percentage goes to the Israeli public, who collectively own the resources. Fighting against some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, ...

Israeli Engineers Come Up With Way to Recycle Industrial Sludge

By Aviva Grunpeter for NTD News Photo by Anat Markram, CDEGlobalTags: Environmental legislation and its enforcement require industrial plants to take care of the sludge created during the purification of their waste, which at times can be poisonous and dangerous. So far, disposal of the harmful materials in Israel included transfer to the southern, less inhabited part of the country, where they were burned and buried. “Ecology Serviced,” an Israeli plant, has readjusted an existing technology to work towards reducing the harmful substances and recycling another part of them. And the cost of treatment was ...

Networks and the Jewish Environmental Movement

On November 8-10, I traveled to Boulder, CO for a unique post-GA event: the NetWORKS Gathering, organized by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation. According to the organizers, the event brought together "a group of exceptional innovators, activists and network curators pushing the boundaries of the most vibrant organizations, projects and communities comprising Jewish life today." It was an honor to participate and to represent a network that I'm quite fond of - the global Jewish environmental community as gathered together on Jewcology. In addition to being -- as you might guess -- an excellent opportunity to network ...