Heschel Updates and Shana Tova

from the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership

Shana Tova,

We would like to extend our warmest Jewish New Year greetings to all friends and supporters of the Heschel Center. It has been a very busy and productive year and, along with the severe and growing challenges, there is a sense that momentum is building which will, we hope, lead Israel towards a sustainable future.

We hope you will enjoy reading what we’ve been doing in this High Holidays bumper issue.

Hike the Israel National Trail - Join us in March 2008!

Just launched - Details of an unforgettable 4-day hike from northern Israel to the Sea of Galilee, hosted by the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership and Hazon. You are invited to join us to hike a section of the Israel National Trail, 23-27 March 2008.

Highlights will include:

• Through the spring flowers of the Upper Galilee
• Up to the peak of the highest mountain in the Galilee
• Into the running streams of Nahal Amud
• Up to the ancient city of Tzfat
• Down through the canyon of Nahul Amud
• And winding up at the shores of the Kinneret

Full details of the hike are on the web at www.hikeisrael.org

American Friends of Heschel - Israel study tour 2007

In March 2007 a group from American Friends of Heschel took part in a five-day study tour called "Building a sustainable society: Israel through the eyes of the Heschel Center." The densely-packed study tour included visits to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, many towns and villages in the north of Israel and stimulating seminars with Heschel staff, Environmental Fellows, Members of Knesset, and other activists and educators who are playing a major role in finding solutions to Israel's environmental and sustainability challenges. A short film about the Heschel Center's impact can be viewed here.

Some highlights included visits with:

Hussein Tarabiah Environmental Fellow and founder-director of the Regional Center for Environmental Education and R&D (TAEQ) in the Beit Natofa Basin near Sakhnin. The Sakhnin Center is home now to an international model project that will bring advanced wastewater treatment to rural areas across the Middle East. Now with funding from the EU, the systems developed at the Center can be replicated in other arid areas cost effectively, bringing safe irrigation water to rural towns and villages.

Amiad Lapidot, an Environmental Fellow and leader of a not-for-profit composting organization (Eretz Carmel) who has built a sustainably constructed house, using four shipping containers to form the studs for the walls. The thick, insulated walls are plaster over hay bales. Ducting connects low-and-high points throughout the structure to facilitiate good airflow and passive heating and cooling. His home is a success - both in terms of its environmental functionality and its beauty.

Orly Peled, a Heschel Board member who, with other Jewish members of the community of Messaveret Zion, helped to mount a legal case to ensure that the construction of Israel's Security Fence would not prevent Arab farmers (falahin) from the neighboring village of Beit Sourik from accessing their agricultural fields. The integrity of these communities and their relationship to land above politics is a cornerstone of sustainability.

Hussein Tarabiah, General Manager of the Beit Natofa Towns Association for Environmental Quality and Heschel Fellow, describes the old way of waste water treatment at the center - open settling ponds that contributed to greenhouse gases, and posed a threat to soil and water resources

Orly Peled, resident activist at Mevasseret Zion and graduate of the Heschel Environmental Fellows program talks about the location of the security fence between her home and a neighboring Palestinian village.

Read more about the March 2007 study tour here.

American Friends of Heschel - Donations are now tax-free

The American Friends of Heschel is now registered as 501(c)(3) organization, qualified to receive tax deductible contributions under the U.S. Internal Revenue Service code. Click here to make a secure online donation.

New book on Judaism and environment

Dr. Jeremy Benstein, deputy director of the Heschel Center, has just published a new book:

The Way into Judaism And the Environment.

Whether you're an experienced environmental activist, or newly-arrived to the awareness of ecological responsibility, you'll find this book to be rewarding reading.

"Clear and thorough ... brilliantly articulates a mandate of Jewish activism that is rooted in Jewish tradition and speaks to the broad range of issues we face in our twenty-first-century global village. Moves seamlessly between Jewish texts, theology and modern scientific thinking, at a level that a lay reader can easily follow.... A much needed resource to the field of Jewish environmentalism." - Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

Read reviews or purchase the book here

New look for the Heschel Center's website

The English-language version of the Heschel Center website has undergone a makeover! The new site is easier to navigate, provides more information and updates about programs and activities at Heschel, and has a search function. Secure online donations can also be made through the website. Go to http://heschel.org.il/eng/ to see our new look!

New Environmental Fellows for 2007-2008

The new group of Heschel Environmental Fellows for 2007-2008 has been announced. The 19 Fellows represent a diverse array of professions and backgrounds, including Eldad Garfunkel, an entrepreneur, owner and CEO of Alfanus.com for Arabic internet services, who was among the founders of the joint Jewish-Arab bilingual school of the Galilee; Raya Vulkan, agronomist and environmental activist, who runs the field services laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Negev, and heads the Environment Committee of the Ramat Hanegev Regional Authority (home of Israel's toxic waste site, Ramat Hovav); and Noam Schneider, producer and editor in chief of the "Civil Guard" investigative television series. Equally distinguished are the other Fellows: Kamel Agbaria, Nimi Ashkar, Amir Ben-David, Galit Cohen, Joseph Cory, Avi Dabush, Niv Ein-Gal, Michal Eitan, Galia Feit, Dror Feuer, Yael Greenberg, Eti Livni, Yafit Sabag, Mimi Tresman, Sigal Yaniv Feller, and Tami Zori. View short biographies of all the new Fellows here.

Environmental Fellows Alumni workshop - Buzzing with ideas

This year’s Environmental Fellows Alumni workshop, held on the summer solstice (June 21), was a great success. The 45 Fellows from various years who attended created a lively and dynamic atmosphere, sharing information about their current sustainability initiatives and seeking input and collaboration for moving ahead with new ideas and activities. Some examples:

Tomer Yaffe presented his project for promoting composting through the Jewish tradition of Shmitah, the year during which farmland in the Land of Israel has to remain uncultivated. The shmitah occurs every seven years, and the next is 5768 (2007-8). During the shmitah, Orthodox households separate their organic and non-organic waste as it is not permitted to "waste" food. Any food that cannot be eaten must be stored separately from other waste and allowed it to break down before it can be disposed of. Tomer's project aims to work with religious communities in order to take the very simple extra step of composting the organic household waste and hopefully making it a permanent habit. Tomer holds a bachelor's degree in animal science and a master's in environmental studies and agriculture from the Agriculture School of the Hebrew University. Formerly national coordinator of household composting for the Ministry of the Environment, he now runs workshops on waste, recycling, and compost-making.

Roni Lev presented on the topic of Biomimicry - the application of methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. From the lecture: "Biomimicry is a new-old science that studies nature's models and takes inspiration from these designs for creating sustainable products (e.g. velcro, lotus effect and so on). Nature has been solving design problems for millions of years. Over time, it has learned what works, what is appropriate, and what lasts by using ecological standards to measure innovations. The uniqueness of biomimicry is in the cooperation between biologists and designers who are looking together for sustainable solutions through nature. Instead of high temperatures and pollutant chemicals, biomimicry offers biotechnology systems. We can't ignore that sometimes the proposed process includs nano and/or genetic engineering, which might have uncertain effects. However, biomimicry is undoubtedly a promising area, which may cause design to become more sustainable."

Roni is a lecturer in biotechnology and sustainable design, instructs teachers in ecology and nature studies, and coordinates joint Jewish-Arab educational projects. She has a PhD in the study of plants from Tel-Aviv University.

Chaim Glencer is participating in a committee established by the Ministry of Housing to formulate guidelines for planning condominiums in Israel. The committee consists of the top building industry experts in Israel: architects, civil, environmental and transportation engineers, assessors, economists etc. As a graduate of the Heschel Environmental Fellows Program, Chaim's main contribution is the promotion of regulations and obligations for green building to be included in the guidelines. Chaim is also a member of "The Movement for the Enhancement of Jerusalem," where he is working on a new project to convert Jerusalem into a World Ecological Center, where ecology may become a common language joining people with different political views to work together for the future of Jerusalem.

Chaim is a civil engineer and real estate assessor; director of the Institute for Real Estate Appraising and Engineering and academic advisor in real estate studies at the School for Management.

Read more about the Environmental Fellows Program here.

Environmental Fellow turns trash into art for "Cool Globe" exhibition

Sustainable designer, artist, and Heschel Environmental Fellow Yair Engel recently showcased his contribution to the international exhibition “CoolGlobes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet,” an innovative project that uses the medium of public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming. From June-September 2007, the City of Chicago is hosting the exhibition of over 120 sculpted globes, each five feet in diameter, designed using a variety of materials to transform their plain white sphere to create awareness and provoke discussion about potential solutions to global warming.The project was developed by environmental activist Wendy Abrams. Yair's globe is entitled "Affluenza" - a term used by critics of consumerism. Using waste products like plastic shampoo bottles, broken toys, and product packaging to achieve a highly three-dimensional effect, his colorful and thought provoking globe issues an important missive: stop over-consumption of material goods. The Globe is currently on display in globe is displayed in the lobby of the Sears Tower in Chicago. Watch a video about the exhibition here. (Photo by Buzz Orr. Globe and Mr. Engel's participation sponsored by The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies and The Green Environment Fund)

Environmental Fellows' Projects in 2006-2007

The Eighth group of Environmental Fellows recently completed their training program. At the final meeting, the Fellows presented their implementation projects to a group of supporters and associates. The projects are at different stages of development from creation of a workplan, through initial stages of implementation and up to one which has already been completed and executed: Haim Rivlin's prime-time television news series was aired a few months ago and he is already developing a follow-up project.

1. Yotam Avizohar - Empowering Local Activists to Promote Sustainable Transport

2. Uriel Babczyk - Planning a Model Sustainable Multi-Cultural Neighborhood (Kiryat Shalom, South Tel Aviv)

3. Ayelet Bargur - Establishing a Fund To Support Social-Environmental Documentary Films

4. Kifah Daghash - Establishing an Arab Eco-Village in the Galilee

5. Shahar Dolev - Replacing the GDP - Alternative Growth Index for Progress and Well-Being

6. Valerie Pohoryles - Saving the Coastal Aquifer: Centralizing Water Treatment and Systemic Pollution Prevention to Safeguard Drinking Water Sources

7. Guy Rilov - Changing People's Consumption Habits around Plastic Bags

8. Chaim Rivlin - Television News Series on the Climate Crisis

9. Daniella Rub - Engaging and Training Citizens for Public Participation on the Municipal Level

10. Shahar Sadeh - Establishing a Framework for Sustainable Planning of the Eventual Resettlement of Evacuees from the Territories

11. Yaron Shapira - Promoting Sustainability Among Israeli Secondary Students - Pilot Project

12. Zohar Shkalim - The Polluter Pays: - Increasing Economic Enforcement of Environmental Offenses in the Ministry of the Environment

13. Yaakov Zilberstein - Community Gardens - The Family Garden as a Worldview

See more details on these projects here.

Capacity Building for Sustainable Local Economies

The Heschel Center recently received a grant from the Natan Fund for a new project to tackle one of the most basic problems of economic development – the cycle of poverty perpetuated by the growing socio-economic gaps between center of the country, and northern and southern periphery regions. In our view, what is needed is a program which involves citizens in planning their own economic future based on their community's inherent advantages and resources – building the capacity for sustainable economic development and encouraging local enterprise. The Capacity Building for Sustainable Local Economies project seeks to achieve this goal by creating an empowered young leadership from the disadvantaged periphery that will stimulate local economic entrepreneurship, creating economic activities that circulate money locally and enhance social and natural capital in the process of economic development. The Heschel Center will create and execute a training program based on successful and proven tools, processes and experience developed by the London-based new economics foundation, selecting and adapting them to fit the needs and challenges of diverse communities in Israel. The Heschel Center develops local leaders who can see how their community's economic, social, and environmental problems and solutions are interconnected and related to questions of the shape of society as a whole. The solutions they will create, linking together social, environmental and economic issues within their own towns, will create a strategic basis for a sustainable Israeli economy. Our approach embodies the environmental slogan "Think global, act local" – the issues are treated on a local level but within a wider context of their effects and as part of a national and international network. The project will be directed by the Heschel Center's Academic Supervisor, Dr Lia Ettinger.

Dr Lia Ettinger, director of the Capacity Building for Sustainable Local Economies project

New Horizons - new project focusing on sustainable production and consumption

New Horizons is a new Heschel Center initiative which aims to promote policies leading to sustainable energy production and consumption through work with fovernment ministries. The New Horizons project, developed in collaboration with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, aims to promote the integration of sustainable energy into public sector policy, both on national and local levels. The Heschel Center’s New Horizons team is headed by Dr. Lia Ettinger, one of the leading experts of sustainability in Israel. Other team members include Orli Ronen, head of the Local Sustainability Center, Dr. Shahar Dolev, who specializes in ecological economics, and Eyal Biger, who specializes in sustainable energy. The New Horizons team plans to utilize the experience of the Wuppertal Institute to encourage Israel to take part in the Marrakech Process - the international collective effort to develop a ten-year framework program on sustainable consumption and production as required by the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation signed at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002. Israel is not yet part of this process. The workplan for New Horizons this year will include: undertaking a literature review and study of innovative models for sustainable energy procurement and awareness-raising of the importance of sustainable production and consumption; mapping the market of relevant energy-related products and relevant stakeholders among government and local authority officials, businesses, members of civil society organizations and academics; and convening conferences, meetings, and a Steering Committee in preparation for implementation of sustainable energy consumption patterns and programs in Israel. The project is generously support by the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

The Good Energy Initiative - reducing carbon emissions and helping communities

The Bedouin villages of Abu-Kuidar, and El-Sara in the Negev desert will soon be producing clean renewable energy using solar panels, thanks to the Good Energy Initiative (GEI). The GEI is a task force established by the Heschel Center which acts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) production and emissions, and to support energy independence for Israel by means of energy efficiency and alternative technologies. It is a social venture with an economic investment approach, in which revenues are channeled into non-profit social/environmental activities. Businesses interested in mitigating/offsetting carbon emissions generated by their own activities can purchase offsetting credits from a GEI project which enables communities in Israel to reduce their carbon emissions as well as making their environment cleaner and healthier.

The Bedouin project is one of several such initiatives. Most off-grid unrecognised Bedouin villages use diesel power generators which produce expensive, polluting and limited electricity, while solar systems afford clean, 24-h renewable electricity. The Bedouin project will offset 11,000 tons of carbon dioxide. This project was certified by a renowned American evaluating institution (Climate Neutral Network of Portland), and credits were put on the market as of July 2007.

Read about other Good Energy Initiative projects here

Green School Network News

The Green Network has just begun its new year (September 1st), preceded by the annual teachers conference in late August. This was the final activity overseen by David Dunetz, founding-director of the Green Network for the last eight years (which he formed as his graduate project from the first year of the Fellows Program). David leaves the network at a time of strength and success as reflected in his comments on the conference:

"We had a year-opening 2-day conference which was very successful - over 70 teachers attended - focusing on this year's theme 'community and sustainability.' There were 3 different field trips: to Kalansawa, an Arab city, to seaside communities and one to the more rural Sharon. The conference is a chance for new teachers to get oriented and for teachers to start to gel as local teams began working on this years' work plan.

The GSN stands to grow this year as over 30 new schools are joining from the Triangle area for Arab towns and from Beduin settlements in the Negev. This is an exciting challenge to increase the pluralistic nature of the Network and build Jewish Arab ties around environmental activism and education.

I am in my last days in the Green Network and wrapping up final projects. Daniel Trilnick began work this week as Director and brings with him expertise and enthusiasm."

It has been a busy year for the Green School Network (Reshet Yeruka). Some achievements this year:

• Jewish Community Networks in Bat Yam, Acco, Netanya, Carmel Region, Rosh Ha'ayin have continued to develop joint projects linking schools and community to the environment, and new networks are beginning to develop in other communities.
• The Green School Network in the Arab Sector has grown significantly and now comprises nearly a third of the GSN participating schools. This offers an excellent springboard for expanding cooperative projects between Arab and Jewish schools, and there is interest in expanding the current model to other areas (Taibe and Kalansawa) next year. Similarly, there are positive initial signs for sprouting a local network in Bedouin schools in the Negev.
• 18 school principals and educators from all over the country met in an intensive seminar on the theme of "sustainability and education".
• The Eco-Ocean "Along the Sea" project expanded to over 20 schools this year in new community networks (Akko, Netanya), and there are opportunities for creating a similar model for the Red Sea in Eilat.
• The National Young Environmental Leadership Conference included 2000 participants from Green Network schools all over Israel.

Read more about the Green School Network here

Sustainable Cities Forum established in Israel

In May 2007 the Minister of Environment, Mr. Gideon Ezra, and other Ministry officials met with mayors and with chairpersons of Environment and Sustainability Committees in local authorities in the Central District, for the first-ever conference on promoting environmental protection and sustainable development in Israel. This conference was part of an array of activities promoted by the Ministry for Environment via the Center for Local Sustainability, a partner organization of the Heschel Center. A landmark outcome of the conference was the establishment of a Forum of Sustainable Municipalities from the Central District of Israel, which will coordinate the efforts to promote sustainable development in Central Israel, along with establishing new Environment and Sustainability Committees and empowering existing ones. Read more about the Center for Local Sustainability here.

Pratt Awards demonstrate increase in quality of environmental reporting in Israel

The judging panel at the annual Pratt Awards for environmental reporting in Israel noted the very high caliber of entries over the past year. The Pratt Prizes are awarded in the framework of the Heschel Center's Media Project, devoted to improving the coverage and analysis of social environmental issues in the media, supported by the Pratt Foundation. In March 2007, prizes were awarded for media reporting in 2006.

The Broadcast Journalism prize was awarded to the Channel 2 News "Friday Night Studio" for the investigative report by Yossi Mizrahi and Haim Rivlin – "The City in Grey." The reporters undertook a comprehensive in-depth investigation which led to a fascinating, professional and hard-hitting expose about the struggle of the residents of the Haifa Bay and the North against industrial pollution.

The Community and Independent Journalism prize was awarded to Hadassah Ben-Herzl (pictured above), independent filmmaker, for her profile "How Beautiful You Are, My Rosh Pina". According to the judges, the piece, which deals with the unrestrained development boom that Rosh Pina is undergoing, can be seen as a microcosm of many of Israel's environmental problems and the "vicious circle" it portrays of poorly planned building and destruction of the environment reflects universal issues. The subject is clearly of deep personal significance to the independent filmmaker, and emphasized that her personal commitment and investment in her own creations are a valuable local contribution.

The Local Journalism category prize was awarded to Oded Bar Meir, for his regular contributions to "Kol HaNegev" – "The Voice of the Negev" weekly newspaper. Oded Bar Meir has been the environmental correspondent for close to a decade in the Kol HaNegev local paper of Yediot Media. The jury was impressed by the consistently high-quality and in-depth coverage of the varied and complex issues of the Negev. The judges stated that Oded illuminates the "dark corners" of the many problems facing the Negev. The editors of the paper were also praised for giving his articles center-stage, despite their challenge to strong institutional interests, such as his hard-hitting piece on the location of the large new military base, planned near to the Ramat Hovav toxic waste site.

The National Print Media prize was awarded to Tamara Traubman and Yulie Khromchenko of "Ha'aretz" newspaper, for their series of articles on the processed food industry, in particular those items of the daily diet that have a "healthy" image. The series looked at these products, their ingredients and production methods from a critical environmental perspective. The judges singled this out as the best and most professional series that they had seen in recent years, noteworthy for its in-depth investigation and integrated approach.

Read more about the Pratt Prize for environmental journalism here

“Between Health and Environment” - Maof Seminar 2007

There is much evidence that our society's treatment of the environment has far-reaching health implications. With each advance in scientific research, more and more connections are being found between diseases and environmental factors. These links between health and the environment were the key focus for the Heschel Center's ninth Maof seminar held in May 2007. The Maof Program provides a platform for free-flowing exchange and inter-organizational networking amongst social-environmental organizations in Israel. The aim of the “Between health and environment” seminar was to build the capacity among health professionals and environmental NGOs, in order to create agents of change in education, policy, research, health practice and civil public action with respect to the links between health and the environment. Forty-four representatives from twenty-seven organizations took part in the seminar, and a number of work groups were formed to focus on the following issues in the coming year: Air pollution, chemicals, environmental impact surveys, cancer, radiation, and women's health. Placing environmental issues on the agenda of patient and health organizations was another major outcome of the seminar. For example, the breast cancer advocacy NGO, One of Nine has decided to devote the upcoming breast cancer awareness day to the issue of dangerous chemicals, and has begun working with the Heschel Center in its planning.

Ecological economics course a hit with participants

The Israeli Forum for Sustainable Economics together with the Heschel Center recently conducted a first course titled "Introduction for Ecological Economics". The course enrollment exceeded all expectations with 50 students from various backgrounds and disciplines, including young adults on national service, students, economists, architects, and teachers. The course was so successful that participants insisted on continuing the meetings and focusing on practical actions after the course. Three working groups were established, with focus on economy, education, and planning and architecture. The groups have continued to learn about issues related to ecological economics, and are now in a process of focusing on projects to promote ecological economics in Israel. Read more about the sustainable economics forum here.

Enviromental Insights from Judaic Sources - Yom Kippur

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Tax-free donations to the Heschel Center can be made here.

This newsletter was prepared largely by Rachel Bolstad, who worked at the Heschel Center as an intern this summer, and deserves all the thanks and credit.