I haven't blogged for a while because of Shavuot and work overload, but there's actually been some great stuff to write about. However, I'm going to have to put off another post of our achievements to concentrate for once on the challenges. It's literally a black day for the environment in Israel:

The Knesset has just approved the construction of a new coal power-plant in Ashkelon!!!

So we've been talking about the rise in awareness, about the strength and sophistication of the Israeli environmental movement and the growing receptiveness of decision-makers: this shows we've still got a long way to go. On the flip side, the opponents' voices are being clearly heard in the media and their claims are not being simplified or marginilized and this in itself is a great advance on even a few years ago when the campaign against the planned plant began.
The decision was made by the Knesset Committee for National Infrastructure. MK Ofir Pines-Paz (Labor), head of another Knesset Committee for the Interior and Environment called the decision "a tragedy for all time." There have been a number of high-profile media articles highlighting the criticism and opposition to the plant, including a full-page feature in today's Yediot Aharonot (Israel's highest-selling daily paper) by current Heschel Fellow Amir Ben David.

I guess there' s still hope it can be stopped - the campaigners certainly aren't giving up the ghost. It's dispiriting and frustrating but it is re-assuring as I said to see the depth and professionalism of the NGOs' campaign and the prominence it's being given in the media. Where in the past (the Trans-Israel Highway campaign, for example), we may have felt like we were the proverbial dogs barking while the caravan passes by, it now seems like most of the caravan has stopped to take notice. It's just a shame that there's still a few who seem to be carrying on with their ears stuffed with coal - and that they have the power to make decisions that affect us all and our children!!!