 |
Environmental
Public Policy and Advocacy in the Jewish Community
A common phrase for Jewish social action is tikkun
olam, “mending the world.” Repairing
the torn and tattered fabric of creation, human
and nonhuman, is a task that can be taken on at
the scale of the individual household or congregation,
but many environmental problems can only be addressed
at the level of whole communities, from the local
to the national and international.
Not only have national Jewish organizations such
as the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism addressed
national environmental policy concerns, but local
congregations and associations have also worked
directly on local and regional issues of ecological
integrity and environmental justice.
- The Coalition
on the Environment and Jewish Life has
brought a Jewish voice to public debates on
environmental issues. Consensus positions are
formulated through the Jewish Council for Public Affairs,
a coordinating body for 13 national and 120
local Jewish public affairs organizations. COEJL
has led or participated in several issue campaigns:
-
Operation Noah: Defending God's Endangered
Species and Habitats, was launched in 1996.
- A national Tu B'Shvat Campaign
to Protect Forests was also initiated
that same year.
- In 1997, COEJL mobilized Jewish support
for a strong U.S. position to address global
warming at the negotiations for the Kyoto
Protocol.
|
|
- COEJL has played a leading role in the Interfaith
Climate and Energy Campaign, established
in 1999, which has involved more than 1,200
religious leaders in 21 states in advocating
a sustainable energy policy.
- The faith community's campaign to protect roadless
areas in National Forests was led by COEJL,
and COEJL activists testified at Forest Service
hearings around the U.S.
- COEJL participates in Driven by Values,
an interfaith campaign to raise fuel efficiency
standards for cars and trucks.
COEJL has a Washington, D.C., office and a legislative
action alert network that sends out emails to
inform members of current issues on which they
can make their voice heard.
Find out more about COEJL's advocacy work.
- The Religious Action Center
of Reform Judaism
is the Washington, D.C.
office of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
The URJ first called for the conservation of
natural resources in 1965, and in 1991, passed
a comprehensive resolution on the environment. Read
more about the Religious Action Center's work on environmental policy.
|