“We have come to our homeland in order to be planted in our
natural soil from which we have been uprooted. To strike our roots deep into its life giving
substances, and to stretch out our branches in the sustaining and creating air
and sunlight of our homeland… We, who have been torn away from nature, who have
lost the savor of natural living - if we desire life, we must establish a new
relationship with nature.”
A.D. Gordon
But what relationship have
Israelis established with nature over the past 58 years? Every child has been hiking in Ein Gedi,
celebrated Lag Ba’omer from the top
of a mountain, and taken a class in yedidat
ha’aretz - knowledge of the land. Yet the Yarkon river which runs through Tel Aviv is so polluted it killed four
Australian athletes at the Maccabbi games in 1997. Ironically, the Dead Sea
is dying of thirst at a rate of more than 1 meter (3 feet) per year. A concrete jungle covers most of central Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,
Ashkelon to Haifa. Is this truly our Zionist dream?
At its core, the early
Zionist dream was a dream of reconnection to the land from which our ancestors
were torn almost two thousand years previously.
Whether a religious connection to Jerusalem
and God’s promise of this land, or a cultural nostalgia and connection to an
ancestral home, the land
of Zion was the key. When the World Zionist Congress debated the Uganda option, one fact was unmistakable; a
Zionist revolution could not be successful unless it had Zion at its core.
The Jewish people were born
of that land. Like a salmon migrating by
smell from the middle of the ocean to the exact riverhead at which it was born,
the Jewish people are called to the land.
The deserts, the hills, the rivers, and the sea beckon to us from a
young age. The intrigue of Abraham’s
desert existence (now large suburban homes), the people crossing the mighty
river Jordan (now a trickle),
The struggle at Masada (which is deteriorating
annually from pollution), these images are imprinted on the minds of Jewish
people worldwide.
This connection runs deeper
than can be taught through education.
When, at the age of sixteen, I stepped foot in Jerusalem for the first time, I smelled the
air, felt the soil and immediately felt at home. It is a feeling that in my whole life, I have
only felt in three places, my parent’s home in Vancouver,
the hof
(beach) at my Habonim Dror Machaneh
(camp), and now in Israel,
felt strongest in the desert.
“They talk about clean air
and natural resources and that's all very important. But on the other side, there is
development. I mean why have we come
here anyway? To bring the Jewish people
here back to the land
of Israel. To do this we
need development. Ultimately, in the
name of development, I am willing to sacrifice anything.”
Yitzhack
Shamir, Former Prime minister of Israel
For many years, development
was the only answer possible, our people were threatened their lives at
risk. Israel had to be strong as the last
hope for the Jewish people. But the days
of perennial threats from Israel’s
neighbors and the world have passed and with it the responsibilities of a
Zionist have changed as well.
Looking now, something has
gone terribly wrong. Love of land has
been usurped by a need for western standards of living and consumerism. Political stability has overshadowed the need
for environmental sustainability and the land of Israel,
a land we pray for at every prayer service and meal, has suffered. To ensure its
basic survival, Israel
must begin to address the multitude of environmental issues that plague its
future, and we as Diaspora Zionists have an obligation to take the lead in making
it happen.
“We must choose in this the elements
that constitute closeness to the soil, hallowing worldliness, and absorption of
the Divine in nature; and reject in this tradition the elements that constitute
remoteness from the soil, detached rationality, and nature's banishment from
the presence of God.”
Martin Buber
Though the agrarian roots of
early Zionism have long been replaced by a high tech westernized economy, it is
not be too late to salvage the meaning of religious and early Zionist thought. As the entire world awakens to the dangers
facing creation through environmental destruction, Israel
and the Jewish People must act to create a sustainable society in Israel
and beyond.
For thousands of years, our
culture, our laws, and our spirituality have centered on protecting and
praising the natural world and the land
of Israel. The ancient law of Ba’al Tashcit which forbids wanton destruction even in a time of
war, Sukkot, one week every year when
we are commanded to sleep under the stars in temporary harvest dwellings, and
of course Tu B’shvat where for the
century we’ve celebrate the lives of trees by planting new ones in the land of Israel.
Many argue that environmental
issues still cannot be addressed in Israel with so many security and
economic threats looming. However environmental
threats are paramount to security and economic threats especially in a country
as small as Israel. For example, with water levels dropping
annually, increasing demand especially in Palestinian territories and Israelis
using up to 8 times as much water as Palestinians, Israel will quickly have to find
new conservation methods if they hope to ever reach an equitable and
sustainable peace.
Much of Israel’s best agricultural land is quickly being
eaten up as urban and suburban sprawl encompasses most of central Israel, and global climate change threatens to
turn much of what’s left of Israel’s
arable lands into deserts. This decrease
in agricultural output, combined with continued population growth, is leading
to a dependency on foreign imports that no country wants to be in, especially
facing as many threats as Israel.
Only through a refocusing on
what is meant by Jewish and Zionist ethics to include love of the land and a
drive to preserve it, can we ensure the future of Israel and the Jewish people. By focusing Jewish and Zionist advocacy on
the issues facing Israel and
the world today, such as water depletion, loss of open space and global climate
change, we can add our unique and progressive voice to Israel and the Zionist movement.
A small but strong
environmental movement has formed in Israel over the past decade. Dedicated individuals are working to change
Israeli society through education, advocacy and law. In North America,
a growing number of environmentally conscious Jews are banding together to add
their voice to the call of Israelis concerned about their health and their
forests.
The Green Zionist Alliance (www.greenzionism.org),
formed in 2001 as the first environmental Zionist slate to run in the
history of the World Zionist Congress. The GZA won a seat to the Congress in
June 2002 and was able, through working with Mercaz Olami (the Conservative
movements Zionist slate), to secure two seats on the board of the KKL (the JNF
in Israel).
Dr. Alon Tal, founder of Adam Teva ve Din and the Arava Institute for
Environmental Studies as Eilon Swartz, the Executive Director of The
Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership have brought
a strong environmental voice to the policies of the KKL. The GZA is positioned
to have a greater impact in the upcoming elections next year. Your help is
critical for us to succeed.
In my work as a Jewish
environmental educator I have seen thousands of children and adults who have
had the same epiphany that I did; The
realization that as Jews and as
human beings we must fight for the preservation of the planet and the land of Israel.
Many have made Aliyah with the goals of pioneering this new understanding;
others have formed Diaspora based organizations such as the Green Zionist
Alliance.
Action speak loud than words!
Remember that environmental issues
are global issues. Along with fighting
to protect wild spaces in Israel,
we must change our own actions on this continent, actions that threaten global
security as a whole. We are connected to
the land and all lands are connected to each other. Make a change in your life today to help
protect the future of our people and the world.