Green Zionist Alliance: The Grassroots Campaign for a Sustainable Israel (The organization's former name is now used as a project name.[4][5]) The Green Zionist Alliance works on issues related to theenvironment ofIsrael and theMiddle East.
Jewcology: Home of the Jewish Environmental Movement: Jewcology.org is an online resource for information on Jewish environmentalism, and includes resources such as a job board and an interactive map of Jewish environmental initiatives.[4][6]
Jews of the Earth: Jews of the Earth organizes Jews locally and nationally for environmental action.[4]
Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth: An environmental-advocacy group that Aytzim runs in partnership with GreenFaith, Shomrei Breishit includes more than 100 Jewish clergy, including chief rabbis.[7]
Aytzim also runs an internship program; hosts an English-language compilation of educational materials, research papers, academic papers, news articles, videos and books about Israel's environment; has student chapters, including "Yovel: Aytzim atNYU";[8] and runs occasional conferences and weekend retreats.[9]
Aytzim has been criticized (predominately by the conservativeHudson Institute historianArthur Herman) for its stance against hydrofracking,[10][11][12] with Herman labeling the GZA in theNew York Post as "running against the tide of technology".[12] The organization also has been criticized for its support of environmentalism andtikkun olam.[13] Others have been critical of Aytzim's stance againstBDS;[14] forgreenwashing Israel;[15][16][17][18][19] for participating in thePeople's Climate March;[18][17][20][15][21][22] for associating with Israel andZionism;[18][23][24] for working with Jewish National Fund;[25] and for its participation in a process that largely favors Israel's political status quo.[16] Some individuals have criticized the GZA for its promotion of community gardens, charging that making community gardens more widely available is patronizing to the public. Others see Zionism's mission as finished with theestablishment of the modern state of Israel and they question the relevance of the entire system of legacy Zionist organizations formed by theWorld Zionist Organization and its constituent agencies.[26]
In response to perceived negligence in environmentally stewarding the land of Israel, as philosopherMartin Buber first observed,[27] the Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) was founded in 2001 byAlon Tal, Eilon Schwartz and Rabbi Michael Cohen,[28][29] with a large team of other volunteers, includingAdam Werbach,[30]Devra Davis and current Aytzim leadership—although its Jews of the Earth project originally was founded by Daniel Ziskin as an independent nonprofit in 1999[31] and merged into Aytzim in 2019.[citation needed]
In 2002 the GZA became the firstenvironmental party at theWorld Zionist Congress,[32][33] where it has had elected representation since and until the start of the 38th Congress. Through this process, the organization succeeded in the appointment of environmental leaders, including Tal and Schwartz, to the board of the Keren Kayemet L'Yisrael (KKL /Jewish National Fund in Israel).[34] For more than a dozen years, Aytzim representation had included Tal and Orr Karassin.[28][35]
In 2006 the GZA incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
In late September 2014, the GZA acquired Jewcology.org from fellow Jewish-environmental group Canfei Nesharim and, in partnership with GreenFaith, launched a Jewish-clergical environmental advocacy group called Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth.[36] To better reflect the scope of the organization's work, the GZA rebranded itself as Aytzim, keeping the Green Zionist Alliance name both legally and for its Israel-focused work.[5][4]
Since its founding as the Green Zionist Alliance, Aytzim has been a factor in the greening of Israeli policy—both internally and in its interactions with other countries—although that greening has led to charges of greenwashing,as discussed above. Still, as an all-volunteer organization, Aytzim's accomplishments include quadrupling funding forafforestation;[28] building newbicycle lanes in Israel;[28] developing an environmental program for villagers inRwanda;[28] saving the unique ecosystem of theSamar sand dunes in theArava Valley from destruction;[44] and helping Israel transition from incandescent toenergy-efficient lighting.[45]
Aytzim has worked to green the activities of quasi-governmental organizations, such as legacy Zionist organizations Jewish National Fund and theJewish Agency, including the installation of rooftop energy-generatingsolar panels and indoor energy-efficient lighting;[5][46] the planned transition of vehicles in their fleets to high fuel-efficiency andalternative-fuel models;[46] the development of seven-year environmental plans, inspired by theshmita sabbatical cycle, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in Israel;[5] the inclusion ofenvironmental education for newimmigrants to Israel;[5][46] the development ofcommunity gardens at immigrant-housing centers;[46] and increased support for in-countrycarbon-mitigating projects andlocalorganic agriculture.[5][46]
Aytzim also has been active in addressingenergy issues in Israel, including a successful effort to stophydrofracking of oil shale in Israel'sElah Valley,[10][12][47][48] and to ban all fossil-fuel extraction on land owned by Jewish National Fund in Israel,[5] as well as a successful effort to increase the public share of profits from Israel's offshorenatural-gas fields.[49][50]
Some of Aytzim's efforts with partners were initially successful but ultimately failed, such as its partnership with 14 other Jewish organizations—including Hazon, COEJL and theReligious Action Center—in founding the Green Hevra, a now-dormant network of Jewish-environmental organizations,[78] and an effort to develop a now-dormant network of individuals, organizations and communities working to create a healthier and more sustainable world rooted in the values of the shmita cycle.[79]
^abWindmueller, Steven (2019). "American Jews and the Domestic Arena (April 2017 – July 2018): Politics, Religion, Israel, and Antisemitism (In American Jewish Year Book 2018, pp. 163–214)".Springer Science+Business Media.
