Meeting of Jewish Leaders in Washington, DC to Include Environmentalists

Mark X. Jacobs
Executive Director

New York, NY – (Feb. 7, 2001) The first meeting of Jewish leaders in Washington since the 107^th Congress and Bush Administration took office will include 140 environmental activists, professionals and leaders. They will gather in Washington, DC from Sunday, February 25^th through Tuesday, February 27^th for the Mark and Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute 2001. The fifth annual conference sponsored by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) will take place alongside the Jewish Council for Public Affairs’ Plenum and Hillel’s Spitzer Forum.

 At the Institute, activists from across North America will learn about and discuss environmental protection that is rooted in the enduring values of Judaism. Speakers will address such issues as global warming and forest protection, as well as how to connect Jewish spirituality and environmental action.

 “This gathering is taking place at a very important time, as the new Congress and Administration define their environmental agenda and develop strategies to address mounting energy issues,” said Mark X. Jacobs, executive director of COEJL. “When Institute participants go to Capitol Hill and meet with members of the new Congress, they will make the case that environmental protection is an urgent moral responsibility for our nation.”

COEJL-sponsored conferences combine serious purpose with a joyous sense of community. This year, Shomrei Adamah of Greater Washington DC, a grassroots Jewish environmental organization, is sponsoring a pre-Institute Shabbaton. Jewish environmental activists will celebrate the connections between Judaism and the environment at several Washington-area synagogues.

 Jewish environmentalism is a growing movement in Jewish life. Thousands of Jews around North America have participated in COEJL’s conferences, campaigns and other outreach efforts. Most of COEJL’s 12 Regional Affiliates, 5 of them professionally staffed, grew out of earlier Leadership Institutes.