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Adam Stern Reports on COEJL's New Momentum

November, 2004

Adam C. Stern, Executive Director

Dear COEJL Friends and Supporters:

COEJL's national board of trustees just met in New York and I want to share with you some exciting developments. We're moving forward on our mission to integrate environmental awareness and action into Jewish life. Our programs are now clearly defined, we have talented staff with diverse skills and experience, and our funding base is strengthening. In short, we have momentum! Here are some highlights:

Greening Synagogues: Led by our director of outreach, Deborah Shapiro, and our rabbinic fellow, Rabbi Lawrence Troster, COEJL is helping congregations instill an environmental focus into the physical operations of their synagogues (e.g., use of green building materials, energy and water conservation, waste reduction) and their programming (e.g., Jewish environmental content for sermons, liturgy, holidays, and life-cycle events). We have begun our work with two congregations in New Jersey -- a Conservative and a Reconstructionist -- and two more shuls -- a Reform and an Orthodox -- will soon follow. GreenFaith, a New Jersey group, is our local partner in this initiative. Thanks to grants from the Johanette Wallerstein Institute and the Fine Family Foundation, we are moving swiftly to create models for greening synagogues that can be applied throughout the country.

Jewish Environmental Scholarship: Many Jews ask us a fair question: "What's Jewish about protecting the environment?" To help provide answers for rabbis, community leaders, and the Jewish public, COEJL is seeking to deepen the understanding of the environmental themes within Judaism. Twelve Jewish scholars are writing papers on the relationship between God, Creation and humanity, and environmental justice, and how the Jewish tradition can translate these ideas into ethics, ritual, and prayer. The scholars are also examining Judaism and its relevance to current environmental policy. Rabbi Troster is coordinating this new body of scholarship and preparing the works for publication. In addition, COEJL is developing a Rabbinic Letter on Judaism and the Environment, which hundreds of rabbis will sign and distribute to their congregations. The rabbinic letter will be released to the public at an interfaith convocation of Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelical Christians in Washington next spring. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), led by Paul Gorman, is funding our Jewish environmental scholarship project and sponsoring the convocation.

Israel and the Jewish Global Environmental Network (JGEN): Terrorism and security are understandably the dominant issues facing Israel today. But the environment is a growing concern. Air pollution, water quality and supply, toxic waste, and urban sprawl are serious problems for Israel. Together with the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership and the Jewish Agency for Israel, COEJL is building an international network of Jewish environmental leaders committed to addressing Israel's environmental challenges. We have already led two trips of North Americans to Israel and a third trip is now planned for December. Our new program coordinator, Danielle Luttenberg, is developing joint Israeli-Jewish diaspora projects that draw upon the skills and experience of Jewish environmental professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. Core funding for this effort comes from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

Advocacy in Washington: COEJL's Washington representative, Hadar Susskind, leads our work on Capitol Hill to present a Jewish perspective on today's urgent environmental problems. We are focusing primarily on climate change and energy policy, two interlinked issues that have a huge impact on the health of our planet and its inhabitants. In concert with other groups, we have educated U.S. senators about the moral and religious reasons for addressing global warming. We are supporting the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, a bill that would use market incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our climate campaign has mobilized many COEJL supporters in key states and engaged other Jewish organizations to include the environment as part of their policy agenda. We are working on a separate initiative to encourage Congress to increase funding for U.S.-Israel environmental research and problem-solving.

Leadership Institute: COEJL's annual Mark & Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute will be held in Washington, DC, February 27 - March 1, 2005. The conference will build a unique Jewish community -- rabbis, environmental activists, Jewish educators, community leaders, and students -- committed to protecting our environment. Our theme for the upcoming Institute is "Think Globally, Act Jewishly." Participants will learn about efforts to preserve the integrity of creation, advance social justice, protect future generations, and how to get involved. During the three-day program, we will analyze the results of the 2004 election and the likely effect on environmental policy, visit two green synagogues in the Washington, DC area, review the state of Jewish scholarship on the environment, and discuss new approaches to addressing Israel's environmental problems. We will also travel to Capitol Hill to meet with key members of Congress. In addition, special programs are being planned for rabbis, congregational staff, and environmental professionals. For more information and to register for the Leadership Institute, please click here.

Communications: We are working to strengthen the communication materials that explain who we are and what we do. Leaders in the Jewish, environmental, and funding communities -- and the general public -- need to understand the unique role COEJL plays in promoting Jewish environmental values, and in the spirit of tikkun olam, turning these values into action. Our new communications director, Barbara Lerman-Golomb, and our director of Internet operations, Kirsten S. Kleinman, are upgrading COEJL's web site, redesigning our electronic and hard-copy newsletters, and sending out timely alerts on how you can help in our campaigns. In the coming months, we look forward to sharing with you a new, more professional look in all of our materials. As you see these changes, please let us know what you think.

Funding: This year we have received general operating grants from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, Righteous Persons Foundation, Heart of America Fund, and the Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Foundation. We are grateful to these foundations for their confidence in COEJL's work. Our development officer, Nina Bohlen, has skillfully prepared funding proposals and researched potential new sources. New funders such as the Johanette Wallerstein Institute, the Sun Hill Foundation, and the Fine Family Foundation are now supporting COEJL. We are also increasing our support among individual donors. Such giving begins with our Board of Trustees. During the past year, all 23 board members have made meaningful donations to COEJL. This total commitment on the board's part has inspired others to give, too. In addition, last year's annual fundraising appeal to COEJL friends and supporters was our most successful ever. One-third of the donations were made through our web site. With so much progress to report on our programs and attractive opportunities ahead, we are expecting an even stronger response to our appeal this December.