Hazon: The Jewish Lab for Sustainability Hazon

CEO Jakir Manela continues to speak with leaders from across the environmental movement at the intersection of Jewish tradition and modern life. In this episode, he spoke with Rabbi Zelig Golden, the Executive Director of Wilderness Torah on a series called Shmita Slowdown. 

Rabbi Zelig received rabbinic ordination from ALEPH, Alliance for Jewish Renewal and was previously ordained Maggid by Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi ztz”l. He holds a Masters in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union. He previously worked as an environmental lawyer protecting food and farms and has long guided groups into the wilderness.

This episode was first broadcast on the Shmita Slowdown Series. You can view this and future episodes of this series on Wilderness Torah YouTube channel and learn more about it on the Shmita Slowdown Series webpage. 

In this final live dispatch from Glasgow, Jakir and Nigel reflect on their week at COP 26. They discuss their experiences, the impact its had on them, and the hopes and challenges they see moving forward.

For more information about Hazon at COP 26, visit hazon.org.

Note: Many of the episodes in this series were not published the day they were recorded, and they may not reflect breaking news from COP 26.

Jakir and Nigel sit down with Mariana Bergovoy and Noga Levtzion-Nadan - two Israeli climate leaders. Mariana is the Deputy Head of Department and Senior Audit Manager for the State Comptroller of Israel. She co-authored a recent special audit report about climate action taken by the Israeli government. You can find the report in English here. Noga is a Managing Partner at Value^2, a responsible lending house in Tel Aviv, and the CEO of Greeneye. They discuss the impacts of the climate crisis on Israel, how Israeli civil society and the private sector have already responded, and what further action is still needed.

For more information about Hazon at COP 26, visit hazon.org.

Note: Due to the nature of live recordings and the internet connectivity in the COP26 pavilion, you may notice some variations in the audio quality of this recording.

Nigel has met up with long time Hazon friend, Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed. They discuss their experience at COP26, Tareq's work at the Arava Institute, and the nuances, challenges, opportunities ahead that lay ahead for the American Jewish, Israeli, and Palestinian environmental movements. Dr. Abu Hamed is from East Jerusalem and holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Ankara University (Turkey). In 2008, he established the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) at the Arava Institute. He left the Institute in 2013 to become the Israeli Ministry of Science’s Deputy Chief Scientist, and later the Acting Chief Scientist, the highest ranking Palestinian in the Israeli government. He returned to the Arava Institute in 2016 as Director of CREEC and Academic Director, and was appointed Executive Director in 2021.

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is a leading environmental studies and research institute in the Middle East. With a student body comprised of Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, and participants from around the world, their mission is to advance cross-border environmental cooperation in the face of political conflict.

For more information about Hazon at COP 26, visit hazon.org.  For more information about the Arava Institute, visit arava.org.

Note: Due to the nature of live recordings and the internet connectivity in the COP26 pavilion, you may notice some variations in the audio quality of this recording.

On the second day of COP 26, Jakir met up with Reverend Susan Hendershot. Rev. Susan Hendershot has served as president of Interfaith Power & Light since 2018. She was raised in a blue-collar family outside of Cleveland, Ohio. After graduate school, she moved to Iowa, where she was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and served as a pastor in local congregations, focusing on social justice. Since the year 2000, Interfaith Power & Light has partnered with thousands of congregations to address climate change by stewarding Creation.

For more information about Hazon at COP 26, visit hazon.org.  For more information about Interfaith Power & Light, visit www.interfaithpowerandlight.org/. 

Note: These episodes are not published on the same day they are recorded, some of the conversations may not reflect breaking news at COP 26.

In this series, Jakir Manela, CEO of Hazon, and Nigel Savage, Founder and Former CEO of Hazon, speak with global faith leaders during their visit to COP 26. During each episode, they will debrief the day’s events with a different leader and learn how their guests are Sounding the Call for action on the climate crisis.

“The task is not yours to finish, neither are you free to set it aside.” – Ethics of Our Fathers 2:16

The COP26 summit has brought global leaders together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hazon will be there too — advocating for bold, meaningful action. We are not alone in this fight. Join Jakir and Nigel as they talk with leaders from around the world who are also leading faith-based climate action. This series begins on Tuesday, November 2nd, and new episodes will be released regularly throughout the COP 26 conference.

Today, Jakir is getting to know his new friend Gopal Patel, Co-Founder and Director of Bhumi Global and Co-Chair of the UN Multi-Faith Advisory Council. They discuss the events of Monday November 1, 2021, the first day of COP26. This conversation is brought to you from the floor of the COP26 pavilion, please excuse some background noise from the excitement of the event!

For more information about Hazon at COP 26, visit hazon.org. For more information about Bhumi Global, visit bhumiglobal.org.

Note: These episodes are not published on the same day they are recorded, some of the conversations may not reflect breaking news at COP 26.