More Jews in Britain are finding spiritual and culinary inspiration by growing their own food. Jews are known for their love of food, but less so for their love of farms. Most Jews in Britain live in big cities where, like many urban-dwellers, they are detached from the people and places producing their nosh. But […]
Grassroots campaigners claim final victory in fight to preserve open space for the Israeli public. Photo by Michael Green It was over two years ago that Green Prophet first reported on the grassroots campaign to stop developers from paving over one of the last remaining ‘wild’ spaces on central Israel’s coastline: ‘fisherman’s beach’ at Palmachim. […]
Agrochemicals might be big business, but they are a bad deal for the environment and human health. Israeli firm, Makhteshim-Agan Industries, believes that there is a bright future for chemical pesticides. It has just bet $1 billion dollars on this hope, buying out the Albough chemical manufacturer in a move which, according to Ha’aretz, will […]
Green Prophet looks to ancient Iran for some current alternative ideas to electricity-powered air con. Catch the wind with the bagdir wind tower! The concept of “green building” has taken off in the Middle East over the last few years. The need for ecologically efficient housing and offices is becoming more urgent as the cost […]
The first green, affordable home designed by an Israeli company has just come off the production line in the Negev town of Yeruham. Following years of planning and design by REAL Housing, the 190 m2 house was inaugurated by Mayor of Yeruham and former Labour Party leader, Amram Mitzna. The three-room, NIS 785,000 house (about […]
Recent laboratory tests have discovered that consumers in Israel are eating Genetically Modified Organisms – whether they like it or not. Tests by Milouda Quality Control Laboratories, which analyses food destined for sale in the European Union, discovered GM soya in popular foods sold in stores across Israel, reports Haaretz. Food contaminated with GM included baked goods, […]
The Egyptian government has apparently performed an astonishing U-turn on banning controversial Genetically Modified crops from the country. According to reports in the press earlier this month (hat tip: Treehugger and Reuters), authorities declared that Egypt had officially become the Middle East’s first GM-free nation. On 12 August, Egyptian Agriculture Minister, Amin Abaza, told the […]
Organic food. It may cost more at the shopping till, but it delivers priceless benefits for biodiversity, animal welfare and rural economies, as well as reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Many people also believe, and there is some evidence to back this up, that food fertilised with compost instead of chemicals will be nutritionally superior. […]
A new scheme has just got underway for Palestinians to treat their sewage waste and purifying it for agricultural use by using wetlands. Forsaking electricity, the system instead relies on a system of man-made pools which utilise plants to assist in the organic breakdown of the sewage. The West Bank village of Um a-Rihan, not […]
The massive swine flu cull in Egypt has impacted the city’s garbage collectors, the Zabaleen. Normally they fed organic waste to the pigs. Now what? Not long ago Green Prophet reported the Egyptian government’s plan to cull the country’s 300,000 pigs as panic of the swine influenza spread across the world. Now the effects of […]
What is the best way to visit Israel? By plane, by bus, or maybe by car? Derech Hateva believes the best way to see this small but fascinating country is by foot. Registration is now open for Derech Hateva’s annual Israel Trail Teen Adventure (ITTA), a month-long outdoor program for Jewish teens from North America […]
Should I stay or should I go? It’s a common question vexing many people living in Jerusalem, a city suffering from negative population migration, particularly young, secular Jews who leave to seek opportunities in Tel Aviv and central Israel. Siah HaSade is a new permaculture centre in the heart of west Jerusalem which seeks to […]
Somewhere between juggling appointments with potential Prime Ministers in-waiting, Israeli President Shimon Peres (pictured with shovel) found time to get his hands dirty in Kfar Saba recently, which has been awarded the title of Israel’s first “green city.” During the visit to the town 15km north east of Tel Aviv, Peres received a gift himself, […]
I have to admit I thought they were fighting a losing battle. Despite the justice of their cause, it seemed that the odds were stacked well against the rightfully outraged Israelis who set up camp at the unspoiled Palmachim Beach just over a year ago. Equidistant from the coastal cities of Tel Aviv and Ashdod […]
The Israeli town of Tsfat (or Safed) is typically associated with the colour blue, owing to the tint that many of its buildings are painted with. But modern Tsfat, famous for being a centre of Jewish mysticism, its graves of tsadikim and art galleries, could just as easily be associated with brown. Since 1956, Israel’s […]