Junktion: Tel Aviv design studio founded in 2008. Lovers and joiners of what the city dwellers classify as junk. Junktion, one of Tel Aviv’s newest and most fabulous reuse design studios, tries “to create a meeting point with what the city has already classified as junk.” In taking everyday objects out of context (such as […]
When I was growing up whenever we would go to a park or on a camping trip, my parents would instill in me the importance of leaving the area where we had just been cleaner than how we had found it. This is probably one of the most influential ideas from my parents that has […]
“The trees are weeping in the Land of Israel… There is no compassion For the land’s raiment – Its seven species… And on these parcels of land Concessions will be granted To Burger king And Kentucky Fried Chicken.” From The Trees are Weeping by Aharon Shabtai We’ve seen how poetry and the environment can intersect, […]
Paper is one of those materials with endless possibilities. Which is why Israeli (and international) designers keep having fun reinventing them over and over again. Last week we took a look at Guy Lougashi’s recycled paper baskets and recapped some of the other recycled paper products being made by environmentally conscious Israeli designers: wallets made […]
In a special guest post, Steve Chase, the founder & director of the Environmental Advocacy & Organising course from Antioch University in New England, shares with Green Prophet his reflections from a University-wide event held this past february in the US that examined climate activism from both Jewish & Christian perspectives. “This week, Antioch University […]
The word “organic” can be applied to many things in our modern day lives. Most commonly, it applies to food that has been grown organically (meaning without pesticides). But as a quick search in Webster’s dictionary showed us, the term organic means “of, relating to, or derived from living organisms.” And Tel Aviv’s “Don’t Panic […]
You’re eating a bag of chips while walking down the street. As you finish you look around to find a trash can but nothing is in sight. Do you drop it? If the city doesn’t bother to make waste bins available, why should you care about the city’s cleanliness? How about eating a piece of […]
While Green Prophet is unified in purpose, our Prophets are an eclectic bunch with distinctly individual perspectives. In this series we’ll be featuring an inside peek into what makes each of our Prophets tick. First up is Karen Chernick, art researcher and vegetarian gourmand extraordinaire. When she isn’t penning prophecies, Karen is employed in an […]
Clever design, whether environmentally friendly or not, is something that everyone can appreciate. Who doesn’t love a passport case made out of map shower curtains, or a pencil sharpener that looks like an alligator? But we think that environmentally friendly design is almost always clever by default, because it reuses existing materials in creative and […]
Two brothers wanted to thank God for what he had given them, but God only accepted the sacrifice of one of them. Abel sent the best of his livestock in thanks to God for all the blessing that he had given him and God found favor in his actions and accepted his gift. His brother, […]
Due to not having a yard and feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt every time I throw away my food scraps in a conventional garbage, I spent my first few months in Tel Aviv trying to figure out some plausible composting options in the city. This was harder than expected because so many Israelis have […]
My partner and I watched this movie with increasing incredulity and frustration. She is a former science journalist, and she won’t mind me telling you, gave up on ‘Sizzle’ after 15 minutes. I sat through it all, and felt deflated after 85 minutes of this eco-baloney – filmmaker Randy Olson sets out to pick up […]
In The Beginning There came a moment when I realised that I had to make a business with the jewellery that I kept buying for myself in Sinai. Everytime I returned to Tel Aviv with a new bracelet, a fancy anklet or a ‘jada’ for the hand, a stranger on the beach, in the market, […]
“The crisis is at root one of perception; we no longer see the cosmos as alive, nor do we any longer recognise that we are inseperable from the whole of nature, and from our earth as a living being. But there is hope, for as the crisis deepens, the call of anima mundi intensifies.” Stephan […]
Okay, so I know it’s hot and going outside is not always the best option. So what can we do with the kids indoors that does not involve TV and video games? This week I will give you the rundown on indoor games, and believe you me, there is no shortage of ideas. There are […]
For whatever reason, the Ipod and its classic white earphones have become a symbol of music and street cool. People use them on the street, on the bus, on the train, in a plane… they’re everywhere. But Ipods just aren’t Israeli designer Inbal Dayagi‘s style. Nope. She’s too funky and too green for that. Guided […]
Last week, God took care of the waste in the camp. This week Moses hits the rock. The Israelites had been traveling in the desert for roughly forty years, and Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, dies. After Miriam dies suddenly the People of Israel lack water. Commentaries explain that in Miriam’s merit a […]
This is the first book I’ve read in a long time that I have felt so conflicted about. I bought it after having seen it prominently displayed in UK bookshops, and having read some of the author’s incisive political writings in The New Yorker. I anticipated that it would be illuminating and instructive, and expected […]
In the spirit of using every possible material available and avoiding waste, Israeli designer Zohar Yarom has found a creative and functional purpose for furniture fabric samples. She makes handbags out of them. After receiving degrees in design from the Bezalel school in Jerusalem and Parson’s in New York, Zohar founded her own ZY design […]
We had just settled into a quiet cottage near the Dead Sea. Despite the intense heat outside our windows, we were still excited about getting out to float in the mineral-rich salty water. My friends had their swimsuits on and were just out the door. But wait a second, I said. All the lights are […]
This week’s Bible segment describes revolution and miracles. The leadership of Moses and his brother Aaron are questioned and God comes and backs up his choice with various miracles. But the challenge was no simple disagreement. Korach’s challenge to Moses was seen as blasphemy. God had set up the camp to be an incubator for […]
“The illumination is made possible thanks to the emergence of an exhilarating new discipline, one that integrates unprecedented knowledge of plants as living organisms with their fossil record and the role they play in driving global environmental change. “As we do so, we can see clearly that plants are not ‘silent witnesses to the passage […]
Baladi, a word that Israelis adopted from Arabic, means “national” or “of the country”. It is also the name that French-born Israeli designer, Brigitte Cartier, decided to give her design studio. Her Baladi Company for Ecological Progress takes our national garbage and transforms it into beautiful designs that we can all be proud of. After […]
According to that old expression, beggars can’t be choosers. But Israeli designer Amit Brilliant proves that saying wrong with her line of recycled wallets, bags, notebook covers, and hats – Beggars. She chooses not to dump what would normally end up in the trash and turn it into something useful and aesthetic instead. In other […]