Page 752 – Green Prophet

Why is the Society for the Protection of Nature (SPNI) in Israel Supporting Settlements in the West Bank?

Business

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July 22, 2008

Why is the Society for the Protection of Nature (SPNI) in Israel Supporting Settlements in the West Bank?

Should Israel’s premiere environment preservation group support settlement activities?

Regarded as one of, if not the, most respected environmental NGOs in Israel, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has a lot to be proud of. Perhaps best known for its tours and field schools, it also works on grassroots community initiatives and tough campaigns, counting the defeat of the Safdie Plan to build on the West Jerusalem Hills among its victories. (Green Prophet has previously covered the SPNI’s efforts to fight the disastrous Eden Hills development and educate young people about environmental advocacy.)

But a recent article by Zafrir Rinat published in Ha’aretz (Green beyond the Green Line, too) posed the awkward as to why SPNI’s campaigns appear to stop at the Green Line, Israel’s pre-1967 border: Why don’t they oppose Israeli construction in the West Bank for environmental reasons?

The SPNI claims to be “apolitical”, which is understandable since it has enough on its place fighting ecological battles, instead of political ones.

Nevertheless, the SPNI has field schools in West Bank settlements including Har Gilo and Ofra, one of the first settlements established by the far-right messianic Gush Emunim movement in the 1970s.

The article also noted that the SPNI has been running tours in settlement outposts (communities established without government authorisation and thus illegal under Israeli law, such as the Givaot Olam organic farm we told you about).

“SPNI says the trips are for educational purposes and do not indicate support for illegal activity,” wrote Rinat. “But it’s difficult not to view trips involving visits to wineries or olive presses operating on outposts, which are meant to show visitors how high-quality wine and olive oil are produced, as expressions of support” [my emphasis].

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Drinking Water

Cities

Jack Reichert

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July 21, 2008

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Bottled water is pretty evil, no matter what way you spin it. Essentially what happens is that a company is pumping water from our aquifers (the place from where the water in your pipes comes from) bottles it (another bad) and then sells it to you at a premium. The water that comes in your pipes is watched carefully and is high quality. If you need to treat yourself install a filter or use a Brita. By not encouraging water companies you are not only saving bottles from coming into circulation but also saving our water stores.

Learn more about Israel’s current water situation.

Guy Lougashi weaves together baskets and people with recycled paper

Design

Karen Chernick

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July 21, 2008

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Guy Lougashi weaves together baskets and people with recycled paper

We’ve heard of environmentally conscious Israeli designers doing some pretty crazy stuff with paper. Green Lullaby makes EcoCradles out of cardboard paper, Amit Brilliant turns used paper wrappers into wallets, and Erez Mulai transforms wasted paper into wastepaper baskets.

While we think these designers are great and love their work, none of them has reinvented existing paper materials using a traditional art or design method. Which is something self-taught Israeli designer Guy Lougashi knows a little about.

The baskets that he and his workers weave by hand at a Jewish-Arab factory in Baqa Al Garabia are created by using traditional basket weaving techniques, but with a twist.

They weave together paper instead of straw.

But that’s not all they do. The factory, which is part of the Shekulo Tov initiative (like repurposed fabric designer Zohar Yarom and wastepaper basket creator Erez Mulai), weaves together wasted materials as it weaves together differing populations.

The baskets are each one of a kind since they’re entirely handmade (and thus have a low carbon footprint), and each basket has a slightly different size and shape.

To ensure the durability of the baskets, Lougashi dips the strips of paper in glue before weaving them and after the glue has dried he coats them with a lacquer to strengthen them even more.

Read more to find out about studios and workshops where you can reuse your garbage
Reuse It or Lose It: Black, White, and Read All Over
One Industry’s Junk Is a Child’s Treasure: Recycling Workshops at the Israel Museum
Hiria: A Garbage Dump Turned Recycling Dream

Sustainability Writer Karen Chernick

Lifestyle

Green Prophet

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July 20, 2008

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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 art Museum in Tel Aviv and keeps an environmental blog, Crunchy Greenola.

How would you define yourself environmentally?

A learner and a sharer who tries to do as much as she can.

How you get around?

Lots of walking and public transportation, with occasional rides in my parents’ Prius.

Can you tell us about your biggest green passion? What fires you up?

I love learning about ways that art and environmentalism intersect. I think that a lot of creativity is involved in both finding green solutions and in artistic production, so I get really excited when designers and artists come up with innovative ways to use existing materials, avoid waste, and still come up with something aesthetic and functional.

What prompted you to start caring about the environment? When I was seven years old I read a book about a boy my age who learned where meat came from and became a vegetarian. So I became a vegetarian too. My parents thought it was just a phase so they let me do it, but many years later I’m still going strong. Learning about how something as basic as my food effects my surroundings prompted me to learn more about the environment.

What do you think is the most important issue the world faces today?

Global warming.

What is the most important issue in the Middle East?

I think that water shortage is one of the biggest threats to the Middle East, but also that solar energy has great potential in this region.

What’s the saddest thing you’ve ever seen (enviro related)?

It’s definitely not the saddest thing out there, but I hate seeing all the waste around.

What’s the most hopeful project/company/event you’ve seen?

The Tel Aviv Earth Hour Concert in March was one of the coolest green events that I’ve ever seen. Even though many of the people in the audience were there for the free concert, it was a great way to bring environmentalism into the mainstream. Most people wouldn’t have turned off their lights that night purely because of Earth Hour, but due to the fact that a free concert was going on (which was powered by bio-diesel and human-powered energy), many people left their apartments, walked to the main square and conserved energy by default.

What do you do to play your part in greening the earth?

I try to do my part by recycling, conserving electricity (I’m a fanatic about avoiding “phantom” electricity usage), using public transportation and not owning a car, and buying organic and bulk foods.

What are you reading now (green related)? (sites, books, blogs — please include short description and links)

No Impact Man – who lived an extremely low carbon impact lifestyle for a year in the middle of Manhattan and documented the experience in his blog – is one of my favorite green blogs to read. I’m also a big fan of Treehugger, and am always on the lookout for other green bloggers across the Middle East.

What’s your favorite post topic on Green Prophet, and why?

I love posting about environmentally friendly designers and artists. I am also interested in initiatives that bring different populations from the Middle East together, and think that shared environmental concerns can lead to peace.

Who are your environmental heroes? (list 3) Even though his motives may not have been entirely green, my grandfather is one of my biggest environmental heroes. He grew up during the Depression era in the US, so he was used to finding a function for every single thing around the house and avoiding waste. He separated his garbage decades before it was popular, composted, reused every possible container that came his way, and was a fanatic about not wasting electricity. My other environmental heroes include Yossi Sarid and Dr. Seuss’s the Lorax.

If you could meet with one of these heroes what would you ask them?

I would definitely want to meet the Lorax. I’d ask him what advice he has for green peace in the Middle East.What has been the biggest influence in your life?

I’m greatly influenced by things that I read and things that I see. I’d like to think that these influences have led me to try a live a light lifestyle.

If you could make one green wish (or have one of your prophecies come true) what would it be?

My biggest green wish is for environmentalists and governments all over the Middle East to cooperate with each other so that our future living in this region is healthy, happy, green, and secure.

Water & the Bedouin: Sharing the Resources

Business

James Murray-White

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July 20, 2008

3

Water & the Bedouin: Sharing the Resources

Anyone who has ever experienced Bedouin hospitality will know that the kettle is always on in a Bedouin home: brewing either the strong bitter coffee, or a special infusion of sweet tea, brewed with desert herbs.

If you delve a bit further, you will hear that although the Bedouin know all about life and survival in a hot arid desert, they know where to find water, and know how to treasure the small amount available in desert terrain. With this in mind, based on my researches amongst the Bedouin tribes of the Negev over the past few years (see an example in this green prophet video here), I joined Rabbis For Human Rights (RHR) on a solidarity convoy to the unrecognised Bedouin village of Tel Arad last week.

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Erez Mulay’s Wastepaper Baskets From Wasted Paper

Lifestyle

Karen Chernick

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July 18, 2008

3

Erez Mulay’s Wastepaper Baskets From Wasted Paper

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 inventive ways.

It’s even more creative when the materials used reflect the function of the product.

Israeli designer Erez Mulay, a graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design who develops recycled products, designs furniture, and creates ceramic and environmental sculpture, has created the cleverest wastepaper basket that we’ve ever seen. Made out of wasted paper, of course.

The basket is constructed out of thin rolls of magazine paper (which is sometimes hard to recycle due to all of the inks used) that are connected with cold adhesives that enable the ultimate recycling of the product when you’re done with it. These beautiful wastepaper baskets are made almost entirely by hand in an extremely low-tech process, meaning their production doesn’t have much of a carbon footprint.

But it gets even better. Mulay hires people with emotional disabilities to create the baskets at the Paper Work factory – a protected factory for creating unique design products out of recycled paper with locations in Ramleh and Rishon Lezion. Approximately 80 people between the ages of 20-60 work at the factory, and for many of them their work is their only chance to have a normal lifestyle.

Paper Work is part of the “Shekulo Tov” initiative (which designer Zohar Yarom and her fabric sample handbags are also a part of), which means that this simple yet clever wastepaper basket rehabilitates our natural resources while rehabilitating people’s lives as well. It is good and aesthetic all around.

To read more about environmentally conscious Israeli designers:

Waste Not, Want Not: Doron Sar-Shalom Recycles With Style

Beggars Can Be Choosers: Amit Brilliant’s Recycled Wallets

Hiking in Israel: A Summer Tradition with a Responsibility

Green Prophet

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July 18, 2008

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Hiking in Israel: A Summer Tradition with a Responsibility

ancient history, archaeology, Israel, Yatir Forest, clay jug, camels, Abbasid period, Byzantine period, Islamic history, trade routes, historical artifacts, Jewish National Fund, Israel Antiquities Authority, Negev region, heritage preservation, ancient olive press, historical discoveries, Middle Eastern history, Ben-Gurion University, mosaic floors, ancient synagogue, ship of the desert, historical conservation, excavation sites — Yatir Forest

Fall is the season when Israelis take to the trails. Hiking is more than a pastime here—it’s practically a national sport. With the kids out of school, the long days stretching into golden evenings, and the lure of mountains, wadis, and streams, families, soldiers, and groups of friends lace up their boots and head outdoors.

Israel’s diverse landscapes make this easy to understand. Within just a few hours’ drive, you can cross desert canyons, Mediterranean coastline, lush Galilee forests, or the volcanic heights of the Golan. Each region tells its own story: ancient fortresses, Nabatean trade routes, Crusader castles, and desert springs where ibex wander down to drink.

For many, hiking is about rediscovering heritage. Paths often overlap with history: Masada at sunrise, the Jesus Trail in the Galilee, or the Israel National Trail which zigzags more than 1,000 kilometers from Eilat to the Lebanese border. To hike in Israel is to walk with memory beneath your feet.

But as beloved as hiking has become, it comes with a responsibility. Too often, breathtaking trails are scarred by carelessness. A candy wrapper fluttering in the wind, a crushed plastic bottle beside a stream, or worse—half-eaten lunches left behind—ruins the experience for everyone else and, more critically, for the fragile ecosystems that make Israel unique.

Be Nice to Our Land

The simplest act of respect for nature is also the most important: carry out what you carry in. If you pack sandwiches, snacks, or cold drinks for your hike, bring a bag to collect all the waste afterward. Tie it onto your backpack until you find a bin at the trailhead or on the drive home.

It might sound obvious, but small oversights accumulate. A single potato chip bag can linger for months. Plastic bottles left behind in the desert break down slowly under the scorching sun, leaching chemicals into the soil. Food scraps attract wild animals, altering their natural diet and making them dependent on humans.

When you hike, you are a guest. The land is not yours to dirty or alter. It belongs to everyone—humans and wildlife alike—and deserves the same respect you would give to someone’s home.

Hiking Smart and Light

Respecting the land also means preparing thoughtfully. Here are a few ways to make your summer hike lighter on the environment:

Reusable bottles: Carry water in a reusable flask or hydration pack. Israel’s heat is unforgiving—hydrate often—but avoid disposable plastics.
Eco-friendly snacks: Choose unpackaged fruit, sandwiches in reusable wraps, or snacks in small reusable containers instead of plastic bags.
Stay on the trail: Cutting across paths may seem harmless, but it damages fragile desert crusts or wildflower patches. Stick to marked routes.
Respect wildlife: Observe from a distance. Don’t feed ibex, hyraxes, or birds; human food harms them.
Leave no trace: If you see trash others left behind, set an example by picking it up. Kids especially learn more from what you do than what you say.

A Culture of Care

Israelis are passionate hikers, but the land is small and the population dense. This means that careless behavior has a magnified impact. Each summer, parks authorities and eco-groups run campaigns urging hikers to keep trails clean, and volunteers often organize “green hikes” to collect litter while walking. Joining one of these is not only a chance to protect the land but also a way to meet fellow nature lovers.

Ultimately, the way we hike reflects the way we see ourselves in relation to the land. Do we treat it as a disposable playground? Or do we see it as sacred—worthy of respect, stewardship, and gratitude?

Don’t Let Israel Become a Garbage Country

Hiking is supposed to refresh the body and spirit, not remind us of bad habits. Each of us has the power to decide whether Israel’s trails will sparkle under the summer sun or be tarnished by trash.

So this summer, when you pack your gear, take one extra bag. Use it to carry your waste, and maybe a bit of someone else’s. Be kind to the land that sustains us, to the history beneath your feet, and to the next hiker who comes along.

Because a hike in Israel should end with tired legs, full hearts, and unforgettable views—not with a trail of garbage in your wake.

Eco-Rabbi: Parshat Pinchas – Sacrifice

Religion

Jack Reichert

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July 17, 2008

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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, Cain, did not send of his best and God told him that he should try harder. This led to the first case of sibling rivalry. This week’s portion presents the different sacrifices one is supposed to give for each of the holidays. Perhaps by defining what is acceptable God was trying to avoid future family feuds.

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Tel Aviv's City Tree Hosts Eco Salons All Summer!

Cities

Karen Chernick

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July 17, 2008

1

Tel Aviv's City Tree Hosts Eco Salons All Summer!

Last month we wrote about City Tree, a green oasis in a historical building in central Tel Aviv. This urban environmental group focuses on restoring their 1920s apartment with ecological renovation methods (such as recycled paper construction and milk based paints), teaching urbanites how to compost, and cooperating with the Good Energy Initiative in order to promote energy efficient lighting.

Another important aspect of what they do is organizing Eco Salons – workshops, lectures, and discussions – that bring together the city’s environmentally conscious communities. And this summer their Eco Salon schedule is packed.

Their summer Eco Salon season includes:

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A Recipe for Pea Pod Soup

Hamutal Dotan

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July 17, 2008

13

Pea Pod Soup. Use the whole pea and its pod!

Fresh peas are delightful. They are bursts of green, garden-tasting goodness, immensely better the moment they are picked than even a day or two later. Peas can be snacked on raw out of the pod, simmered in cream, tossed with lemon zest and pasta, puréed with olive oil and ricotta and spooned on crostini. These are all excellent treats, and highly recommended.

But here’s the thing about fresh peas: once you’ve shelled them, your pile of pods will inevitably be an order of magnitude larger than your pile of peas. The process of shelling, on good days, is meditative and relaxing. On days that are even the slightest bit busy, it is finicky, tiresome, and given how small the pile of peas you end up with, likely to strike you as not worth the trouble.

Unless, that is, you get to turn the pods into something yummy as well.

Make Delicious Pea Pod Wine

Pea pods are very fibrous and tough, and can’t just be cooked and eaten. They can, however, get diverted from your compost heap, and turned into soup. Not a cream soup – nothing so heavy seems seasonal – but a smooth, thin, refreshing soup, perfect for summertime. It’s a subtle, mossy green way to make the the most of your hard pea-shelling work.

Pea Pod Soup Recipe

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large mixing-bowl’s worth of pea pods (about 2 quarts)
1 L light veggie or chicken stock (I diluted some regular stock with water)
1 handful of fresh thyme
1 lemon, zest thereof
salt and pepper to taste

Method for making pea pod soup

1. Place a large soup pot over medium heat. Pour in a glug of oil, and leave to warm through. Add in onion; sauté until softened and beginning to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté another couple of minutes.

2. Add pea pods to the pot and pour in the stock, which should just barely cover the pods. (Add a bit of water if the stock seems scanty.) Throw in the thyme, stems and all, cover and bring to a gentle simmer.

3. Uncover pot and allow soup to simmer until pea pods are very tender, about 45 minutes. Remove soup from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Pick out the thyme stems.

4. Transfer the soup to a blender and process for a few seconds (you’ll need to do this in batches). You’re not trying to purée the soup – the pods won’t ever break down that far – but rather to chop the pods up and release all their juices and soft flesh.

5. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on all the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Return soup to the pot, and discard the solids.

6. Stir lemon zest into the soup, and taste. Add as much salt and pepper as you like. Ladle into bowls, or (our preference) refrigerate and have the soup chilled.

pea pod soup recipe bowl — Simple pea pod soup, ready to garnish

7. Serve soup with thick slices of toast and a salad for a light, easy-going hot weather lunch or supper.

Electric Cars in Gaza: Necessity is the Mother of Invention!

Transportation

Rachel Bergstein

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July 16, 2008

7

Electric Cars in Gaza: Necessity is the Mother of Invention!

The Gaza Strip seems like the last place in the world where we would hear good news on the environmental – or any – front. Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip last summer, Israel has imposed a nearly total blockade, resulting in shortages of everything from fuel to water to food and medical supplies.

In the context of this crisis, two innovators from Gaza, Waseem Khazendar and Fayaz Anan, decided to respond to the dire conditions of their community, and in doing so made this corner of the globe a little greener.

Khazendar and Anan created the first Palestinian electric car!

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"The Compost Guy" on a Composter’s Delight and Dilemma in Tel Aviv

Lifestyle

Jeffery Yoskowitz

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July 16, 2008

8

"The Compost Guy" on a Composter’s Delight and Dilemma in Tel Aviv

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 never even heard the word compost, which is the same in Hebrew as it is in English.

Still, the search for a compost in Tel Aviv was an incredibly insightful experience that has brought me closer to the environmental scene here.

Back in December I found myself on the Heschel Center roof (center for all things environmental) with a bucket of compost, deciding whether it was the right place for me and my scraps. It wasn’t. It didn’t feel quite right, and maybe that had to do with the plastic green compost bin instead of a pile or a heap. On the roof, though, I met fellow gardeners and environmentalists who I’ve later seen at other environmental gatherings where they dubbed me “the compost guy.”

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BYOM… (Bring Your Own Mug)

Cities

Jack Reichert

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July 16, 2008

0

Instead of relying on the paper and styrofoam cups that are provided at work, bring your own mug. Some coffee shops will make your beverage straight in a mug brought from home. The less disposable you use, the less that ends up in the landfill. Check out other landfill solutions.

Sizzle, A Global Warming Comedy, Is Not So Hot

Lifestyle

James Murray-White

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July 16, 2008

12

Sizzle, A Global Warming Comedy, Is Not So Hot

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 on Al Gore and his ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ movie with its one-sided view; thats fair enough – present both sides of the argument, but why fill this so-called ‘mockumentary’ with half-assed scenarios about pseudo producers and skeptic techies who have sudden breakthroughs and become converts to the global warming (& human responsibility for such) cause as well?

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Wine Cubes for keeping bits of old wine

Cities

Jack Reichert

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July 14, 2008

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I love cooking with wine… and sometimes I add some to my cooking too. Cooking with alcohol, especially wine, can release elements in food that would otherwise not come out, specifically tomatoes and meats.

If you have a little bit of wine left over in a bottle but cannot finish it, instead of letting it spoil on your counter, you can pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it.

This way you are not wasting that last drop and you are keeping the wine fresh for future cooking. Or have a hand at making some ancient wine? Try making mead.

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