History Of Involvement

American Jews have long taken lead-
ership roles in a wide range of activi-
ties not directly related to Judaism.
They were among the most active
labor organizers in the nation and
early champions of the social welfare
programs proposed by President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Having
seen the effects of discrimination first-
hand, Jews were at the forefront of
the civil rights movement. Many of
the leaders of the consumer rights
movement were Jewish and, in recent
years, they have been outspoken on
the need for more effective gun-con-
trol laws.
Last week, for example, several
small Jewish organizations organized a
fast and vigil in Washington, D.C., to
focus attention on nuclear disarma-
ment, poverty and the death penalty.
The Jewish Peace Fellowship, one of
the organizers of the event, chose July
20 as the day for the fast because it
corresponds with the Jewish holiday
of the. Fast Day of 17 Tamuz. (That
mournful day in history commemo-
rates when King Nebuchadnezzar of
Assyria breached the walls pf
Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. and the
Roman general Titus did the same in
70 C.F..)
What seems different about the new
Jewish environmental movement is that
it is the first to assert that its actions
also strengthen Jewish awareness.

mg outside

ainstream

nizations, some

g people say

find renewed

ish identity

rotecting the

ironment.

others doubt

the activity

motes Judaism.

❑

Catherine Greener: "How can you say
environment is not part of our religion?
We always lived off the

aism. The responsibility of tikkun olam (repairing
world) has brought relevancy to me as opposed
Jewish organization that does social action."

es It Work?

ether environmentalism is a legitimate way in to
eeper understanding of Judaism, or simply an
;aging cause that attracts Jews because of the
ence of other pressing causes like fighting anti-
nitism, is doubtful, said one observer of the
erican Jewish scene.
"I think everybody has more sympathy today
th that [environmental] cause," said Dr. Jonathan
ma of Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. He
a professor of American Jewish history and chair-
In of Brandeis' department of Near Eastern and
daic Studies.
"But in terms of putting it into historical perspec-
re," he said, environmentalism "seems to be part of
Larger move back towards the ludaizing' of univer-

sal causes, which demonstrates that Jews have not
been able to come up with a cause that is intrinsical-
ly theirs. That's very troubling."
Dr. Sarna said the challenge of the American
Jewish community "is to come up with a Jewish
cause that can inspire young people and really chan-
nel their energies in a Jewish direction. I don't
believe causes like environmentalism or animal
rights, or even gay rights, are going to do for the
Jewish community what such great movements as
Zionism or saving Soviet Jewry did.
"I think we're still searching for the kind of move-
ment that can revitalize, or among young people,
vitalize American Jews."
Nigel Savage is founder of Hazon (Hebrew for
"vision"), a fledgling non-profit group that aims to
connect creative Jews with their dreams. He believes
it's time the organized Jewish world embraced less
traditional ideas within the community, lest it lose
its luster for a future generation of donors.
"You've got large numbers of Jewish people in

their 20s and 30s who simply look at the world dif-
ferently, who are interested in the future and not the
past," he said. "That's why there is a certain amount
of organizational ferment now It's why younger
institutions are starting to arise. The healthiest thing
for the community is for [these younger Jews] to be
sustained by the existing organizations."
At the moment, Savage, a 38-year-old
Englishman who chucked his job as an investment
banker in London to come to the U.S., is riding his
bicycle across the country with other Jews, promot-
ing Jewish teachings on the environment. The
Hazon/Cross USA Jewish Environmental Bike Ride
is the organization's inaugural event, and money
raised will go to COEJL.

"Everything Is Connected"

The seven-year-old COEJL grew out of an ecumeni-
cal pilot project that was meant to bririg Judaism

STORY

on page 10

IN

7/28
2000

