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"In the book of Genesis, we are taught that God placed human
beings in the Garden of Eden `to till and to tend it," said Rabbi
Feldman, a former Detroiter. "With the launch of our Greening
Reform Judaism Web site, we move forward as a movement on the
path to honor this call:'
- Robert Sklar, editor
Publisher/President Arthur M. Horwitz
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Blogging For Israel
Local hunger activist Bill Berman, Cramer Award winner
Agostinho "Augie" Fernandes and Joel E. Jacob, vice chairman
of Mazon.
MAZON's Cramer Award
The organization MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger has given
this year's Cramer Award to Agostinho "Augie" Fernandes, former
president of Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit.
The Irving Cramer Award is given annually in honor of outstand-
ing commitment and service to the fight against hunger.
Fernandes had been president of Gleaners since 2002. As the
largest food bank in Michigan, Gleaners Community Food Bank
secures more than 26 million pounds of surplus food from farmers,
grocery retailers, food distributors and processors each year.
"Augie is a selfless and passionate advocate who has served not
only as an inspiration for his staff, but also many other leaders in
the anti-hunger community;' said Joel E. Jacob of West Bloomfield,
MAZON vice chair.
Founded in 1985, MAZON is a national nonprofit organization
that raises funds from the Jewish community and allocates the
money to organizations that alleviate and prevent hunger among
people of all faiths and backgrounds. For 23 years, Los Angeles-
based MAZON has granted more than $47 million to hunger relief
organizations nationwide providing food and aid to the 35 million
people in the United States, including 12 million children, who suf-
fer from hunger. For more information, go to www.mazon.org .
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
Greening Resource
The Reform movement has launched Greening Reform Judaism
(www.urj.org/green), a comprehensive Web resource on greening
and other environmental issues for use by 900
congregations in North America.
"Climate change is the crisis of our time, and
we must confront this challenge in our individual
and communal lives:' said Rabbi Marla Feldman,
the New York-based director of the Commission
on Social Action of Reform Judaism. "While many
of us have already begun to take steps, much
work
remains to be done to assist our congrega-
Rabbi Feldman
tions in managing their synagogue facilities and
developing the mechanisms and resources to face environmental
challenges."
Resources on the Greening Reform Judaism site include green
synagogues, environmental holiday guides and materials on Israel
and the environment. The site connects users to the environmental
advocacy work of the Reform movement's Religious Action Center
(www.rac.org ) as well as resources from other environmental orga-
nizations.
A8
February 5 • 2009
Israel's newest weapon on the public relations front is "an army
of bloggers," according to a statement issued by the Absorption
Ministry late last month and reported by the Jerusalem Post.
In cooperation with the Foreign Ministry's Public Relations
Department, the Absorption Ministry has initiated a statewide effort
to locate immigrant volunteers who speak other languages to take
part in the country's PR efforts over the Internet, the story says.
The volunteers will post comments in their native languages —
English, French, Spanish, German and others — on anti-Israel Web
sites and blogs, presenting an Israeli perspective on the Middle East.
During the past few years, a significant change has occurred in the
realm of public relations communications, the ministry statement
said, noting that the Internet has created a new arena of "PR warfare'
The main weakness in Israel's hasbara (public diplomacy) efforts
is the current lack of people willing to sit in front of their computers
and comment in languages other than Hebrew. The comments would
concentrate on positive aspects of Israeli life and accounts of the
hardship Israelis suffer while living under a constant threat of terror.
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
at
ECO (07...- Judaism
creative@thejewishnews.com
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Staff Photographers: Angie Baan, Armando Rios
Editorial
Editor: Robert A. Sklar
rsklar@thejewishnews.com
Associate Editor: Alan Hitsky
ahitskygthejewishnews.com
Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen
kcohen@thejewishnews.com
Arts Editor: Gail Zimmerman
gzimmerman@thejewishnews.conn
Senior Writer: Shelli Liebman Dorfman
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Young Adult Advisory Board
Kitchen Tips
•Select the dishwasher's no heat or air drying cycle.
Dishwasher use accounts for about 2 percent of a gas or
electric bill, most of it used to heat the water. Turn off the
electric element that heats the interior of the unit and
causes the water to evaporate. It is easy to do and will
save on your water bill. Scrape off your dishes instead of
rinsing them and run the dishwasher only when full. Also,
Energy Star models are at least 45 percent more efficient
than the federal minimum and save up to one half as much
water. Avoid the "rinse and hold" cycle as it uses about 8
gallons of water just to pre-rinse the dishes.
www.energystar.gov
•Use the dishwasher for full loads only.
•Halt the escape of oven heat. Check door gaskets on
your oven for a snug fit by closing the door on a dollar bill.
If the dollar slips out easily at any place, you are literally
letting dollars of energy escape from your oven. You may
be able to correct the problem by adjusting the latch. If
this does not do it, buy a new gasket.
Jewish Thought On The Environment
"And God said: 'This is the token of the covenant which I
make between Me and you and every living creature that
is with you, for perpetual generations."
- Genesis 9:12
Please contact Michigan Coalition on the Environment &
Jewish Life for global warming presentations: (248) 642-
5393, ext. 7, or mi-coejl@jfmd.org .
Source: Michigan Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life © 2009
Gayle Friedman Gold, Jordan Glass, Robin Schwartz,
Brad "Bubba" Urdan
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