A 

group of young Jewish 
leaders from across the 
country, including a 
Michigan native, are traveling to 
the 2022 United Nations Climate 
Change Conference (COP27) in 
Egypt from Nov. 6-18. 
The 10 young leaders have 
been involved with Hazon’s 
Jewish Youth Climate Movement 
(JYCM) since high school and 
are now in college. 
Prior to attending the confer-
ence, they’ll be spending time in 

Israel meeting with Israeli peers 
involved in environmental stew-
ardship and activism — then 
traveling together to Egypt.
Detroit native, University of 
Michigan student and JYCM 
College Fellow Naomi Parr is one 
of the young leaders taking part.
Parr studies archaeology with 
a minor in playwriting and sees 
these subjects as parallel avenues 
for her greater passion: storytell-
ing in all forms. Storytelling, she 
believes, is especially applicable 

to the politics of climate justice. 
This, coupled with her passion 
for sustainable food systems, has 
motivated her environmental 
involvement. 
“When we’re in Israel, we’re 
going to be touring it through 
an ecological perspective as 
opposed to your typical religious 
or tourist highlight kind of tour,
” 
Parr said. “We’re going to be 
looking at a little bit of environ-
mental activism between Israeli-
Palestinian groups and also a lot 

of groups that sort of cross those 
divisions there.
”
The young leaders will be 
visiting the Dead Sea and taking 
part in discussions about envi-
ronmental topics going on there. 
They’ll be visiting the Arava 
Institute, an Israeli environmen-
tal organization, and possibly 
going camping in the Negev. 
Then, they’re off to Egypt for 
COP27. 
“There will be different inter-
faith organizations we meet 
up with, educational trainings 
we attend and really prolific 
speakers that I’m so excited 
to hear talk,
” Parr said. “It’s an 
overwhelmingly educated and 
qualified group of people and it’s 
exciting that this many people 
can be in one place, thinking and 
talking about the same things 
and have the opportunity to 
create the kind of change we so 
desperately need. I’m just excited 
to learn.
” 
Parr was on the JYCM found-
ing board as a high school 
sophomore. She’s also served as 
the director of creative arts and 
writing for JYCM. 
“I’m very passionate about the 
human angle of who is being 
affected and how we can miti-
gate that and try to bring equity 
more into the picture,
” Parr 
said. “I’m also passionate about 
sharing people’s stories. I think a 
lot of my connection to climate 
activism has centered around 
knowing it’s such an urgent issue, 
and I think stories are the way 
to unlock that human empathy 
that makes people understand it’s 
time to take action.
”
Liana Rothman, director of 
JYCM, said, “We’re so excited 
for Naomi to be representing 
Michigan and Michigan Jews 
as part of this trip. It’s a huge 
opportunity to be able to provide 
this, and we’re really hoping the 
trip will catalyze connections 
and relationships between our 
JYCM leaders and other Jewish 
climate leaders across the coun-
try and world.
” 

Warrior

38 | NOVEMBER 3 • 2022 

NEXT DOR
VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION

Environmental

U-M student among young leaders attending 
United Nations Climate Change conference.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

An

Naomi Parr

