A warm refuge from the most frigid winters, and cooling relief from stifling summer days: the notions of comfort and sustainability in a place of prayer and gathering, fueled by heat extracted from far beneath the earth’s surface, may be a trite observation, but it’s bold and literally grounded in both nature and technology.

Montreal’s Reform Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom is set to become a pioneer with a project to shed its outdated and failing gas-powered heating and cooling system in favour of a geothermal climate control system and becoming one of the greenest buildings on the island of Montreal.

Geothermal is the most cost-effective solution to replace the temple’s aging gas-powered HVAC system. The new system will draw heat from the ground—a stable and renewable source that is not subject to market inflation—offering long-term predictability and minimal maintenance. Heated water circulates through long tubes and is passed through pumps extracting heat in summer to cool and maintaining and circulating heat in winter to warm.

Crews began drilling a test well on June 7 to probe how deep the tubes that will pull the water will go. “It can go up to half a kilometre,” temple member and volunteer project manager Len Smofsky told The CJN.

Expected to be completed within 18 months, the transition to a clean energy source is expected to save the congregation more than $40,000 annually, but it does come with a hefty price tag. While these are current estimates, says Chad Lubelsky, executive director at the temple, which will be further refined over time as they advance in the work, the total cost is around $1.5 million for the new geothermal HVAC system, “which includes changing the entire guts of the distribution system to bypass what was there before.”

The temple received a 5-year, US$100,000 interest-free loan from the Adamah Climate Action Fund which was matched by a member of the congregation. The project will also pick up additional subsidies from Quebec’s environment ministry as well as Hydro-Québec.

“Care for the planet is a Jewish value,” said Senior Rabbi Lisa Grushcow. “As a synagogue, we are committed to reducing our footprint and increasing our impact when it comes to the environment. Another strong Jewish value is our commitment to future generations. By taking these steps, we are ensuring that our building and community will continue to thrive and be a welcoming spiritual home for many years to come.”

Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom contracted local firm Marmott Énergies to transition the 50,000-square-foot building by employing standing column well technology, which plunges deeper and is more efficient than traditional closed-loop systems. “It’s also the only way we could use geothermal for the entire building” said Smofsky, “because like many urban buildings we don’t have a lot of land relative to the size of our building, so traditional geothermal would be problematic.” The kind of well they are digging goes down fairly deep, and how far they go will be dependent on the nature of the water flow underground.

In essence, wells pull water from deep below the surface, while closed loop systems bring it up from shallower depths and require more tubes in closer proximity, thereby requiring a larger footprint. The deeper system is not quite as widely used in the region, says Smofsky, “a little bit more in the States. But even in our cold environment, it works quite well if you go down far enough and there’s good, consistent heat underground.” That lends extra excitement in the quest to prove that projects like this can be done in Montreal’s urban core. “I think Hydro is very interested in that, because they want to reduce their peak consumption in the winter when their grid is pressed.”

Generally, most religious institutional buildings are older, and inefficient from a heating and insulation perspective. Dealing with larger buildings with high ceilings and large open spaces presents challenges, as they were not designed when energy efficiency was a main consideration. (St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, whose construction began in the late 1850s, used the same technology to transition in 2018, for a building that’s even larger, and more challenging to dig.)

Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom was rebuilt in 1960, following a fire to its original structure that was built in 1918. The late ‘50s rebuild left a patchwork of old water-based radiators and other systems, all which has rusted, says Smofsky. “It’s problematic as the gas burners are being degraded quickly by rust in the pipes, which can’t be efficiently removed or accessed. So we needed to do a new system.”

The change is projected to reduce the temple’s CO₂ footprint by 100 tons annually, equivalent to that produced by driving 22 gas-powered cars for a year. “Any time a building of that size converts from something like gas or oil, there’s also a big savings there in terms of pollution in the city,” says Smofsky. “I look at our weather maps to see what problem we have with pollutants, especially in the winter pollution in the city.”

As reported by The CJN in 2023, the temple joined ten other sites across Canada in a post-Covid sustainability challenge under Adamah (formerly Hazon), that included a transition to non-disposable dishes, silverware, cups and mugs for all activities, and planting a pollinator garden. The last large infrastructure project it embarked on was to update its accessibility.

Mark Gibson, co-founder of the Zero Emissions Churches Project, has worked with the temple since the fall of 2023 to get their project going, beginning with a presentation “essentially about what we in North America could do, in practical terms, to respond to the climate crisis that western culture had created,” he told The CJN. “One clear thing we could do as faith groups is to change our heating and cooling systems to be electricity-based rather than fossil fuels, as soon as it was financially feasible or when the system was at its end of life.”

Founded in 1882 and situated in the city of Westmount, adjacent to downtown Montreal, the congregation counts some 650 member families. “There are many reasons for temple to do this,” said Lubelsky, “ecological, financial, and we couldn’t be more excited. But when we say temple is doing this, it means the temple community is doing it. This would not happen without the work of volunteers.” Fortune favours the well prepared he says, “and we’re extremely fortunate that we have a very long history of being a place where people come and contribute, and turn it into the institution that it is, of having a very engaged and engaging community.”

Gibson’s organization also has a corps of volunteers providing free assistance to faith groups to make the transition most effectively in their own region. He says he’s proud of the work that he saw the Montreal temple’s committee do, particularly “in exploring new territory; we were able to provide reassurance based on having watched a number of communities explore these same questions and having analyzed a number of successful and less-successful projects. Because they allowed me to walk with them, I gained valuable insights which I could share with the rest of our network.”

The organization is partnered with several communities around Montreal including four Anglican churches and others that are still in assessment. They have also worked with a French Catholic diocese and individual churches and have work going on in seven other Anglican dioceses, a Lutheran synod and a variety of independent churches.

“People of faith have been reflecting together on the climate crisis over the past years,” says Gibson, “and this puts them slightly ahead of most of the Canadian population in deciding to take action.” The change is slower than many would like, he agrees, “but it is starting to pick up speed… our well-being depends on our being able to learn how to restore balance to the ecosystems we depend on.”

Since its launch in 2023, the Adamah Climate Action Fund has awarded US$1.3 million to 50 projects across North America, comprised of $996,593 in interest-free loans and $309,016 in matching grants, allowing Jewish organizations to immediately cut energy costs, freeing up resources to invest in their core missions, said Adamah CEO Jakir Manela in a statement. “Our community has the tools—and now the funds—to lead on climate action… Adamah’s Coalition represents an unprecedented mobilization of the Jewish world toward meaningful climate action—at pace and at scale. With expert support and financing available, there’s no reason Jewish leaders can’t be at the forefront of creating a livable future for our children.”

The post Montreal Temple Goes Green to Save Money and the Planet appeared first on Adamah.

Adamah’s Climate Action Fund empowers Jewish organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower operating costs, and serve as environmental leaders in their communities through a combination of interest-free loans and matching grants.

Since its launch in 2023, the Adamah Climate Action Fund has awarded:

• $1.3 million to 50 projects across North America
• $996,593 in interest-free loans
• $309,016 in matching grants

These projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,630 metric tons annually and save approximately $801,060 each year in energy and operating costs.

New Awardees Lead by Example 

This round’s North American Climate Action Loan recipients include: 

Project: Replace its oil-fired boiler with energy-efficient electric mini-split heat pumps.
Outcome: Expected to save $3,200 annually—or $64,000 over the life of the equipment.

Project: Installing a 306kW solar energy system.
Outcome: Projected to save $39,000 annually on electricity costs.

“These zero-interest loans allow Jewish organizations to immediately cut energy costs, freeing up resources to invest in their core missions,” said Jakir Manela, CEO of Adamah. “Our community has the tools—and now the funds—to lead on climate action.” 

Scott Braswell of Merage JCC in Irvine, CA, a past Fund recipient, echoed this sentiment: 

“The funds from Adamah have allowed us to dream bigger. We initially planned a gradual LED upgrade, but quickly realized the energy and cost savings were too great to delay. The new LEDs not only look professional but also provide significant savings.” 

Supporting Change in New York 

Four Jewish institutions in New York received Adamah NY Climate Action Fund Grants, supported by UJA, for upgrades to lighting and thermostats:

Project: Replacing all classroom, hallway, and exterior lights with energy efficient LEDs. 

Project: Purchase and installation of 25 Sensi Wi-Fi and app-enabled thermostats.

Project: Replace existing fixtures with high efficiency LED lights equipped with motion sensors and timers.

Project: Installing solar powered lighting for a girls High School in Queens.

These efforts complement other recent upgrades such as rooftop solar panels and heat pump installations. Rabbi Linson of Temple Judea of Laguna Hills, CA, another past recipient, remarked: 

“Our community sees that environmental stewardship is also financial stewardship. We are proud of our sustainability efforts and grateful for the support.” 

Funding Opportunities and New Deadline 

The Adamah Climate Action Fund currently offers financial support through three regional programs: 

• Adamah NY Climate Action Fund (for schools and synagogues located in NYC’s five boroughs, Westchester, and Long Island): Matching grants up to $10,000 per project 

• Orange County Climate Action Grant Fund (Orange County, CA): Matching grants up to $10,000 

• North American Climate Action Loan Fund: Interest-free loans up to $100,000 

Adamah plans to launch additional regional grant programs in the coming months to expand its reach. 

The next deadline to apply for funding is November 6, 2025. All applicants must be members of Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, a growing network of Jewish organizations committed to climate action. Current members include major umbrella organizations of Jewish life including Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Funders Network, Hillel International, Prizmah, and JCC Association of North America, as well as leaders of major Jewish denominations (including the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbinical Council of America, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and Reconstructing Judaism, Union for Reform Judaism, and United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism). Membership is free and open to any Jewish organization, and those not yet involved are encouraged to email coalition@adamah.org or visit adamah.org/coalition to learn more. 

“This coalition represents an unprecedented mobilization of the Jewish world toward meaningful climate action—at pace and at scale. With expert support and financing available, there’s no reason Jewish leaders can’t be at the forefront of creating a livable future for our children.”

— Jakir Manela, CEO

Jewish community organizations who recognize the urgency of climate change are committed to taking action.

Wherever you are on your climate action journey – we provide community, gentle accountability, and resources to support meaningful climate action.

Learn More

The post Announcing the 2025 Climate Action Fund Recipients appeared first on Adamah.

ROCKLAND — The local synagogue is joining in the effort to combat climate change.

The Adas Yoshuron Synagogue in Rockland removed its oil-fired boiler and oil tank last week. The heating system is being replaced by mini-split electric heat pumps, which also provide air-conditioning in the summer.

The project is being financed by an Adamah Climate Action Fund loan. This 0%-interest loan allows the synagogue to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions. The electric heat pumps are projected to reduce the gas emissions by 13.1 tons per year and save about $1,000 per year. This loan is made possible by Adamah and its Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition.

The cost of the heat pumps was $54,000 but the synagogue expects to receive a rebate from Efficiency Maine that will reduce the cost by several thousand dollars. The pumps are projected to pay for themselves in 10 years.

The synagogue was established in 1912.

“Adas Yoshuron is proud to be part of a coalition that represents Jewish organizations engaging millions of people of all ages and backgrounds, across the world. Together, we recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and our obligation to do more,” stated David Statman, president of the congregation in a news release.

The post Rockland Synagogue Takes Action to Deal with Climate Change appeared first on Adamah.

One of the largest synagogues and religious schools in the Los Angeles area is embracing on-site solar power to cut its carbon emissions and save money on utility bills.

Valley Beth Shalom, which is in the San Fernando Valley, has spent close to $1.24 million on installing solar panels and energy efficiency improvements. The renewable energy installation includes more than 850 Q Cell rooftop panels by Sunistics Corp.

The solar energy output should generate close to 615,000 kWh per year and save close to $180,000 in annual utility costs. The new system should offset more than 75% of the synagogue and school’s energy use, paying for itself within five years.

“This solar project is a testament to VBS’s proactive leadership and dedication to sustainability,” said Matthew Weintraub, Executive Director of Valley Beth Shalom, in a statement. “By harnessing solar energy, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint but also securing long-term financial benefits that allow us to invest more in our community, education, and religious programs. Thanks to the support of our Board of Directors, individual donors, Jewish Solar Challenge, and Adamah’s Jewish Leadership Climate Coalition, we are proud to be at the forefront of sustainable transformation in the Jewish community.”

The project was supported by a combination of funding sources, including a $50,000 grant from the Jewish Solar Challenge, generous individual donations, an interest-free loan from Adamah’s Climate Action Fund, significant incentives and rebates provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for nonprofit organizations, and financing by Beneficial State Bank.

Valley Beth Shalom was founded in the 1950s and is in Encino. It includes more than 1,500 member families and, in 2009, was named by Newsweek as one of “America’s 25 Most Vibrant Congregations.”

Rabbis from the synagogue launched the non-profit Jewish World Watch, committed helping survivors of genocide and mass atrocities worldwide.

The post Los Angeles Area Synagogue Commits to $1.24M Rooftop Solar Array appeared first on Adamah.

Global temperatures continue to rise, breaking records every year; fires, floods and other extreme weather events are increasing at a rapid pace. 

As climate change accelerates, individuals and organizations are looking for ways to address climate concerns, invest in sustainability, protect our waters and make sure our critical resources, such as food, are used responsibly.

The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore is at the forefront of these efforts. More than a decade ago, it made a decision to go green, beginning with recycling, then moving on to a Green Loan Fund and solar power.  

“That decision,” says Ben Gershowitz, vice president of facilities at The Associated, “is part of our corporate mission and values, which is deeply rooted in the teachings of Jewish culture. It drives our commitment to be good stewards of the environment.”  

The Associated recognizes that by investing in the environment and safeguarding our resources today, we will leave a better, more sustainable world for our children and grandchildren.

Last year, The Associated became the only Jewish federation to be a founding member of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, powered by Adamah, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America. As a member, the organization released a Climate Action Plan that outlined the strategic efforts for The Associated network. 

Here are a few ways The Associated is leading the effort to address the growing threat of climate change. 

The post The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore at the Forefront of Environmental Efforts appeared first on Adamah.

March 24, 2025

This week sees the public debut of Jewish Climate Trust, a new think-and-do tank which we co-founded and co-chair. Its mission is to improve the performance of both the Jewish people and the state of Israel in relation to the climate crisis. 

We want to explain not only why this is vitally necessary but also how, as philanthropists and Jewish leaders, we can step up on this issue.

We have both been involved in Jewish life, philanthropy and environmental protection for more than three decades. In the last year or two it became clear that, whatever we have each accomplished thus far, more — much more — is needed.

The planning for Jewish Climate Trust preceded the devastating fires in Los Angeles, last summer’s fire in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, the hurricanes that destroyed much of Asheville, N.C., the recent drought in Israel, and the shocking reversal of climate policies by the new U.S. administration. But those developments underscore how vital it is that we — all of us — step up to make a greater difference for the world.

January’s L.A. fires caused damage on an unprecedented scale. They were exacerbated by changes in the climate already caused by human behavior in the past, but what is even more striking is that, like the Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, they also represent a failure of catastrophe planning. Addressing climate change requires reducing greenhouse gas levels, and it also means — especially in relation to Israel and its neighbors — planning now for future extreme weather events. If we do not plan now for the inevitable catastrophic risks in the future, we will by our inaction amplify the devastating impact of near-certain future events, condemning our children and grandchildren to a far bleaker future than they deserve. 

The world’s average annual temperature is rising, and the average annual temperature in the Middle East is increasing at a faster rate than the global average. It has risen by more than 3.3°F since the establishment of the state of Israel. Increases in average temperatures significantly understate the increase in climate-related weather disasters. We have all seen the increase in extreme weather events in recent years. “One-in-a-thousand-year” weather events are happening rather too frequently. 

We already experience individual days that hit 100°F in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Be’er Sheva. What happens if, a few years from now, we have five or six consecutive days at those temperatures, or higher still? In the summer of 1995, the city of Chicago had five such days, and that heat wave caused an estimated 739 heat-related deaths in a city of 2.8 million. A similar heatwave in Israel, a country of 10 million, might cause thousands of heat-related deaths. And those Chicago numbers came from partial power outages and partial loss of air-conditioning. If you had a major power outage in Israel during a heatwave — or a terrorist attack on one of Israel’s main power stations — the death toll would be immeasurably greater.

It is against this backdrop that the new U.S. administration has pulled out of the Paris climate accords and advanced policies to undo environmental protections and transitions to clean and renewable energy. Even if you support this president on some issues, these actions are tragically irresponsible to future generations.

We know that as a Jewish community we face a wide range of other challenges, but they can no longer distract us from significantly raising our game on climate now. We are not required to complete the task — but neither are we free to desist from it.

What, then, can we do?

Jewish Climate Trust exists to make a difference on mitigation, adaptation and innovation; to do so in North America, Israel and around the world; and to effect change through research, strategic venture philanthropy and engaging Jewish leaders and other leaders around the world.

It’s worth unpacking some of these words.

“Adaptation” means starting to plan — seriously — for extreme weather events coming down the pike. We want to prepare to survive and thrive even on a changing planet.

“Mitigation” is our moral obligation today. We must double down on reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Each one of us, including every Jewish institution, synagogue, school and JCC, must reduce our own annual greenhouse gas emissions and spend hard dollars to offset those emissions we cannot reduce.

“Innovation” is shorthand for our determination to see the Jewish people punch above our weight on climate. Jews are only 0.2% of the world’s population, but 22% of Nobel Prize winners. Can’t we aim for a similarly outsized impact on solving the climate crisis, creating positive change within and beyond our communities? In this, the private sector and the world of investment and finance have a significant role to play.

We are determined to do all that we possibly can to amplify our own positive impact, and to be a resource to help others to step up.

Among our first decisions at Jewish Climate Trust, we have committed $3 million to develop and accelerate a Climate Action Plan for the American Jewish community, supporting Adamah, its Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition and a range of associated projects as they work with Jewish institutions across North America to catalyze real change on the ground.

In Israel, we have committed another $3 million towards a field-building process, to help environmental organizations develop a joint strategy on climate and to help them build capacity. We also intend to work on regional cooperation with Israel’s neighbors on climate security, and to encourage rebuilding efforts in Israel’s north and south to seize every opportunity to minimize carbon emissions and build as much resilience as possible to create a more livable future.

Our greatest determination is not in relation to our own grantmaking, nor in relation to a range of special projects that we intend to develop and to catalyze. It is to leverage philanthropic resources from within the Jewish community and beyond. Jewish Climate Trust is a funding collaborative. We are here to talk privately and seriously with other funders. We know the range of challenges we all face. But we also know our obligation to future generations.

That’s one of the reasons we’ve invested in building a world-class team. We’re happy to announce that our most recent hire is Galit Cohen, who joins Jewish Climate Trust as Israel director. Galit was head of climate at Institute for National Security Studies, and before that she was director general of Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. She joins us, alongside Nigel Savage, Sarah Indyk and our remarkably accomplished staff, because we’re determined to have the capability to catalyze change in North America, Israel and globally, addressing a wide range of issues and engaging a wide range of stakeholders.

If you have not yet stepped up on climate and yet you know, on some level, that we all must now act, please be in touch. Jewish Climate Trust exists to help Jewish philanthropists and institutions increase the impact of their commitment to climate. We will be proud when we are able to look our grandkids in the eye and share what we did to address this crisis. 

We hope you will join us.

Stephen Bronfman is the founder and co-chair of Jewish Climate Trust. He co-chairs the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation in Montréal, is the executive chairman of Claridge Inc. and is the longest-serving board member of the David Suzuki Foundation. In his business and philanthropic endeavors, Stephen seeks opportunities for achieving exceptional results in the economic, social and environmental spheres.

Michael Sonnenfeldt is the co-founder and co-chair of Jewish Climate Trust. He is the chairman of MUUS & Company and MUUS Climate Partners, founder and chairman of TIGER 21, and president of the Goldman-Sonnenfeldt Foundation. Michael dedicates his time, leadership and resources to addressing climate change and supporting Israel, Middle East peace, national security, income equality, education and preserving democracy.

The post Jewish Climate Trust — why now? appeared first on Adamah.

Beyond funding upgrades, UJA is investing in training. Through a partnership with the Urban Green Council, 75 facility directors from 22 agencies have participated in a 12-hour course on increasing energy efficiency. “It’s a small price to do these trainings, but an incredible outcome,” says Lindsey Fortin, a UJA Planning and Grants associate and member of UJA’s “Green Team.” 

The initiative is now expanding to approximately 600 synagogues and 300 day schools throughout the eight-county New York metro area. To be considered for one of these grants, agencies must be a member of the Jewish Climate Coalition, created by Adamah, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America, whose vision is to cultivate vibrant Jewish life in deep connection with the earth. 

“Adamah is the expert on Jewish environmental education and action,” says Annette Powers, UJA Green Team member and director of synagogue strategy.

For many smaller agencies, navigating local energy laws is a major challenge. UJA is stepping in to provide guidance, helping them understand regulations and avoid costly fines.  

“We’re not tackling the flashiest part of climate change,” says Powers. “We aren’t talking about oceans and trees. We are talking about boilers and light bulbs. They may not be as pretty, but they really make a difference when you’re talking about large institutions.” 

With each upgrade, Jewish institutions are reducing costs, protecting the environment, and redirecting funds to the programs that matter most — ensuring a stronger, more resilient community for years to come.     

The post Powering Change: UJA’s Energy Initiative Helps Communities Thrive appeared first on Adamah.

by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi

Feb 21, 2025, 7:22 PM

For millennia, Jewish tradition has recognized the deep, sacred connection between people (Adam) and the earth (Adamah). As the climate crisis accelerates, this connection has never been more urgent. Jewish communities worldwide must step up—not only to safeguard the planet but also to strengthen the bonds between Jews in Israel and the Diaspora through a shared commitment to sustainability.

That’s why Adamah, a large Jewish environmental organization, is leading a transformative effort to bridge these worlds. Through immersive experiences, leadership development, and climate action, Adamah has built a movement that engages tens of thousands of people each year. Now, with two life-changing trips to Israel in 2025, Adamah is deepening its impact—bringing together Jewish environmental leaders to learn, collaborate, and take action. It combines missions of peoplehood with a sustainable planet.

Last Year: Farming and Solidarity

In 2024, Adamah led two 25-person volunteer trips to Israel, with a focus on farming and land restoration. These trips, funded by the Maimonides Fund, brought young Jewish farmers and environmentalists to work the land, providing hands-on support to Israeli agricultural communities. Participants engaged directly with regenerative farming techniques, strengthening their understanding of the deep ties between Jewish tradition, the land, and sustainability.

This Year: Two Groundbreaking Israel Journeys

In 2025, Adamah is expanding its vision with two distinct Israel trips, each designed to foster environmental leadership, cross-border collaboration, and Jewish climate resilience.

March 3-9, 2025: Adamah Israel Leadership Mission Funded by the Crown Family Philanthropies and the Jim Joseph Foundation
This weeklong mission will convene Adamah’s leadership, key stakeholders, and JOFEE (Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming & Environmental Education) educators for a deep dive into Israel’s environmental challenges and solutions. Participants will:

• Meet with leading Israeli organizations, including the Jewish Agency, Birthright, the Arava Institute, and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

• Explore the role of youth activism and climate tech in building a sustainable future.

• Learn from environmental allies in Israel, forging new partnerships that will shape Adamah’s programs in the US.

This trip is about strategy and action—bringing together top Jewish environmental leaders to build a stronger, more united climate movement.

May 12-18, 2025: Roots and Resilience – Adamah NY Environmental Journey to Israel Funded by UJA-Federation of New York
This fully funded study tour is designed for Jewish professionals in the climate sector—scientists, investors, activists, nonprofit leaders, and entrepreneurs working in sustainability, ag-tech, and green finance. Participants will:

• Engage with Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian climate experts, learning from scientists, policymakers, and innovators at the forefront of sustainability.

• Explore Israel’s climate tech revolution, from water desalination and solar energy to sustainable food systems.

• Examine environmental peacebuilding, discovering how shared environmental challenges can foster cooperation.

The itinerary includes a powerful mix of experiences—from visiting the off-grid El Fura school in an unrecognized Bedouin village to exploring Gaza Envelope communities rebuilding with green energy. Participants will also engage with climate entrepreneurs, policymakers, and regional leaders, creating lasting professional and personal connections.

Adamah Israel 2024 group farm. Photo credit Sarah VanderWalde and courtesy of Adamah.

Why This Matters

Too often, Jewish professionals in the climate movement feel isolated—facing anti-Israel hostility in academic, nonprofit, and activist spaces. These trips offer more than just education; they provide a supportive network where Jewish environmental leaders can connect, collaborate, and find strength in shared purpose.
Moreover, Israel is a global leader in climate innovation. With expertise in water security, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture, Israel has solutions that the world—and particularly cities like New York—can learn from. These trips will not only help participants gain critical knowledge but also create professional linkages that could drive real-world impact.

Get Involved

If you are a Jewish professional in the climate sector, this is your chance to learn, connect, and lead. The May trip is currently recruiting participants, and applications are open.

Jewish tradition teaches us: “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” Adamah’s Israel journeys are about answering that call—to protect our planet, strengthen Jewish environmental leadership, and build a future rooted in both Peoplehood and Planethood. For more details or to apply, contact Dr. Shahar Sadeh at shahar.sadeh@adamah.org.

Adamah Israel 2024 kale farm Photo credit Sarah VanderWalde and courtesy of Adamah.

The post Strengthening Jewish Climate Leadership Through Adamah’s Israel Journeys appeared first on Adamah.

by Barbara Grady

February 13, 2025

Religious groups around the U.S. are raising alarms and stepping up action as President Donald Trump’s administration has quickly moved to gut environmental regulations and federal programs for reducing climate pollution during his first weeks in office.

While some evangelical leaders have backed Trump’s dismissal of climate science, most faith leaders say the teachings in the Bible, the Torah, the Quran, and other sacred texts compel people to be good stewards of the Earth and care for each other.

“Each of us must feel in some way responsible for the devastation to which the Earth, our common home, has been subjected, beginning with those actions that, albeit only indirectly, fuel the conflicts that presently plague our human family,” wrote Pope Francis, leader of 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, in a papal message released January 1, 2025, reiterating the call in his encyclical – a formal letter – known as “Laudato Si’: Care for Our Common Home.”

“At the beginning of this year, then, we desire to heed the plea of suffering humankind,” the pope wrote in his January message.

Faith groups pledge action

On Day One of his new administration, Trump began steps to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Some 839 faith communities joined with 2,978 businesses, 428 universities and colleges, 175 major investors, 362 local governments, 10 states, and 13 tribal nations in declaring they will continue the work of fulfilling the U.S. pledge to the Paris Agreement to reduce climate emissions to levels that would limit average global warming from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.

The faith communities that signed onto the “America is All In” declaration include the Jewish Climate Action Networks of New York and Massachusetts, Methodist, Congregational, Lutheran, and Unitarian congregations all around the country and the large Roman Catholic Archdioceses of Anchorage, Cheyenne, Cleveland, Fort Wayne, Jackson, Mississippi, Louisville, Lubbock, New Orleans, and Newark, New Jersey, St. Augustine, Savannah, and Toledo, as well as many others. In late January, two U.S. Catholic organizations called on Trump to reverse the anti-environment executive orders he had issued, describing their “alarm at the extensive reversal of U.S. domestic and international climate policies.”

What religious groups are doing about climate change

Some religious coalitions are already taking steps to fill the void expected to be left by the federal government abandoning programs for renewable energy and environmental justice.

“We see the challenges ahead and we intend to bolster up,” said Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, which counts hundreds of churches, synagogues, mosques, and spiritual groups as members or affiliates.* “We are in a mode of expansion,” he said.

The group is asking the state public service commission to encourage the state utilities to build out more clean energy. They’re building resilience centers for people hurt by extreme weather disasters and bolstering funding to help more congregations install solar.

Read: Trump and his allies could kill funding for lifesaving resiliency hubs

Religious groups are also mobilizing around other issues, such as protecting immigrants, health care for poor and working-class people, and others in the crosshairs of Trump’s policies.

The Jewish Climate Action Networks in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland are galvanizing members to act at the state level.

“The Jewish Climate Action Network works through education, activism, and spirituality to add an urgent and visionary Jewish voice to the climate crisis,” explained the co-presidents of the Jewish Climate Action Network of Massachusetts in an email, adding that the organization focuses on decarbonization, advocacy, and spiritual resilience. “In the absence of federal leadership, we’re going to keep Massachusetts leadership honest (in fulfilling climate commitments) and pursue opportunities to work with municipalities” as well as promote personal responsibilities for individuals, they said. Deb Nam-Krane, one of the co-presidents, added that the group is looking to collaborate with other groups and to be advisers and helpers to “the next generation of climate activists.”

Pressure in the form of shareholder resolutions

On another front, the pension boards of mainstream protestant denominations and the Reform Jewish Movement, as well as dozens of congregations of nuns, are preparing to file or vote for climate-related shareholder resolutions at major corporations this year, according to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, whose members include hundreds of faith-based organizations.*

If they’re like past years, these faith-based investment groups will ask major companies in which they are shareholders to report on how they are reducing climate emissions, how the companies are meeting their stated climate goals, how they are protecting water resources, and if their policy lobbying matches their public statements on climate and water.

“Members certainly feel the change. They are watching with shock and awe” as the federal government under the new administration rolls back policies on renewable energy, environmental justice, and protecting water resources, said Tim Smith, senior policy adviser of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.

“However, the major faith communities we work with are declaring forcefully that they are doubling down on climate work to protect God’s Earth and on diversity and human rights,” Smith said. “If you are stewards of God’s Earth, then you are compelled to actively try to do God’s work.”

Most denominations carry out climate work through multiple activities, he noted, from public policy advocacy to helping houses of worship become more sustainable to corporate engagement and shareholder advocacy: “People might get battered and tired,” in the current political environment, “but at least at this point what we are hearing is that people are deeply committed.”

He said the investment arms of religious denominations, or ICCR members, “have filed dozens of climate-related shareholder resolutions,” this year that will be voted on at corporate annual meetings. Such filers include the pension boards of denominations or investment managers of congregational endowments.

Mercy Investment Services, the investment arm of the Sisters of Mercy, filed a resolution asking a major food company to report on its water pollution. “Water sustainability remains a priority for Mercy Investment Services and will be a focus of shareholder engagements during the upcoming advocacy season,” it noted on its website.

And Friends Fiduciary Corp., which manages investments for Quaker houses of worship and schools, has filed a resolution at a major bank asking it to set emissions reduction goals for its operations, lending, and investments that are aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Many investors generally do not make their resolutions public before the annual meetings. But even investment managers who are not affiliated with any faith group “have a fiduciary duty to address climate change,” Smith noted, and in each of the past few years, there have been more than 100 climate-related shareholder resolutions filed by investors generally.

The financial risks of climate change are well known – and demonstrated in the losses resulting from the Los Angeles wildfires and the North Carolina floods. For investment managers “it is not just a ‘nice to do’ but it is your legal duty to address climate risk” when making investment decisions for beneficiaries, he said.

Alarm at reversal of climate policies

Pastor Rev. Jeff Courter of the First Presbyterian Church of Forest Hill, New York, and Imam Muhammad Shahidullah, chair of the Queens Imam Council, wrote to readers of their Queens, New York, neighborhood newspaper last year that “the climate crisis is the moral crisis of our time.” The clergymen reminded readers that “The Bible is filled with verses that celebrate the beauty of the natural world and instruct humans to care for the Earth (Genesis 1-2) as well as our neighbors (Matthew 22:39). The Quran tells us that we are custodians of the planet (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:205) and that we have an obligation to plan for the future (Surah Al-Kahf 18:24).”

The two Catholic groups that called for Trump to reverse his executive orders were the Catholic Climate Covenant and the Laudato Si’ Movement. They described their “alarm at the extensive reversal of U.S. domestic and international climate policies” and added in a statement that “Scientists have been warning us for many years that our continued burning of fossil fuels is heating the atmosphere and creating current and future chaos for decades to come.”

They added, “Rather than embrace and advance this country’s essential role in domestic and global responsibilities to confront this existential crisis, this new administration has chosen to relinquish scientific and economic potential, freeze U.S. commitments, and abdicate leadership on climate policies.”

The groups urged the faithful to act: “As Catholic institutions working within the U.S. to ensure that all human life is protected and justice for all is promoted, we urge our fellow citizens – and especially those in power – to take a serious look at not only our own carbon and resource-intensive lifestyles, but our impact on all of God’s creation, human and nonhuman.”

Their words echoed those of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition issued in its founding statement two years ago that still define its mission:

“The overwhelming global scientific consensus confirms what we see with our own eyes: hurricanes, superstorms, wildfires, drought, dangerous air quality for months at a time – each year worse than the last. The impact does not affect us all equally. Those in our society with less power and fewer resources, already more vulnerable, are hit hardest by the traumatic impact of climate change. Jewish values compel us to confront this crisis, and our commitment to Jewish community compels us to do so together,” said the coalition, which represents Jewish organizations across the world.

And even Evangelicals have spoken about their faith-based responsibility to care for the earth and work to halt climate change.

“As a Christian, I believe that God created this incredible planet we live on and gave us responsibility over every living thing on it. And I further believe that we are to care for and love the least fortunate among us, those already suffering the impacts of poverty, hunger, disease, and more,” said climate scientist and author Katharine Hayhoe, distinguished professor at Texas Tech University and chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy, said on a recent TED talk. “I truly believe, after thousands of conversations that I’ve had over the past decade or more, that just about every single person in the world already has the values they need to care about a changing climate. They just haven’t connected the dots.”

*Editor’s note: This sentence was updated in February 2025 to correct a name.

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By Asaf Elia-Shalev February 13, 2025 8:00 am

A new Jewish climate initiative says it has secured $18 million in philanthropic commitments for grants and advocacy work in the United States and Israel. 

The idea behind the Jewish Climate Trust is that the American Jewish community has a responsibility to do more on climate, especially under a new president who is hostile to the issue, according to the group’s founding CEO Nigel Savage. 

In his first weeks in office, President Donald Trump has frozen federal funding for clean energy and withdrawn the United States from global climate accords, reneging on commitments to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“The actions of the new administration on climate … will do great damage,” Savage said. “But the actions and inactions of the U.S. government cannot preclude us from acting. As a Jewish community, we need to raise our game on climate.”

To some degree, Jewish philanthropists and communal groups have already started focusing on climate in recent years after long neglecting the issue. Hundreds of Jewish institutions have published climate action plans, several have pledged to divest their endowments from fossil fuels, and the Schusterman Foundation, which was built on oil wealth, recently made its first grant to a climate group. 

The Jewish Climate Trust represents the largest initiative of this wave so far. 

Launched on Thursday to coincide with Tu Bishvat — a holiday celebrating the renewal of nature, the planting of trees and the Jewish connection to the environment — the group has announced two sets of grants.

The environmental group Adamah will receive $3 million over three years to support its climate advocacy within the Jewish community, bolster its interfaith work, and create a networking and community-building effort for Jewish green business leaders. (Savage is the founder of Hazon, one of the two nonprofits that merged to create Adamah in 2021.) 

Another $3 million will go toward Israeli environmental nonprofits to promote sustainability principles in the rebuilding of communities near Gaza that were targeted in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. 

“We aim to harness the strength and ingenuity of Jewish people around the world and the State of Israel to address the climate crisis,” Stephen Bronfman and Michael Sonnenfeldt, the two philanthropists behind the initiative, said in a joint statement. 

Bronfman is the son of Birthright Israel founder and Seagram magnate Charles Bronfman and works as a close adviser of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In 2023, he and his sister pledged $9 million to Birthright in honor of their father’s 90th birthday, designating some of the money to make the program more environmentally friendly.

Sonnenfeldt is the founder of the Israel Policy Forum, a think tank promoting the two-state solution, and head of Tiger 21, a network for high-net-worth investors with $6 billion in cryptocurrency holdings. He recently donated $20 million to Ben-Gurion University. 

The money pledged to the Jewish Climate Trust includes personal donations from Bronfman and Sonnenfeldt, who are the group’s founding co-chairs, as well as commitments from other donors such as the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation.

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On Tu B’Shvat 5785, Adamah announced a three-year, $3 million dollar investment in Adamah’s climate work from the newly launched Jewish Climate Trust (JCT), a new think-and-do tank co-chaired by Stephen Bronfman and Michael Sonnenfeldt. At the helm as CEO is Nigel Savage, founder of Hazon.

This is far and away the largest grant that has ever been given to fund climate work within the Jewish community. Working together, Adamah and JCT hope to leverage this moment to unlock unprecedented philanthropic support and communal engagement in Jewish climate action moving forward.

Jewish Climate Trust’s mission is to catalyze Jewish climate action in Israel and the Diaspora, at pace and at scale.

Learn more here about how JCT plans to mobilize wealth, wisdom, and networks to effect change.

Join their mailing list.

This visionary investment will grow Adamah’s impact in several key areas:

We will build upon the data we have gathered from Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition (now over 400 members!) in order to create a Roadmap to Decarbonize Jewish Life, laying out a bold 10+ year plan to decarbonize Jewish institutions and households across North America.

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To implement the Roadmap, we will catalyze dramatic growth in our Adamah Climate Action Fund to accelerate the pace of change by funding institutional greening projects nationwide.

We will also invest in Multifaith Partnerships, mobilizing the Adamah network in key coalition-building initiatives with allied faith communities, locally and nationally.

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We will launch the Jewish Green Business Network, connecting Jewish green business leaders worldwide, supporting students and young professionals, and accelerating our collective impact both within the Jewish world and beyond.

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“All my life I’ve been involved in the Jewish community; involved in the environment; and involved in philanthropy. Michael and Nigel and I, and our other stakeholders, believe that now is a time that we all need to raise our game on climate. So I’m proud to be launching Jewish Climate Trust; proud of this grant to Adamah; and excited to see this work grow in impact in the coming months and years.”
– Stephen Bronfman

Read more about JCT’s launch in the news:

By Judah Ari Gross

Stephen Bronfman, Michael Sonnenfeldt launch new Jewish Climate Trust with major philanthropic backers

By Sue Surkes

Budding climate fund seeks to guide Jewish response to era’s greatest threat

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Jewish philanthropists launch climate initiative with $18M for advocacy in US and Israel

The post Tu B’Shvat 5785 & the Jewish Climate Trust appeared first on Adamah.

February 12, 2025
Once again, it’s the new year of the trees (see below for context on the holiday).  On the one hand, Tu b’Shvat is about hope.   Our tradition notes that even at the height of the global north’s winter, when deciduous trees are decidedly bare and spring feels so very far off, the process toward new verdancy is unfolding as it should.  The trees, bare now, will shortly bear fruit.  Deep within each tree, the sap is already rising.  And so are we.

On the other hand, Tu b’Shvat 5785 comes in the chaotic early weeks of a new U.S. Administration which has already pulled us out of the global climate accords, fired numerous scientists and experts, eliminated the justice and equity divisions within the EPA and Department of Energy, and celebrated the return of plastic straws, among numerous other back-sliding steps.  Dayenu’s Rabbi Jennie Rosenn aptly calls this “nothing less than an assault on the Tree of Life.”  For people of faith and conscience — who appreciate what a threat climate change poses to us, the globally vulnerable, our descendants, and Creation – it’s a long cold lonely winter, indeed.

Hope can feel hard to come by, as so much that we hold dear gets wiped away by executive fiat (some of it constitutional).  But however thin or far off the hope may feel, it’s real, and we must name and celebrate and grasp it.  Right now, I find hope:

•      in the multifaith coalitions within which COEJL does its best and most important work – like the many congressional meetings that a Quaker, a Catholic, a Lutheran and I are now scheduling to jointly defend clean energy tax credits, urging thoughtful Republican House members to lift up the good things the Inflation Reduction Act has brought to their districts and their constituents. 
•      just today, in a Jewish Earth Alliance Tu b’Shvat lobby day Zoom room with two senate staffers, two rabbis, and multiple policy wonks, where the unquestioned leader was Izzy, a remarkable Adamah-trained Colby College student active with the Jewish Youth Climate Movement.  Go Izzy!  Go Jewish youth!  Go Adamah!  
•    in the growth of the Jewish environmental movement (which I’ve followed since the creation of Shomrei Admah in 1988 and of COEJL in 1993). Today its advocacy efforts are often led by Dayenu, with thoughtful national offerings and local activist Dayenu Circles doing great work all across the country.  Plan now to join their March 18th (8:30pm ET) Mass Call: Rising to Meet the Moment.  Rising, like the sap.
•       through the many multi-faith religious organizations (including the Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform movements) who just joined a lawsuit to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from entering houses of worship (as the new Administration just  authorized them to do).  Note:  a huge percentage of today’s refugees are in motion courtesy of climate change, with more extreme weather and more widespread migration already locked in ahead of us.  Immigration and climate are profoundly intersectional; and both in turn profoundly intersect with racism, now running rampant.  Let us remember, religiously: we are all in this together.

And perhaps above all, I feel hope in the expansion of Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition (JCLC), where numerous national Jewish organizations are joined by literally hundreds of synagogues and other local groups in crafting, committing to, and publicizing their own respective climate action plans.  Now in just its third year, the JCLC has already had a catalyzing effect on our national community, and it’s setting a high bar that many communities are now rising to meet.  Rising, like the sap. 

Adamah.org’s Liore Milgrom-Gartner wrote this in a Tu b’Shvat email blas,t earlier this evening:  “Instead of counting the age of trees, today we’re counting our carbon emissions…. we now have over 400 climate action plans from organizations spanning 42 different states. Individually, [each is] a snapshot of one organization’s journey of climate action and resilience.  Collectively they are a testament to our commitment to a livable, beautiful planet for future generations.” 

Do please look up the JCLC – and plan for your group to join it this year, if it hasn’t done so already.  There you’ll see, among other inspiring examples:  “a Los Angeles Hillel that’s focusing on a rooftop solar campaign as fires surround them; an Asheville, North Carolina synagogue that’s creating a space for climate dialogue and action amidst flooding; and an Atlanta synagogue that’s tapping into Adamah’s support to reduce emissions, save money, and lead nature-based Jewish programs.” 

Liore wrapped up her message by affirming that “this Tu B’Shvat we can start anew with the power of community binding us together in action and resiliency.”  Ken y’hi ratzon – may it be so.  May we rise, like the sap, and make it so.

​Context on the holiday:
​
              The Mishnah tells us of four different New Years, with Rosh Hashanah (1 Tishrei) being just one – animals have their own a month earlier (Elul 1); kings and infrastructure are commemorated just before Pesach (Nissan 1); and trees’ timing turns over in winter, at the full moon, on the 15th of Shvat. 
​
            (In alpha-numerics, the number 15 should be rendered as10+5, but that would yield Yod-Hey, Yah, a Divine name – so we substitute 9+6, Tet-Vav, and pronounce it “tu.”  Thus our Jewish Arbor Day, in the middle of this month, is known as “Tu b’Shvat”.).

             This may seem odd, but a certain wisdom inheres here.  We are those who take the long view, who faithfully affirm that the barren branches before us will yet re-grow greenery, and songbirds absent now will again alight upon them.  Leo Tolstoy supposedly said, “there’s hope for a people who celebrate trees in the middle of a Russian winter!” 

              The Mishnah is most concerned with tithing cycles, so originally, Shvat 15 was akin to April 15.   The medieval mystics made hay of this holiday, since in Kabbalah, divinity gets diagrammed as a tree (truly, a tree-shaped set of ten spheres of godly emanation, the s’firot).  Early Zionists embraced Tu B’shvat anew; as they made tree-planting a (sometimes controversial) core practice in Israel, it became rooted as a modern mitzvah world-wide.

              In recent decades, awareness has grown of our interdependence with trees and with all the biosphere – and Tu B’Shvat has by now become more of a Jewish Earth Day than a Jewish Arbor Day.  So this season, Jews around the world are tuning into what tradition tells us about stewardship and sustainability.  But of course, as with the aspirational slogan “every day is Earth Day,” we must ensure that our consciousness and commitment only continue to expand, season by season, day by day. 

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