By David Krantz

NEW YORK (Sept. 17, 2014) — Since our founding in 2001, the Green Zionist Alliance has successfully worked for the declaration of new nature preserves, the planting of millions of trees, and the construction of hundreds of miles of bike trails. But today we are proud to announce a large expansion in our work. And with that we have a new name: Aytzim: Ecological Judaism. 

Aytzim means trees. And the Green Zionist Alliance will remain one of the “trees” in our project grove, joining two projects we are announcing today: Jewcology.org and, in partnership with GreenFaith, Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth.   

Shomrei Breishit: Rabbis and Cantors for the Earth

Shomrei Breishit, which as of today represents 75 rabbis and cantors, will serve as an environmental voice for Jewish clergy and clergical students in the halls of power, from Washington to Jerusalem. We have been planning it for the past two years and as of today, you can join.  

Our partnership with GreenFaith adds a fourth interfaith environmental organization with whom we work, joining Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care, and the Interfaith Ocean Ethics Campaign.

Jewcology

I was part of the founding team of Jewcology and I am very proud that it has a new home with Aytzim. We are in the process of completely revamping the site to make it easier to use, easier to find what you’re seeking and easier to connect with Jewish environmental organizations. The site now features more than 170 initiatives, 600 resources and 1100 blog posts.  

You already may have noticed some changes. Jewcology is now hosted at Jewcology.org instead of Jewcology.com. And the Green Zionist Alliance and Shomrei Breishit are now hosted at Aytzim.org instead of GreenZionism.org. In the coming weeks and months you will see more changes as we continue to improve the design and functionality of both websites and as we complete the transition to Aytzim.   

For most people, Aytzim is a name that is better reflective of the scope of our work. However, even though our work has not exclusively focused on Israel, everything we have done has been Zionist — at least Zionist as we see it, as it was defined by Theodor Herzl, as not just the creation of a Jewish democratic state, but the establishment of a utopian society. Our work has long been guided by the recognition that everything is connected, that what we do in the United States affects Israel and vice versa. We have worked with the same vigor to develop environmental programs for Rwandan villages as we did to protect Israel’s Samar sand dunes.  

We will continue to work toward the vision of an environmentally sustainable utopian society in which the Earth and all people are treated fairly. And you can help. Join the discussion on Jewcology. And join the new Aytzim.

David Krantz is the president and chairperson of Aytzim: Ecological Judaism.