by Dr. Gabe Goldman, Director of Experiential Education, AJU

For more than a decade, the Los Angeles Jewish Community and, its Jewish Agency "partnership city," Tel Aviv have engaged in joint projects ranging from teacher exchanges to twinning "bar/bat mitzvot." This year saw the creation of The Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Environmental Initiative, the brainchild of Evan Kaizer, a long-time lay leader with the LA Jewish Federation. Upon realizing that both cities face the same types of serious environmental problems - waste disposal, water and air pollution - he felt the best way to begin to confront these problems was through a joint partnership, an international initiative that would bring together environmental leaders in academic, government, public, private and non-profit sectors from Los Angeles and Tel Aviv.

After half a year of planning, the TA/LA Environmental Initiative became a reality, the first week of March, when the Tel Aviv delegation arrived in Los Angeles.

Representing Tel Aviv were members from the Israel Ministry of the Environment, Tel Aviv Department of Energy and the Environment, The Israel Union for Environmental Defense, Green Course, the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel, Tel Aviv University, Zalul and Zahal (Israel Defense Force).

Representing Los Angeles were lay and professional leaders of the Jewish Federation, American Jewish University, CoeljSC (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, Southern California), Warner Brothers, the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation, DWP, Los Angeles City Hall and a host of community activist organizations.

The week was packed with meetings with community leaders, learning about new environmental technologies and seeing these technologies in action. The Hyperion Waste Water Treatment plant was of particular interest given Tel Aviv's dramatic population growth and resulting challenges in treating waste water.

Tree People shared information about the relationship between trees and community health. This was of particular interest to us at AJU, as we have long had a commitment to planting and replenishing trees on both of our campuses.

We learned how Warner Brothers Studios became a leader in all phases of "green operations;" and how new technologies, and new versions of old technologies, are transforming standard homes into environmental show pieces in Los Angeles neighborhoods. Repeatedly, our Israeli counterparts commented on how well the same ideas and solutions would work in Tel Aviv - and reaffirmed the importance of their having made the trip.

I was proud to lead the group on a "Jewish nature walk," a program developed by, and unique to, AJU that draws schools and congregations to our Brandeis-Bardin Campus all year long. These walks use natural surroundings to teach about a wide range of Jewish values. On this walk in Franklin Canyon, participants collected oak galls (the source of ink used to write Torah scrolls for the past 3,000 years), learned to make kosher-for-Passover "bread" from tree bark and witnessed a "hands-on Middrash" demonstrating how Abraham could have held a fire in his hands as the Torah claims he did when taking Isaac to sacrifice him. The walk led to an interesting discussion about American Jewish identity and the expanded role of nature and environmental awareness in this identity.

Ellen Rabin, consultant with the Health and Human Services Committee of the TA/LA Partnership, who played a key role in the development of the week's programs, expressed what all of us felt - that this is just the beginning. Next, the various members of the joint committee will follow-up with each other to explore the best ways to work together.

The delegation of Israeli environmentalists was sponsored by the Jewish Federation, with support from the City of Los Angeles, CoejlSC, Friends of Israel's Environment and the Plum Foundation.

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