Israel Turns 75

We observe the 75th year of Israel’s founding with many emotions. The country is at an inflection point and it is not clear what the next few years will bring. May the nation’s best days be ahead.

With Yom Haatzmaut and Earth Day coming within days of one another, I would like to direct our attention to an organization within Israel whose environmental work and work in building bridges with its neighbors deserves our attention and support -- the Arava Institute.

“Here, the idea that nature knows no political borders is more than a belief. It is a fact, a curriculum, and a way of life.”  
I share with you their mission statement:

OUR MISSION IS TO ADVANCE CROSS-BORDER ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION IN THE FACE OF POLITICAL CONFLICT.

This is to ensure that:

• The shared environmental resources of the region will be protected from further degradation and loss.
• Scarce environmental resources will no longer be a source of conflict.
• Environmental cooperation will become a model for cross-border cooperation in all other areas of the conflict.

Visit the ARAVA INSTITUE for more information.
It is institutions like these that give us hope. Tikvah.