While the Canada-U.S. trade war is dominating the news this week, Montrealer Stephen Bronfman has been paying close attention to a different sector targeted by President Donald Trump’s agenda: the environment.
Bronfman, a longtime environmentalist and philanthropist, runs his family’s private investment firms and supports the Birthright outfit, which his father founded 25 years ago. The younger Bronfman has been watching Trump’s return to power with some alarm: Trump has vowed to roll back laws protecting the environment, fire tens of thousands of government environment agency staff, lift restrictions on building pipelines, slow construction of electric vehicles, and usher in new oil and gas developments.
All those are red flags for Bronfman, which is why he is urging wealthy Jewish donors to step up and make it their business to protect the environment and mitigate climate change. This month, Bronfman is launching a new Jewish Climate Trust, with funds going to support climate solutions in North America and Israel, harnessing that country’s eco-tech “start-up nation” know-how.
Stephen Bronfman joins The CJN Daily’s Ellin Bessner to explain how his fund can also secure the future of Jews, especially in Israel–where it could build bridges in the region.
Transcript
Transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors.
Ellin Bessner: And he joins us now from Montreal. Welcome to The CJN Daily for your first time.
Stephen Bronfman: Thanks, Ellin. Nice to be here.
Ellin Bessner: How did your idea come about to launch the trust?
Stephen Bronfman: You know, I come from a family that does kind of big stuff and big stuff, not just in business, but big stuff philanthropically. Dad founded Birthright amongst many things. His brother was president of the World Jewish Congress. And so I turned 60 last year,
Ellin Bessner: Happy birthday.
Stephen Bronfman: Just, I was thinking about my 60th birthday and I was thinking about taking some stuff that I’ve been passionate about my whole career and my whole life and how can I step some of those things up? And I’ve been on the board of the David Suzuki Foundation for 30 years. He’s been a great mentor of mine. I’ve learned so much. It’s not a flash in the pan. It’s not just because climate is a big issue. I’m going to go get involved. David likes to refer to me as the first Canadian to really put money behind climate 25 years ago, so credibility there. And then obviously the family being so involved in the Jewish world, and I started going to the JFN, the Jewish Funders Network conferences. I started to realize that a lot of these big foundations do so much in the Jewish world, but the Jewish world does so little when it comes to climate. And, Tikkun Olam is, you know, I mean, these are Jewish values. And so I started to talk to people and I started to talk on panels at JFN…and having meetings and really starting to connect with people. I said, you know what? This has potential. And so we came up with a name, we started asking people if they were interested in being partners. And within sort of a year of talking to people, we had a partnership, we had a minyan, had 10 partners, we raised a chai $18 million over a three year first period. And we had our first board meeting at the Jewish Museum in New York in September. So, we’ve really incorporated, we’ve just started, and actually right now we’re doing more of our sort of media launch and sort of opening up to say, hey world, we’re here and we’re doing good things.
Ellin Bessner: Going back to what you said about climate not seeming to be a Jewish thing. But it IS Jewish from way back. How to care for the land-right in the Torah, and the seven years of rest. And we have a responsibility, and so it’s not something foreign to our people. So when you say that they’re not really into climate in a big way, how did you marry this disconnect between our founding principles in the Torah and what you see in talking with people?
Stephen Bronfman: What I start to realize, is in Canada we have some pretty good, sizeable foundations and private donors, but in the US is really sort of where the tachlis is and the heft. And so starting to meet with some of the founders or some of the people running these foundations, I started to realize that maybe the matriarchs and patriarchs that set these up, maybe climate wasn’t one of their interests, but sort of next-gen and people of sort of my generation that are running things, like for instance, Stacy Schusterman or, people like that, are very interested and don’t know where to go, don’t know all that much. I mean, obviously it’s very topical, it’s in the news all the time. It’s an issue that people want to get involved with but don’t know how. So by doing something Jewishly, because I got asked a lot, well, why the Jewish Climate Trust? Why don’t you just continue doing your climate work but get a bit more international, and by growing things, you need collaboration, you need partnerships. Partnerships are difficult at the best of times, right. So let’s start with values. Let’s start with shared values of Jewish value, families sitting around the table. There’s a level of trust already built in. There’s a connection already built in. And let’s see what we can do and let’s involve Israel and sort of the diaspora and see what kind of programming we can do in both places and use our connections and our business know-how, political activities and whatnot, and sort of see how we can have a bit of influence in this climate world.
Ellin Bessner: So it’s going to be officially launched at the end of March. But you said already you’ve got a minyan and $18 chai million put aside for it. What is the excitement that you’re hearing from the people who want to join in? Why is this speaking to them so much where they could just fund Greenpeace or whatever?
Stephen Bronfman: Yeah, well, I think it’s a Jewish response to climate. And so I think that’s what’s giving people somewhere to go that they can trust in a time that maybe a lot of Jewish families and foundations are less trusting of other larger organizations. This is a place where this is a safe space, it’s a safe home that you can do work and you can work with other families and other foundations. It’s starting to be a bit of a who’s who as well. So it’s a very good connection, it’s very good sort of network of people that are trying to do this work.
Ellin Bessner: I understand one of your co-founders mentioned that because of the situation now with Israel and Hamas and Israel being sort of isolated, some progressive environmental groups and charities and even the Suzuki Foundation, to be fair, have people who go to protests for anti-Israel protests, pro-Palestinian protests. So it’s not a comfortable environment, and I’m using that word as not a pun, but a comfortable place for Jewish people in some areas to be. Have you found that to be what you’re hearing?
Stephen Bronfman: You know, sure, it’s uncomfortable. It’s kind of like the freedom marches, it’s kind of like the peace movements in the ’60s. And, it’s an issue that people are grabbing onto that, a lot of people like to support what they would think of as the Palestinian cause, as the underdog going up against big, strong Israel and America. So, it’s important that we stand strong. And then, if you look at what’s come out of October 7, especially around the Gaza envelope, around the north, around the whole notion of rebuilding and rebuilding in Lebanon, rebuilding in Syria, there’s a huge amount of money and technological and sustainable thought that needs to go into that as well. So, we’re using that and Israel as sort of a living lab for not only pushing the notion of sustainability in these rebuilds but also taking Israeli technology and know-how and using it as a bridge politically in the region of having our Abraham partners working together on climate issues. Because everything, how many degrees of separation, right? Everything is linked. And so Israel working on issues like that can be very helpful to Saudi, to UAE, to all these different nations, even Jordan, Egypt, all our neighbours can benefit from the Israeli seichel, right? What we’re doing with the Jewish Climate Trust is we’re giving people in the field and people that are getting involved sort of this notion of hope, this notion of looking forward to tomorrow, and tomorrow is going to be better than today. How can we make tomorrow better than today? Because today has been tough, and yesterday has been really tough. So let’s get out of this sort of dark area, let’s look at the light, and let’s use light to illuminate hope for a better world.
Ellin Bessner: Where would President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild and fix Gaza fit in and do you support it?
Stephen Bronfman: I wouldn’t say that I’m a supporter, but I think that Trump and his administration have been very good for the Jewish people, and he pushes and pushes and pushes until someone stops and pushes back. His idea about Gaza, as sort of out there as it is, what I like about it, I’ll use a sports reference is, it’s like a Hail Mary. It’s like throwing that football as far as you can into the end zone and see who’s going to jump up and catch it. And he’s right about the fact that status quo is no go. It has not worked. It doesn’t work. So here’s my wild way out there or idea. Okay, you don’t like it? What do you have that’s a bit different. Come back to me with something that’s going to be a bit different. So I kind of like that. I like the idea of pushing the envelope, of saying No. As is, forget about it. Right?
You know, we’re not going to get involved in the rebuilding of Gaza. Actually, with the JCT, what we’re looking at is working with smaller communities in the north. It’s going to be a very important collaborative effort between private foundations, groups like ourselves, and the government. The whole idea of tying these things together and having proper communication, not sort of overlapping, and stepping on toes and coordinating these efforts together is what’s really important. Gaza is a huge political time bomb. We’ve all said, well, okay, it’s terrible, all the war, the bombing, and the destruction, it’s just horrendous. But what comes tomorrow? What’s the plan? And I haven’t heard anything.
Ellin Bessner: How is your idea different than similar Canadian Jewish ventures which are also out there for the last few years? For example, your board member Jeff Hart and Jonathan Goodman’s Climate Solutions Prize, which we’ve covered many times. And the Roadburg Foundation in Vancouver just invested, and I’m sure you’re aware of this new venture they’re doing on environmental issues. They’re the only, I think, Jewish family foundation that’s in there. But how do you position yours? Why not work all together, the three of you guys?
Stephen Bronfman: Well, Jeff is on our board. Jeff is a partner in JCT. Roadburg we’ve been having discussions with, so hopefully, we’ll have some collaboration there. This is more of an international effort, so I don’t view it as a Canadian effort. Our partners are Israeli, our partners are mainly American. Michael Sonnenfeld, my co-chair, and a group of funders from the US. So I look at it as, I mean, we’re not yet involved very much in EU partner-wise, but we’re Canadian, we’re American, we’re Israeli. That’s where the Jewish community really is. Let’s band together, work together, and try and come up with a few ideas that make sense.
Ellin Bessner: Let’s talk about Israel. We were surprised to learn Israel is actually a laggard in terms of legislation on climate. And I was stunned. It makes no sense. They’re a startup nation. They teach everyone else how to do things. Where does this laggardness come from?
Stephen Bronfman: You know, the Israeli environmental movement has been very small, always. It’s interesting too because a lot of the local kids, they all go through the scouts, they learn a lot. They’re very involved with the nature reserve authorities. People are out hiking and they’re enjoying nature. They’re on the beaches, and they’re biking. Our foundation was involved with Sylvan Adams and the bike path that goes from border to border, from north to south across the country, which is another phenomenon. Israelis are active, they’re out there, they’re enjoying, they love their land, and they’re so proud of their land. But when it comes to environmental work, listen, their lives are just fraught with everything that we all know, right? Life is tough. So maybe the time and space of looking at hope and thinking sort of deeper than the troubles of today, maybe that’s been a bit of a hamper to sort of growth in the environmental movement, which has not put enough pressure on legislation, right? That’s kind of one of the things that, obviously, at the end of the day, if you’re going to have real success, you’re going to be pushing on legislation, right?
Ellin Bessner: Well, I want to bring it back here because I know our listeners will know and our readers will know. We’ve covered Adamah (formerly Hazon), which is one of your funding recipients, but maybe we can tell our listeners more who haven’t read our stuff, what your money will actually tachlis do for buildings, for technology, at Jewish buildings, to make them more environmentally friendly?
Stephen Bronfman: Yeah, I’m excited about this partnership. Adamah is a great organization. Nigel Savage ran the predecessor beforehand, and so we’re intimately connected with them. Years ago, my foundation, the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation, did a project with Federation CJA in Montreal and we did a greening project there. We’ve put down a sizeable chunk of money to work on Adamah, helping them, supporting them, to get more projects going across North America. And I know Adamah wants to do more work in Canada as well, but in this greening, and I think it’s easier in a way to do the infrastructural work, sort of maybe the energy systems, maybe the windows, rather than sometimes it’s longer to change people’s habits, right? And say, okay, no more disposable, no more.
Ellin Bessner: ifor kiddish and.
Stephen Bronfman: For catering, yeah, it gets a little complicated. Right. So we’re looking at sort of the structural changes that can be done.
Before we started the Jewish Climate Trust, Birthright was celebrating my dad’s 90th. My sister and I, we really wanted to support Birthright, but we wanted to honour dad. We gave a sizeable piece of money, $9 million US, to this notion of greening Birthright. We wanted to give it to Birthright, but we wanted to do it in a way that reflected our interests. By doing that with Birthright, it was our first work that we did with Nigel, and it was really not just about changing plastic water bottles to refills and changing some food or whatnot. It was more about affecting the supply chain in Israel, because if you look at Birthright, they’re really the largest travel business in the country, even today, especially today, because nobody’s going. So they can drive. They’re kind of like the Walmart of travel in Israel. So everybody wants to do business with them from the supply side so they can sort of drive change in their supply chain and say, okay, fine, you want to do business with us, you have to do things this way or that way. We’re starting to have a lot of interest. In fact, we’ve had so much success in changing some partners and how they’re delivering products to us and the knowledge base that we’ve created in Israel that we’re getting other organizations and even the government coming to us and saying, hey, can you help us?
Ellin Bessner: Is the $18 million USD the start? What is the actual eventual goal of raising how much?
Stephen Bronfman: Oh, listen, Birthright started on a shoestring, right? Started with Dad and Michael committing some money. It’s a venture philanthropy. We’re going to grow this as much as we can. We just started. So I’m very hopeful.
I think the timing is perfect, especially with the Trump administration. I mean, climate is not ranking on the top of the list right now in that administration. So again, a place where people can invest, get involved in things that many feel are being sort of pushed aside. Many of us know that it’s not the time to be pushed aside, that this is an issue that is tantamount worldwide. So people need to get involved and need to activate. We’re just getting started.
Ellin Bessner: Our listeners will know your ties to the Liberal Party, but the carbon tax is going to probably be gone. Whoever gets in, whether it’s the Liberals or the Conservatives, everybody’s “Axe the tax”.
Stephen Bronfman: So yeah, listen, I think, if you look at it holistically, Canada and Canadians, Canadians are like the richest people in the world if you just look at the resource base, right? There’s a lot of pressure from one side that says dig, baby, dig. Pipeline, pipeline, pipeline. I think that we have to manage our resources and they’re not just for the quick buck today and to pop up our economy today. But it’s the longer term version of how do we do this, right? How do we not offend our indigenous partners across the country? How do we get them all on the same page? How do we get Canadians to be all supportive of projects? I mean at the end of the day, I think when Trump is joking about being the governor of Canada and the 51st state, I mean, what does he want? He wants our resources, right? He wants a cheap pipeline into our lumber, into our water, into our hydro, into our oil and gas. So yes, that’s understandable, but we have to develop it at a speed that we feel is proper and sustainable and smart.
Ellin Bessner: So are you for getting rid of the carbon tax?
Stephen Bronfman: Listen, we have to take things step by step. I think the taxing in Canada is, you know, we’re almost up to here, right. I think that Mark Carney is coming out with a very good proposal. I’m very supportive and working with him today, as I did with Justin in past years, helping him raise money and helping the sort of notion of liberal values, but with more of a business focus.
Ellin Bessner: Okay. I guess that is all the time we have for now. Is there anything else you want our listeners to understand about your excitement about this project?
Stephen Bronfman: I’ve just always been a glass half full person. I think it’s important for the Jewish people to have a really strong international good news story. We’re not great at promoting ourselves. We’re not great at giving good news internationally about what Jews are doing outside of the Jewish world. I mean, people look at our community and say, wow, they’re really good at taking care of themselves, but that’s all they do. They sort of built this shtetl world for Jews and they don’t really reach out. So here’s something that we’d like to make some news internationally and saying, hey, look what the Jewish people are doing for the world when it comes to environmental issues. Very interesting. So that gets me excited.
Ellin Bessner: Okay. I appreciate you coming on to The CJN Daily. It’s been an honour to meet.
Stephen Bronfman: Yeah, really nice to chat and you’ve asked great questions, and I love the topic and I love talking about Jews. I love talking about environment. That’s why I started the Jewish Climate Trust.
Show Notes
What we talked about:
- Learn more about the Jewish Climate Trust.
- Read more about Stephen Bronfman’s efforts to promote the environment, in The CJN archives, from 2009.
- Bronfman’s initial board includes his father Charles, and also Montrealer Jeff Hart, the co-founder of the Climate Solutions Prize, honouring Israeli environmental research, through JNF Canada, in The CJN.
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
- Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music: Dov Beck-Levine
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