Why we need to think of climate change as a Jewish issue

There are clear links between environmentalism and Judaism. So why aren't more Jews mobilizing?
(Photo by Marcus Kauffman/Unsplash)

With a hot wildfire season upon Western Canada and a record-shattering heat dome that just killed hundreds of people in B.C., it’s imperative for Jewish Canadians to look at climate change as a real threat and ask what they can do to help. And yet, despite a clear intersection between environmental protection and Jewish values in the Torah and Mishnah, there has been very little collective Jewish action beyond a few groups and some prominent climate activists.

One of those prominent activists joins us today. Tzeporah Berman, a longtime Canadian activist whose resume includes years at Greenpeace and working with various arms of the B.C. government, and who is the co-founder of Stand.earth, joins to discuss the Jewish angle on environmentalism: what we can do to help, and why climate change is a Jewish cause.

Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold, Melissa Lantsman and Ilana Zackon. Michael Fraiman is the producer. Andrew Goulet is the technical producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network.

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