There are a few things one notices upon visiting the website of Israel’s new Green Movement-Meimad political party:
1) Everyone’s smiling.
2) Everyone looks different from one another
And it’s hard not to think: “Hey- this party just might actually be different.”
Entering this year’s elections to restore a “Politics of hope, a politics of social harmony,” to Israel, the Green Movement-Meimad is “a social-environmental movement that brings together activists, organizers, city council members, parliament members, academics, thinkers, and scientists who share awareness that the social-environmental
Eran Ben Yemini
agenda must be central to Israel’s political discourse.”
Rabbi Michael Melchior
The party represents a merger between the new Green Movement party, chaired by Eran Ben Yemini, founder of Israel’s super-successful Green Course student organization, and Meimad, a religiously-rooted party founded on the aspiration that Israel should represent Jewish ideals of social justice. (“Meimad” is a Hebrew acronym for “Jewish State-Democratic State”). Meimad is headed by Rabbi Michael Melchior, whose heading the Green Movement-Meimad Knesset list.
Following Rabbi Melchior is Ben Yemini in the number two spot, with Professor Alon Tal as the number three. Professor Tal is probably the
Prof. Alon Tal
closest thing to an environmental legend in Israel, founder of both Adam Teva V’Din, and the Arava Institute.
The Green Movement-Meimad site offers a very solid summary of their platform- an ambitious 50% decrease in Israel’s air pollution levels, increased funding for public transportation, tossing out the plans for the new coal-firing electric plant in Ashkelon, and a list of social justice-oriented policies, as well.
What I love most about the Green Movement-Meimad, is that they are not a niched eco-only party, but rather a movement that draws inspiration for all of its policies from “environmental awareness.” There’s always going to be “an environment” to everything we do- whether it’s another person, a tree, a power plant, a chicken in the slaughterhouse, a people or a nation.
For those of us who believe that the environment is a Jewish issue it’s really exciting to see this fusion between the Green Movement and Meimad, which has strived for 15 years to bring Jewish values into the arena of Israeli social and economic policy.
I heartily recommend visiting the Green Movement-Meimad’s website. If you’ve a vote in Israel, the movement’s a worthwhile party, run by serious and accomplished people- maybe worth a chance? And if you don’t have a vote in Israel- give a look anyway- it’s always good to start the day with a little bit of hope.
The Green Movement-Meimad:http://hayeruka-meimad.org.il/
The “Unofficial Blog of the Green Movement in Israel”: http://greenerisrael.wordpress.com
Photos taken from http://hayeruka-meimad.org.il/
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great post Yannai – lets get out on the streets together & get voters to do the right thing…..for the sake of the environment, and our human habitat & health.
a green party is a great idea and I would vote for such a a party were it not for the presence of Melchior on the ticket. His presence will doom the party as the overwhelming majority of Religious voters who might vote for an environmental party strongly disagree with Melchior’s politics.
This Party has 0 chance of making it into the knesset
Hi all,
I think David is mistaken – even though the official polls support his contention. Check out the [Hebrew] website of the party http://hayeruka-meimad.org.il for a list of all of the mock elections we’ve been winning (universities, colleges, high schools) and our polls that show that the psychology of “they don’t have a chance” is keeping us from getting up to 7% of the popular vote.
Melchior, in my opinion, strengthens the party – he is an extraordinary legislator on education, environment, coexistance and religious pluralism. His supporters from the Hartman Institute, the Reform and Conservative movements, and many Orthodox-Jewish individuals have added a welcomed broadening of the party’s agenda and ability.
I started with the Green Movement, and since its inception, it was always a broader-based party than only the environment. But the more I meet Meimad’s constituency, the more I believe how excellent the fit is between the movements and how clear the vision is.
I’m looking forward to casting the first ballot that I am truly excited about next Tuesday.
Shabbat Shalom.
Daniel.
[...] voting in Israel this coming week, Green Movement-Meimad blogger Daniel Orenstein recently gave us a good explanation for the merger between the two parties. Thanks Daniel! And good luck this week (We’ll be rooting for [...]