The Heschel Sustainability Center:

An Overview

Since its foundation 17 years ago, The Heschel Center has been
Israel's leading advocate for a sustainability; a just society with a
robust democratic economy and healthy environment.

The Heschel Center engages in transformative learning, creates meaningful

connections and the creative solutions necessary for a healthy world where people
and the planet flourish with dignity.
The Center focuses on educating individuals from all walks of life to the issues
challenging Israelis environment by inspiring them to identify, create and
implement solutions.
Heschel ignites cadres of new motivated leaders who return to their communities
and workplaces with skills to help promote ecological health, social justice and a
thriving economy.
Through developing and disseminating ideas and skills, the Heschel Center creates
frameworks through which potential change makers can become sustainability
leaders. Heschel touches society and effects change through its unique initiatives:

The Heschel Sustainability Fellows Program

A year long program targets potential
change makers in positions of influence business, politics, media, free professions,
social entrepreneurs from every strata
of Israel society-Jews/Arabs, secular/
religious, city/periphery providing an in
depth learning process along with tools
to develop joint projects that have a real
and lasting impact. The successful alumni
network (over 250 graduates) implements
our vision of promoting sustainability
through a widening interlinked community
whose work we catalyze and nurture in
the workplace. Many go on to establish
ground breaking initiatives in their fields.

The Local Sustainability Center

The (LSC) Center works directly with municipalities,

regional councils- their leadership and professional
staff in training programs tailor made for their
communitys reality and needs. LSC has set up a
network of 15 local centers in the geographic and
social periphery of the country that are running
programs to a wide range of underserved and
disadvantaged populations. And a budding new
initiative taking off: a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) Network linking municipalities, business and
civil society to further local sustainability.
Sustainability Center in Kiriat Gat

Education for Sustainability

A collaborative venture with the Green

School Network has reached over 600
schools and kindergartens, empowering
teachers and sensitizing youth through
sustainability education to develop best
practices to further an atmosphere of good
citizenship and good education. The latest
development of this collaboration is the
Community Place Based Education (CPBE)
links communities and schools in an
integrated cross curricular program. The
program aims to heighten an inclusive local
identity developing local knowledge and
skills of young people through hands - on
projects that seek to improve physical and
social parameters of life in their community.

Nature activity in preschool

Sustainable Studies Center

Intensive short and long term courses designed for leaders, professionals and
change makers from all over Israel. These courses are often geared to focus on
professionals' needs, to garner the know-how and skills needed to increase their
capacity to facilitate change towards sustainability in their respective fields.

Siach

The Heschel Center,

in collaboration with
Hazon, supports and
cultivates a network of
Jewish environmental
and social justice
activists in Europe, Israel
and North America
to promote mutual
learning, professional
relationships,
collaborative projects
and the sharing of best
practices.

Hazon Activist Gathering 2011

While there are any number of organizations in Israel devoted to advancing specific
aspects of sustainability, only Heschel is holistically tackling the big picture and
connecting a broad proactive agenda, integrating economic political and social
change and training and partnering with key players in all of those realms.
The Heschel Sustainability Center is a hub for creativity, hope and passion working
to help realize a better Israel - now and for future generations.
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The Heschel Center for Sustainability is Israels leading advocate for a

sustainable Israel; a just society with a robust democratic economy and
healthy environment.

The Heschel Center:

Promotes vision, values, practical models and networks for a sustainable
Israel in the 21st century.

Dedicated to building a sustainable future for Israeli society through education

and empowerment. Our strategies include leadership development and
educational courses offered to governmental and non-governmental organizations
that foster activism, community awareness and social responsibility for all sectors
of Israeli society.

Promotes creative solutions through transformative learning programs that

address such challenges as poisoned air and water, climate disruption, clean
transportation and the growing gaps within Israeli society.
Provides inspiration and ideas while building collaborative platforms to empower
effective leadership for transition to a sustainable economy.
Heschel Centers focus on sustainability bridges all communities and as a result
creates many opportunities and pathways for a better life in a diverse and pluralistic
Israeli society.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was one of

the great moral leaders of this century for the
Jewish people. He passionately combined
scholarship and spiritual sensitivity with political
engagement and social activism. His teachings
of radical amazement and connection to the
natural world, together with the importance of
peace and universal justice are the inspiration
and the foundation of the Heschel Centers
vision of a Sustainable just society in Israel.

The Heschel Center for Sustainability

4 Ravnitzki St, Tel Aviv Tel: +972-3-5608788 Fax: +972-3-5605091

www.heschel.org.il