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Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development
The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), is a nonprofit organization, founded and directed by Rabbi Yonatan Neril in 2010. Based in Jerusalem,[1] ICSD connects religion and ecology and mobilizes faith communities to act. ICSD's director has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos,[2] multiple UN climate conferences,[3] and the Parliament of World Religions.[4] ICSD's work relates to multiple aspects of interfaith environmental engagement. First, ICSD co-organizes interfaith environmental conferences that amplify the voices of religious leaders and scientists on spirituality and ecology. Second, ICSD published and distributes Eco Bible, a commentary on the Hebrew Bible, as well as the EcoPreacher resource. Third, the Interfaith Eco Seminary Engagement Project promotes teaching of ecologically informed theological education, to spur courageous moral leadership for sustainability. Fourth, ICSD engages in the Faith Inspired Renewable Energy Project, in cooperation with faith institutions in Africa and the renewable energy platform Gigawatt Global, to deploy solar fields in Africa. Fifth, ICSD co-organizes The Los Angeles Faith & Ecology Network, which engages faith-based leadership in mobilizing a grassroots action for stewardship of Creation. Interfaith engagement at UN climate conferencesIn November 2022, Neril organized four multifaith climate events at COP27, the United Nations climate change summit, including three press conferences in the Blue Zone. He was also a co-organizer of the Sinai Interfaith Climate Call, which received media coverage in hundreds of media outlets.[5] ICSD was involved in an interfaith climate repentance ceremony that took place during COP27.[6]     In December 2023, ICSD was a co-organizer of the first-ever Faith Pavilion at a UN climate conference (COP28 in Dubai), which included 65 sessions with 325 speakers. It was hosted by the Muslim Council of Elders, and located in the Blue Zone.[7] ICSD also co-organized interfaith sessions in the UN Global Climate Action Hub, and the Green Zone. ICSD's director co-authored an interfaith oped in Euronews that was published during the COP28 UN climate conference,[8] and co-authored an oped on religion, climate, and philanthropy that was published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy prior to the COP27 UN climate conference.[9] Eco BibleIn 2020, ICSD published Eco Bible volume 1: An Ecological Commentary on Genesis and Exodus.[10] In 2021, ICSD published Eco Bible volume 2: An Ecological Commentary on Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.[11] Eco Bible has been a bestseller in multiple categories on Amazon, and has received over 100 reviews,[12] making it one of the highest reviewed books on religion and ecology on the Amazon platform. Eco Bible draws on thousands of years of Biblical commentary by Jewish sages. Eco Bible is an ecological commentary on the Five Books of Moses, otherwise known The Torah. In its review of Eco Bible, Publishers Weekly wrote that the book “will inspire contemplation on how to live in harmony with nature and the power of conservation.” Professor Bill Brown, Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia calls Eco Bible “a rich repository of insights… for people of faith to move forward with wisdom, inspiration, and hope, all for the sake of God’s good creation.”[13] Eco Preacher 1-2-3In an effort to encourage clergy to preach and teach on Christian ecology at least once a month, ICSD and the Rev. Dr. Leah Schade partnered to develop EcoPreacher 1-2-3. This resource for Christian priests and pastors provides sermon preparation for preaching about caring for God’s Creation. It is distributed to hundreds of pastors each month.[14] As Inside Climate News reported, EcoPreacher "works toward helping more of the faithful view climate change not so much as a political issue but as something rooted in religion."[15] Engaging Seminaries projectBetween 2011 and 2023, Neril co-organized thirteen interfaith environmental conferences in Jerusalem,[16] Dubai, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other cities in the U.S. In July 2011, ICSD organized an interfaith panel of Jewish, Muslim and Christian authorities, who discussed the religious importance of ecological sustainability.[17] This project encourages divinity and theological schools and seminaries to integrate lessons on faith and ecology. ICSD also organizes conferences for seminary deans, faculty, and others on religion and ecology. They have co-organized six conferences so far: The Southeast Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education in Atlanta in March 2018, The Midwest Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education in 2017, the Washington D.C. Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education in 2017, a New York City conference at Union Theological Seminary in 2016, a Jerusalem conference in 2015, and a Jerusalem conference in 2014.[18] In March, 2012, Neril co-organized and spoke at the Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference[19] in Jerusalem, which was focused on promoting change and action for a sustainable development within faith communities around the globe. The conference was co-organized by ICSD and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). In October, 2014, ICSD co-organized the Faith and Ecology Conference for Seminarians in Jerusalem, together with KAS, and the Salesian Pontifical University. The conference focused on the importance of current and emerging faith leaders being a potential vehicle for environmental stewardship and to expand ecology and environmental teaching and action within seminaries.[20] ICSD's director spoke at the International Islamic Climate Change Symposium in August 2015, which featured the release of the Islamic Climate Change Declaration.[21] In June, 2016, ICSD's director presented at the International Seminar on Science and Religion for Environment Care[22] in Torreciudad, Spain and at a press conference in Madrid. ICSD organized an interfaith climate event at the Jerusalem Press Club, on July 26, 2017. Speakers included a judge of the Muslim Sharia Courts in Israel, Kadi Iyad Zahalha; Rabbi David Rosen; and the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton. The event focused on the key role faith leaders can play on raising awareness of the relevance and urgency of curbing climate change and achieving environmental sustainability.[23] Between 2016 and 2019, ICSD co-organized eight Symposia on Ecologically-informed Theological Education. They engaged about 1,000 US seminary faculty and deans, and were held in Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago in 2019; in Dallas in 2019; in Atlanta in 2018; in Columbus, Ohio and Washington D.C. in 2017; and in New York City in 2016. The symposia were co-organized by ICSD, the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and The Green Seminary Initiative, and supported by grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and the Julia Burke Foundation.[24] In November 2022, ICSD organized four multifaith climate events at COP 27, including three the press conference space in the Blue Zone. ICSD was also a co-organizer of the Sinai Interfaith Climate Call, which received media coverage in hundreds of media outlets.[25] Reports on Faith and Ecology Courses in Seminary EducationICSD published three ICSD reports on faith and ecology courses in seminary education in Israel, North America, and Rome,[26] including a Report on Faith and Ecology Courses in North American Seminaries.[27] Research for the report indicated that the number and diversity of courses on faith and ecology at institutions training seminarians in North America increased in the past number of years. Out of 231 seminaries investigated, over 165 courses were found to have been offered at over 55 seminaries in the United States and Canada.[28] Faith-inspired renewable energy project in MozambiqueThe Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, Gigawatt Global, and the Anglican Church of Southern African are collaborating on a solar field in Niassa province, Mozambique to promote deployment of renewable energy and scalable rural sustainable development in Africa. In August 2019, an MOU and land-lease agreement was signed for large-scale solar fields on Anglican church lands in Mozambique.[29] The project was launched in 2017, based on support from the Julia Burke Foundation.[30] Los Angeles Faith & Ecology NetworkICSD co-organizes The Los Angeles Faith & Ecology Network, in collaboration with California Interfaith Power & Light. The LA Faith and Ecology Network (LAFEN) engages faith-based leadership in mobilizing a grassroots action for stewardship of Creation. It is one of the only such networks of clergy and green team leaders in North America.[31] The Network has met monthly since its launch in August, 2020. LAFEN and Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles, organized an event in 2021 focused on city, county and state sustainability goals, and ways in which the faith voice can be strengthened in crucial climate action. In 2022, LAFEN published an interfaith letter to Archbishop Gomez of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, calling on him to end oil drilling at the Murphy Drill Site, which is owned by the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese and leased to Freeport McMoRan Incorporated.[32] Eco Israel ToursEco Israel Tours is a branch of the ICSD which provides a range of eco-tourism programs in Israel.[33] Jewish Eco SeminarsJewish Eco Seminars (JES) is another branch of ICSD that works with a range of Jews in Israel and North America to increase their ecological awareness and strengthen their Jewish identity.[34] References
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