Aytzim's Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) offers a place for all people — regardless of political or religious affiliation — who care about humanity's responsibility to preserve the Earth and the special responsibility of the Jewish people to preserve the ecology of Israel. The GZA works to educate and mobilize people around the world for Israel’s environment; to protect Israel's environment and support its environmental movement; to improve environmental practices within the World Zionist Organization and its constituent agencies; and to inspire people to work for positive change. By focusing on the environment while working from a pluralistic and multicultural base, the Green Zionist Alliance seeks to bridge the differences between and within religions and people — helping to build a peaceful and sustainable future for Israel and the Middle East.
Israel’s environment is in serious trouble
- The Dead Sea is disappearing — within 30 years it may be gone completely.
- Every year, hundreds of people in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area alone die from air pollution-related diseases, and more than a thousand Israelis die every year from cancer caused by air, ground and water pollution.
- Wells and aquifers — vital for clean drinking water — have been polluted for years.
- As land is developed twice as fast as the population grows, open space is quickly giving way to urban and suburban sprawl.
- Many species from the coral reefs of Eilat are threatened with extinction.
Israel and the Zionist movement have succeeded in many ways beyond our wildest expectations. Israel has become a robust country with a unique cultural life. However, its success also has produced a litany of serious and life-threatening environmental problems. We are here to help bring about positive change. We are here to help green Israel.
Our members, volunteers and leaders come from across the political and religious spectra. We care deeply about the country, the people and the land of Israel, and we are dedicated to working toward a sustainable future. We work closely with a broad coalition of Jewish and environmental organizations and leaders in Israel and around the world to ensure that our policies complement local initiatives.
As a former member organization of the American Zionist Movement and the World Zionist Organization, the Green Zionist Alliance accepts the Jerusalem Program, which delineates the foundations of Zionism.