This year's event is Climate Justice and the Jewish Community: A Call to Action Through Dialogue, a facilitated panel discussion with a Q and A session where they will discuss the current action and movement within the Jewish community towards an environmentally-just future. The event will feature several panelists who will offer various perspectives on what the next steps can be.
Speakers include Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, a pioneer in the field of religion and ecology and a eco-theologian, spiritual leader, writer and creative; Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, a Black Jewish Rabbinic Scholar and Public Affairs Advisor at Jewish Federations of North America and leader of the JEDI (Jewish Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and racial justice initiatives; Kristy Drutman, a Jewish-Filipina environmental media creator and founder of Brown Girl Green, a media platform exploring the intersections between media, diversity, and environmentalism; Sophia Rich, an Ann Arbor high school junior who is passionate about connecting Jewish principles and climate justice and a member of the National Leadership Board for the Jewish Youth Climate Movement; Vicki Kaplan, Director of Organizing at Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, as well as an activist and campaigner committed to movement-building and anti-racism work; and Ariel Mayse, assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University and researcher on resources of Jewish thought and theology for constructing contemporary environmental ethics.
Our event is generously sponsored by the The Jean & Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies; University of Michigan Hillel; University of Michigan Trotter Multicultural Center; University of Michigan School of Social Work Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; University of Michigan School of Social Work Student Union; Temple Beth Emeth of Ann Arbor; Beth Israel Congregation of Ann Arbor; The Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor; Repair the World Detroit; University of Michigan’s American Culture Department; Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation; The Well; and The Amir Project.