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Dec. 26-31, 2010
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Hazon And The Arava InstituteThe Ride supports two small organizations working hard to make a big impact! The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies receives 75% of the proceeds, while Hazon receives 25%. Read on to learn more about their programs, download this brochure, or visit their websites: www.arava.org and www.hazon.org. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies Hazon
Download a brochure about the Arava Institute and Hazon Click here to view articles about the work of Hazon and the Arava Institute.
Nature is central to my struggle with my belief in God. Judah HaLevi and Maimonides both looked to nature for their proof of God. One arguing that creation, the fact that our complicated ecosystem exists, is proof of God. The other argues that the day to day beauty of nature proves the existence of God. Whether there is a God as we understand her is debatable. Whether such beauty, such an important part of sustaining life (nature) must be preserved is not debatable-we must do all we can. The Arava Institute is the premier environmental teaching and research program in the Middle East, preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region’s environmental challenges. Together, faculty and students are advancing a critical common cause: a sustainable future for the region’s human and natural resources. Established in 1996, the Arava Institute is a non-profit organization located on Kibbutz Ketura in Israel's Arava Valley near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders and the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. The Arava Institute is a unique oasis of environmental education, research, activism, and international cooperation..
Students at the Arava Institute explore a range of environmental issues from a regional, interdisciplinary perspective while learning peace-building and leadership skills. The student body is comprised of Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, North Americans as well as other nationalities. All courses are taught in English. The academic program offers a unique opportunity for students to study and live together for an extended period of time; building networks and understanding that will enable future cooperative work and activism in the Middle East and beyond. Here, the idea that nature knows no political borders is more than a belief. It is a fact, a curriculum, and a way of life. Academic options include: year or semester programs, Master’s Degree, Environmental MBA, and summer course. What Makes the Academic Program Unique
“I came with the hope I could make steps toward peace. I never imagined the experience would change my life.” Shira, a Jewish Israeli “I now understand that Arabs and Jews share something very important: a love of the land. We can protect it only by working together.” Lila, a Moslem Palestinian “We students, both Arabs and Israelis, still disagreed on much, but that despite our struggles the dialogue was necessary. We have to talk because we are environmentalists. The air and the water don’t know borders. A good environment needs a stable political situation and turning our backs on what is happening will not change anything.” Mohammed, a Moslem Jordanian "On the one hand, talking about politics is difficult, but on the other hand, as roommates, we share together stories of love and of pain. Or talk about what I will wear." Alma, a Jewish Israeli
The Arava Institute’s mission goes beyond training and teaching to include high-quality research. The Research Program, established in 1998, is renowned for its outstanding investigations that have greatly contributed to the body of knowledge available concerning environmental and conservation issues pertinent to the Middle East. The Research Program encourages applied initiatives with the ability to improve the quality of decision-making in environmental matters. Projects tend to be interdisciplinary in their focus, drawing on the social and natural sciences in order to advance comprehensive understanding of environmental problems. Leading by example, environmental research studies are underway which have already broken new ground in cooperative efforts for regional sustainability. Research teams in the Program are comprised of environmentalists and scientists from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Morocco and Israel working together to explore a range of trans-boundary topics, including sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, the future of the Dead Sea, air pollution and stream restoration.
The Arava Institute’s mission does not end when students complete their program. In 2005, APEN was launched to assist with ongoing contact and communication among alumni, and to connect between alumni from different years or semesters. APEN activities include an annual conference for Arava Institute alumni, an interactive database of alumni information and an alumni listserve. Organizational and financial support are provided to small-scale peace and environmental projects in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Projects receiving such backing include, ‘Biogas in Bedouin Unrecognized Villages’, ‘Rain Harvesting in Akko’ and ‘Aqaba-Eilot Environmental Education Exchange Project’. Ultimately this Network will become an active new force on the environmental scene, a new cadre of peace-builders made up of graduates who have the leadership skills, environmental background and personal connections to make change possible. Their connections to each other, and the positions they achieve within existing environmental organizations, will allow them to partner whenever possible to magnify the effect or effectiveness of a project.
Center for a Healthy Environment in the Arava (SABABA) In 2002, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies launched a local initiative to advance public environmental action in the Arava region of Israel. SABABA serves as a coordinating body for local environmental efforts and aims to support and foster eco-activism among local residents. The Arava constitutes the last major stretch of preserved desert in Israel, holding a rich treasure of biodiversity, breath-taking desert vistas and a refuge for residents and visitors alike. The mission of SABABA is to help identify critical conservation and environmental issues in the Southern and Central Arava, to preserve our unique and delicate desert environs.
Hazon means 'vision.' Hazon's mission is to revitalize Jewish life, to foster new vision and to encourage Jews, as Jews, to live healthier and more environmentally sustainable lives.
Looking at food through the prism of Jewish tradition and contemporary life.
The conference program will feature engaging speakers and panels, hands-on workshops and cooking demonstrations, opportunities for collective and individual Jewish learning, and special sessions for kids and family. For more information, click here or email Leah Koenig at leah@hazon.org.
Our pluralistic Beit Midrash, launched in 2001, explores the synergy between Jewish tradition and the world in which we live. We learn primary texts and contemporary midrash; learn in traditional chevruta but also do bibliodrama and art midrash. Our overall goal is to create a learning context that is rich and engaging for those with strong Jewish backgrounds and good text skills, yet accessible to those who have very little background.
We foster new vision in ways large and small. We creating large events that bring lots of people together, but we also do this on an individual level: we bring together volunteers, nurture and support them, and help them develop the tools to become leaders and take active and positive roles in the community.
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Fundraising bike rides have existed for many years. Hazon's insight has been to create Rides not only to raise money but also to strengthen community and as a platform for cutting-edge Jewish education. Our Rides reach participants across an incredibly wide range of ages and backgrounds and reframe what it means to be Jewish in powerful and sometimes life-changing ways.
Like organized bike rides, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs programs have existed for 20 years, but Hazon is the first organization that has created a CSA program that will have Jewish as well as ecological impact. A CSA is a co-operative agreement between a farmer and a group of urban members where members pay in advance for a share of a farmer's produce for the season, guaranteeing them fresh (often picked the same day!) organic produce while supporting local farmers and sustainable agriculture. 
Jewish food traditions are rich and ancient. And today, growing numbers of people are
also beginning to think about contemporary food issues. Hazon is at the forefront of this emerging national movement at the intersection of Jewish life and contemporary food issues. From Latkes to Lattes: Hazon’s Conference on Jews, Food, and Contemporary Life will examine questions such as:
Our 2006 Beit Midrash was titled, "Cultivating, Sanctifying, Consuming: The Place of Food and Eating in the Jewish Tradition." Our intent (in all that we do, not just our Beit Midrash) is to bring to life something that Reb Shlomo Carlebach once said: "the Torah is a commentary on the world and the world is a commentary on the Torah." For our Beit Midrash that means: how do the texts inform our lives, and how do our lives inform those texts?
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