Making Jerusalem a Sustainable City

I personally coordinate a Center for Sustainability in the Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Romema. Most people would say that is quite unique because that population typically gets a bad rap when it comes to environmental friendliness and that is because the families are large, on average 7.7 children per household and they use a lot of ‘one-time-use’ dishware, therefore producing a large amount of non-recyclable waste.

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I’ve been working for the Jerusalem Green Fund (JGF) for over 6 years. The JGF is a non for profit organization that focuses on sustainability in the greater Jerusalem area. Most of our activities lie within city limits, while others look regional as a biosphere. We are active in several different neighborhoods on a grassroots level, working with residents, schools and community organizations that are looking to live green, cleaner and healthier lives. 

I personally coordinate a Center for Sustainability in the Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Romema. Most people would say that is quite unique because that population typically gets a bad rap when it comes to environmental friendliness and that is because the families are large, on average 7.7 children per household and they use a lot of ‘one-time-use’ dishware, therefore producing a large amount of non-recyclable waste.

However, when taking a closer look at their day to day lives, you would notice that they use public transportation much more than owning private vehicles, because of their religious lifestyle they do not travel one and half days a week (no cars/buses/trains/planes) and they tend to have lending libraries which are called “gemachim” in Hebrew, which is an acronym for doing something charitable out of love and kindness –– and for just about every product you could imagine.

There are gemach’s for gowns for fancy occasions to chocolate molds, holy books to baby supplies –– the list goes on. This is characteristic of the Ultra-Orthodox community everywhere, not just in Jerusalem. Although it does not stem from an environmental value or need, but a financial one, surely it reduces consumption. 

Stereotypically, this population is very urban, living exclusively in apartment buildings, and therefore disconnected from nature. That is not to say that there are no individuals who are connected to nature, surely there are, but on a whole it is seen to be true.

It is rare to own a garden apartment and if someone has a porch garden they are very privileged. Striking examples of the disconnect include terrible littering in the public domain –– something which my center deals with a lot. We created a friendly-looking character called Tzachi Pachi (translates to Tzachi, a boy’s name, the garbage can) who is a green garbage can with ginger colored sideburns and a yarmulke who encourages children to throw out their waste correctly.

Ironically, this population is almost obsessed with aesthetics and style, however either in their own homes or themselves personally, and the public domain, which is looked upon as an ownerless space where control is not possible, remains messy and dirty.

I will say that the Mayor of Jerusalem, a modern religious man who received many Ultra-Orthodox votes, has cleaned up the city incredibly generally and specifically in these neighborhoods. I led a focus group of women residents where we mapped out the causes and solutions for keeping the streets and sidewalks clean, then presented it to the mayor’s staff. Those solutions were indeed adopted by the sanitation department, although the habits of people remain.

There is still much progress to be made with this subpopulation of Israeli society, but environmental awareness is on the rise. I have expanded my work beyond Romema and recently gathered a round-table of Ultra-Orthodox Jerusalemites to think in citywide terms. I hope it will bring more action and green ripple effects. 

::Jerusalem Green Fund

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