Mission Statement

Jewish law and tradition mandate that we protect, serve, and care for all of creation. As it says in Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13,

"Do not corrupt or desolate my world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you”

In seeking to fulfill this mandate, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life of Southern California (CoejlSC) works to educate and activate our community in order to address and respond to the pressing and complex environmental problems we are faced with today. Our fundamental goals are to develop and implement sound environmental practices within our community and its institutions, to instill environmental stewardship in present and future generations, and to further support these practices by actively participating in the formulation of public policy. As a Resolution of the Central Conference of American Rabbis states:

“We have a solemn obligation to do whatever we can within reason both to prevent harm to current and future generations and to preserve the integrity of the creation with which we have been entrusted. Not to do so when we have the technological capacity as we do in the case of non-fossil fuel energy and transportation technologies is an unforgivable abdication of our responsibility.”

As part of a larger community, we are committed to collaborating with other communities of faith in order to promote and affect environmental consciousness and behavioral change. On the local level, CoejlSC is a founding member of the Interfaith Environmental Council (IEC), a coalition of religious institutions charged with making environmental issues a significant focus of life in Southern California. On the state level, CoejlSC works with California Interfaith Power and Light (CIPL) and the California Jewish Public Affairs Committee (JPAC). On the national level, we are an affiliate of Coejl, a national organization housed in and supported by the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA) and a member of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), a vital and dynamic interfaith initiative.

Purpose, Mission, Principles

The purpose of CoejlSC is to "instill a commitment to environmental protection rooted in Jewish values."

Our Mission:

  1. To work with 13 major Jewish institutions to facilitate measurable and identifiable progress towards environmental stewardship.
  2. To work with other faiths in the interfaith community to encourage a commitment towards environmental protection.
  3. To provide 3 major events yearly whereby Jews who are interested in or share CoejlSC values meet, share a sense of commitment and reestablish their connection to each other and to the CoejlSC mission.
  4. To have a positive impact on local, regional, and statewide environmental legislation with national and, if possible, international importance.

Our guiding principles are to:

B Be knowledgeable
I Inspire and challenge
B Be respectful
L Lead by example
E Educate and encourage