As young people, we have inherited a world of environmental destruction and social injustice that threatens our very lives—and futures. While we did not create these issues, we have a unique position and power, as valued members of the Jewish community and in broader society, to raise our moral voice in the charge toward climate justice.
In Jewish tradition, for millennia our community has been compelled by the idea of L’dor V’dor, from generation to generation—the need to preserve tradition and life and transmit them to our children. Today, the weight of our obligation to L’dor V’dor is upon us. We must live according to the value of Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world,” and act as the midrash Kohelet Rabbah instructs us: “For if you corrupt it, there is no one to repair it for you” (7:13:1). As Jews, we are adept survivalists, having weathered many oppressive storms before. We must reinvigorate our Jewish tradition and inspire systemic, political change by rising up collectively against the climate crisis.
The Jewish Youth Climate Movement (JYCM), a program of Hazon, was founded in 2019 to help the Jewish community achieve such levels of action. We are the only national, Gen-Z-led organizing movement dedicated to combating climate change and environmental injustice from a Jewish lens.
At JYCM, each word in our name motivates us to build a better world:
Judaism teaches us “tzedek tzedek tirdof,” meaning “justice, justice, you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). Throughout history, our people have bravely advocated for justice. As a people connected to the environment and as a movement dreaming of collective liberation, we must pursue a sustainable and equitable world for all.
Our Goal is to make taking collective action towards climate justice a central, defining feature of what it means to be Jewish over the next decade, empowering Jewish youth to lead our fight to build a sustainable and equitable world for all.
Our role is to:
EMPOWER
young people to become leaders
COMPEL
our Jewish institutions to orient around climate education and action
MOBILIZE
with Jews across generations and backgrounds to change policies and institutional practices at the local and national level
AGITATE
institutions, corporations, and our government to combat the climate crisis
DEFINE
what it means to be Jewish in the era of climate change and to interact sustainably and equitably with our world (the physical Earth and those who inhabit it)
Our Theory of Change
Educate & Raise Awareness
We create change first by exposing the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for systemic change within Jewish-American communities.
Create Equitable Growth
We find young Jews through schools, synagogues, and youth groups, and invite them to join our movement. Though steered by a centralized National Leadership Board, we are building a decentralized network of kvutzot (local chapters) who make up the core of our movement. We are committed to careful growth, at the speed we can absorb people, in order to ensure that those we recruit find an inclusive, equitable home that centers their access needs in our movement.
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Internally Change the Conversation
We orchestrate actions that tell stories, ones that draw the connection between climate justice and a resilient Jewish future.
Bolster the External Climate Movement
As we activate the Jewish community, we will pivot outward, channeling Jewish energy for change into an active and strategically supportive arm of the national climate movement.
Develop Leadership & Community
We build up each other's leadership skills while cultivating community. We bake accessibility and inclusivity into all our programs and actions. We are fiercely hopeful for a better world: we celebrate one another, pursue radical optimism, and laugh along the way.
Lovingly Agitate Our Passive Supporters
According to the 2021 Jewish Electorate Institute National Survey of Jewish Voters, climate change is the number one issue among Jewish voters, across all denominations and generations. By and large, Jews are informed on the issue and eager for society to implement climate solutions but aren’t yet mobilized in this fight: we call them to act with us.
Act, Recruit, Train
We stage creative actions that escalate and disrupt the passive status quo in the Jewish community by inciting institutional change. We then integrate these target communities into our rapidly expanding movement.
Become a Part of Our Movement