Jay Shofet

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Jun 23, 2021, 3:57 PM

A Government of Change — or Climate Change?

There is a new government of change in Israel – but will it be a government of climate change? Israel’s environmental movement has reason to hope that yes, this new government leadership will take meaningful, positive change on core...

Feb 10, 2020, 5:50 AM

This Tu BiShvat, don’t plant a tree in Israel

Grass and wildflowers in the Golan Heights. January 8, 2006. (Doron Horowitz/Flash90)

KKL-JNF’s pine forests have done more harm than good: they contribute to climate change and disrupt Israel’s unique biodiversity

Jan 31, 2018, 9:53 PM

It’s Tu B’Shvat, and Israel Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

In Israel, as in most countries, our woodlands and forests are mostly on state-owned lands -- even those widely known as “JNF forests.” Managing these forests for the benefit of the public is clearly the duty of the state,...

Dec 6, 2016, 1:23 PM

Planting trees in Israel is a bad idea right now

The rush to replant forests risks lasting harm to the natural ecosystem; better to faciliate healthy, diverse regrowth

Jul 5, 2013, 12:48 PM

For the Common Good, Nurture the Common Ground

"Egypt will emerge from its perilous drift only when everyone… takes responsibility for the commons, rather than just grabbing their own. That’s where the environmentalists have such an advantage over the politicians, because all they think about is the...

Jan 20, 2013, 12:12 AM

For the Bar Mitzvah of the New Century, A Grown-Up Agenda: Sustainability

The young 21st century has entered its bar mitzvah year, and it’s time to grow up. 2013 has entered just as 2012 left us: with a jolting reminder we’re living on a warming planet where extreme weather events are...

Nov 1, 2012, 6:44 PM

Our leaders must choose — climate silence or science

Hurricane Sanday has driven home the reality that our leaders must choose between climate silence and climate science -- before it's too late

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About Me

Jay Shofet is the director of partnerships and development at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the oldest and largest environmental nonprofit organization in Israel. He previously served as the executive director of the Jerusalem-based Green Environment Fund.