Yonatan Neril, at The Blogs

Apr 5, 2022, 7:05 PM

Russian religious nationalism is fueling the Ukraine war

It is easy to think of Russia's war in Ukraine as the result of one man—Putin—but the reality is that he acts with the support of much of the Russian people, and its religious leadership. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill...

Mar 27, 2022, 5:28 AM

Russia’s war in Ukraine reveals a crisis in religion

Russia's war in Ukraine has exposed the deep connection between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian political and military leadership. In a recent statement made during the war, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) asked God...

Feb 24, 2022, 3:31 PM

Russia’s war and Ukraine’s nuclear reactors

Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant By RLuts - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/windex.phpcurid=25996874

Nuclear reactors. The Chernobyl Zone. Ammonia tanks. Missiles. These are some of the toxic ingredients in the escalating conflict that Russia is bringing to Ukraine. Russia is not just playing with fire. Its military is now shooting ballistic and...

Nov 2, 2021, 9:15 PM

Featured Post

Jerusalem, Glasgow, and climate leadership

If we truly want to battle climate change, we must stop our marathon use of 10s of 1,000s of plastic bottles, unrecyclable trash, and indestructible souvenirs

Oct 28, 2021, 8:14 PM

Mobilizing Faith Communities on Climate Change

More than 50 years into the modern environmental movement, the primary efforts to limit climate change focus on developing new technology and mustering political will. Those topics will lead discussions at the 26th United Nations climate conference (known as...

Feb 22, 2021, 10:48 PM

How much more tar needs to be spilled to awaken us?

On February 21, the Israeli Ministries of Environmental Protection, the Interior and Health jointly asked the public to refrain from going to any Mediterranean beaches on Israel’s 121 mile (195 kilometer) coastline, until further notice, due to a spill...

Jan 25, 2021, 5:12 PM

Be Fruitful and Multiply and Fill the Earth: Until When?

I asked the former Anglican Archbishop of Burundi whether God’s statement to the first human beings, to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,” still applies. Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries, and has a high...

Jan 19, 2021, 5:20 PM

When we became the weather

I am fortunate to have survived several flash floods. I ran for my life up a hill in northern India when floodwaters swept through. I watched the village where I had just been getting washed away. And last year...

Jan 12, 2021, 6:09 PM

What Does God Have To Do With Solar Energy?

I pray in a synagogue in Jerusalem with solar panels on the roof. While people have prayed in buildings — and times in history — both light and dark, renewable energy can enable the flow of spiritual energy. Harnessing...

Jan 4, 2021, 6:05 PM

Why I Like To Compost, and Why Noah Did Too

I have to admit-- I like to compost. I've been doing so since my mom taught me about it as a kid. There's something earthy about seeing my food peelings become soil that connects me to the circular nature...

About Me

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development and its Jewish Eco Seminars branch. Raised in California, Yonatan completed an M.A. and B.A. from Stanford University with a global environmental focus , and received rabbinical ordination in Israel. He speaks internationally on religion and the environment, and co-organized twelve interfaith environmental conferences in Israel and the U.S. He is the lead author and general editor of three books on Jewish environmental ethics, including Eco Bible, a bestseller in several Amazon Kindle categories. He lives with his wife, Shana and their two children in Jerusalem.

Contact Me