Every shekel or minute of attention paid to advancing the gas industry will come at the expense of advancing renewable energy projects that we so desperately need... Any project that is set up now could stay with us for decades and delay Israel's transition to a carbon-neutral economy."
OUR STORY – FROM COASTLINE TO NATIONWIDE STRUGGLE
IHG formed in 2017 as a grassroots struggle against the Leviathan gas rig planned for only six miles off Israel’s northern coast. The struggle was galvanized by a 2016 report that the offshore Tamar rig, located 14 miles from the southern city of Ashdod, had emitted more than 30 times (!) the pollutants predicted. In fact, the rig had released more carcinogens than all of Israel’s power plants and factories combined.
Unfortunately, the nearshore Leviathan rig began operations in 2020. However, we refused to relinquish Israel’s citizens’ rights to a safe environment for today and future generations. Instead, we expanded our vision nationwide — to transition Israel to renewable energies, remove petrochemical facilities from population centers, and optimize pollution monitoring and enforcement.
Today, IHG operates regional groups nationwide, enjoys broad support and is funded by the public alone. Our organization became a non-profit association in August 2018.
WHY, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN?
The photos say it all.
Submitted by our supporters for a photography competition, they share moments of beauty & darkness, empowerment & challenge, laughter, loss, love.
It’s why we’re here. And what we’re fighting for.
Nationwide.
And the time — as pollution costs to health and the environment are already appraised at NIS 31 billion annually — is now.
Our work groups focus on strategy, government relations, legal actions, scientific research, marketing and digital, branding, advertising, fundraising and field activity. Activities at both regional and national levels are voluntary, but we also procure the services of nationally and internationally recognized professionals to provide unbiased expert reports.
IHG operates in close cooperation with other Israeli environmental groups and is a board member of the long-standing Life and Environment, featuring most of Israel’s non-profit environmental organizations.
Our Goals
- Safeguard Israel’s public health and environment by encouraging the rapid transition to renewable energies, emphasizing solar
- Launch Israel’s first independent, citizen-funded air pollution monitoring platform
- Remove petrochemical facilities from Israel’s population centers
- Help fight climate change through national policies ensuring that Israel meets the UN’s IPCC greenhouse gas emission targets
Our Principles
As a civilian organization leading a critical struggle for all of Israel’s residents, we embrace three basic principles:
Impartiality
Our organization is home to activists from all parties, ethnicities, and religious affiliations.
Respectful dialogue
Our strength lies in the justness of our cause and our ability to maintain a respectful and appropriate dialogue.
Non violent
We relentlessly pursue our cause, but our activities are non-violent and in complete accordance with Israeli law.
Read More
- Learn more about rabbinic efforts to combat climate change
- Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, 2015
- Pope Francis issues climate change warning ahead of Cop 26, October 2021
- ‘Listen to the cry of the Earth’: Pope, Top Christians urge world leaders to act on climate change, NBC News, September 2021
- How Green Can Judaism Get, Zavit, November 2021
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