Going green on Shabbat

SYNAGOGUES WILL be urged to pay extra attention to their environmental responsibilities at a special Shabbat in July.

Green Shabbat will take place on July 6 as part of the London Climate Action Week called by the Mayor of London. It is being co-ordinated by Eco Synagogue and backed by the Board of Deputies.

Board vice-president Edwin Shuker said that “during Green Shabbat, we are asking more synagogues to be kickstarting more conversations, with more of their members, about the critical need to safeguard our planet”.

Eco Synagogue was launched at the end of 2017 by a coalition of synagogues from across the religious spectrum.

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg of New North London Masorti Synagogue, one of the inaugural members of Eco Synagogue, said: “Given the centrality of the environment crisis, this would be an excellent opportunity to focus on it.”

Another of the founding members of the group, Finchley Reform, recently announced that its planned new building would incorporate environmentally friendly measures.