Mission and Values
Our mission is to bring together all the different groups within Israel’s environmental movement to create a strong, united force for change. Picture this movement as a large, colorful quilt, with each piece representing a different organization or strategy. Our job is to stitch these pieces together, making sure that everyone’s efforts combine into something bigger and more powerful.
We see our core role as building a broad, diverse, effective, and collaborative movement. Our aim is to drive deep social and cultural change, grounded in both a coherent ideological framework and a solid factual and scientific foundation.
L&E, like the environmental movement both in Israel and globally, is driven by several core values:
Long-Term Vision for Future Generations
We believe that every personal and public decision must consider the needs of future generations, even at the cost of present-day convenience.
Equality
Our concept of equality encompasses three dimensions: social disparities fuel the environmental crisis and vice versa; equality should be intergenerational, ensuring future generations have what we have; and the inclusion of animals and natural systems within our moral circles.
Social Ecology
Ecological systems thrive due to both individual organisms and the interactions between them. Belonging, diversity, and mutual responsibility are essential for human and social existence.
Non-violence and Non-coercion
Humans are not meant to conquer the land and environment or dominate others. Exploiting others—whether human or environmental—is unsustainable and destined to fail, as the exploited will eventually rebel.
Humility and Modesty
We must appreciate and respect the ecological wisdom and gifts that nature provides. Practicing humility involves modesty, reducing consumption, finding happiness in simplicity, and embracing voluntary frugality.
Life and Environment focuses on building an environmental movement in four dimensions:
1. Instrumental dimension:
• Pooling resources and building infrastructure based on these resources.
• Building structured collaborations within the environmental movement.
• Creation of supporting services for organizations and initiatives.
2. Strategic dimension:
• Examining the change strategy of the member organizations.
• Examining the change strategy of the environmental movement as a whole.
3. Ideological dimension and values:
• Conceptual meetings and examination of personal and organizational values
• Writing a movement ideological manifesto
4. "Symbolic" and "ritual" dimension:
• Creating founding events of the environmental movement.
• Creating common ethos and symbols.
The role of the environmental movement is to create a different story that criticizes the existing system on the one hand, and produces a positive vision on the other - a vision that causes as many people as possible to join, to believe in their ability to bring about the desired change according to the above values.
The environmental movement must challenge the existing system, create cultural alternatives that will grow from the ground up, and plant roots for change.
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