Former Dayenu Rabbinic Fellow Maetal Gerson shared her reflections on the intersection of Jewish life, interfaith collaboration, and climate justice at the 12th Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York on May 5.
The session, which explored “Faith Meets Global Values – Crisis and Promise of Multilateralism,” was sponsored by several organizations, in cooperation with the United Nations Interagency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development and its Multi-Faith Advisory Council.
Maetal, who is now a third-year rabbinical student at the Jewish theological seminary Milstein, referenced her work at Dayenu in her remarks.
(The photo above features Maetal (to the left of the banner) at a rally at the New York State House in 2024.)
Excerpts from Maetal’s presentation
Q: At a time when multilateral systems face fragmentation, how are faith-based actors sustaining resilience for both people and planet at the community level—and what is being overlooked by global policy frameworks?
Maetal: First of all, dialogue is so important for how we are building resilience. As a generation, young people are increasingly encountering messages and using technologies that are isolating us from one another. It is too easy to avoid conversations when we can learn about subjects ourselves online without engaging in dialogue.
Faith leaders push against this tendency and call us to be in community with one another and stress the need to work in deep relationship and collaboration. We can learn that faith leaders offer models of connected communities that sustain commitments to one another.
Global policy frameworks should know how powerful models of collaboration are for young people to witness on a global scale, and that interfaith collaboration is one of the most powerful pathways we have to address climate justice.
Q: You represent a powerful and growing movement of young faith leaders engaging
in climate action. How are youth within faith communities reframing climate change—from a policy issue into a moral and spiritual responsibility?
Maetal: In climate spaces I have worked in (such as Dayenu), we draw on religious language – ideas like stewardship, care for God’s creation, and intergenerational responsibility – to emphasize that addressing the climate emergency is something that should resonate on a spiritual and emotional level.
We are often faced with big questions: How do you imagine building a future in a world such as this? How can you imagine raising children in a political and economic system structured to continue the decimation of our shared environment?
I push back strongly on the hopelessness of this statement because for my generation to move forward with this framework would inevitably fail. Young people are embracing the spirit of collaboration and possibility while also recognizing the absolute emergency of the warming world.
Q: What pathways exist for youth voices to influence global decision-making processes that are often state-driven?
Youth are finding opportunities through organizations that amplify grassroots voices; we’ve seen that in international movements as well as local community organizing.
We’ve seen school walkouts, youth leaders traveling to offices of government and speaking directly to their communities about adopting renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, and keeping corporations and governing bodies accountable. These pathways require monetary support and recognition from a diversity of organizations and stakeholders.
Youth are also using social media and online campaigns to build awareness; many times this is the way that youth express their power when organizations and stakeholders aren’t recognizing the importance of the work to address the climate. We know how to build momentum quickly and apply public pressure in ways institutions can’t ignore.
There are also international interfaith programs that provide platforms for young adults working in climate and human rights in faith settings to come together and build relationships with one another.