Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Founder and CEO of Dayenu, reacts to the nomination and confirmation hearings of Lee Zeldin to be head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
We hope that Lee Zeldin – nominated to lead the EPA in one of the most consequential moments in history for the future of our climate – will lean on his Jewish values to lead us towards a more just, livable future. We believe that protecting humanity and our planet, both for ourselves and for future generations, is absolutely foundational to Judaism.
Every day, we face the tragic reality that the climate crisis is here – this week, in the form of the devastating fires in Los Angeles. We hope Mr. Zeldin’s faith compels him to safeguard our nation’s air and water, uphold pollution protections, and disseminate grants to communities long overburdened by pollution. We need him to lead the agency with future generations, not short-term profits, in-mind.
Central tenets of Judaism align with the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment:
- Protect the sanctity of all life. Sustaining the planet for the long term – l’dor v’dor – from generation to generation – requires urgent climate action.
- As Jews, we are commanded to pursue justice (tzedek tzedek tirdof). The climate crisis impacts us all, but most especially Black, Brown, Indigenous, and communities of color that have long lived in the shadows of polluting facilities. Prioritizing environmental justice means: prohibiting new fossil fuel projects, especially in frontline communities long overburdened by pollution, cleaning up dormant facilities and legacy polluted sites, and investing climate funds in green jobs and industry in these areas.
- Jewish values call us to take action to avert the worst of climate devastation: shomrei adamah/protect the earth; bacharta bahayim/choose life; bal tashchit/do not destroy; and shomer ger yatom v’almanah/protect the vulnerable.
President-elect Trump has made it clear that he will prioritize fossil fuel interests over environmental protection, even seeking to dismantle or significantly hamper the EPA. We’re concerned that Zeldin will pursue President Trump’s proposed policies, accelerating the climate crisis, which will cause more suffering for the most vulnerable in our communities and will shift the planet towards a hotter, drier, and more dangerous future.
Dayenu has joined with nearly 70 climate, environmental, faith, and social justice organizations in sending a letter to Senators sharing these concerns.
For the sake of all Americans and the planet, we urge Mr. Zeldin to remember the Midrash that when G-d gave Eden to Adam & Eve he warned: “be mindful then that you do not spoil and destroy My world – for if you spoil it, there is no one after you to repair it.” (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 7:13)