Congregation Shaare Zedek and the Chai Minyan are pleased to host a special Shabbat evening with Jay Shofet from the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), sponsored by the David, Ursula, & Adina Michaeli Memorial Education Fund which supports Israel programming at Shaare Zedek.
Mincha, kabbalat Shabbat, and ma'ariv will begin at 6:30 pm, followed by a communal dinner and then our featured event. Please scroll down to read more about Jay's talk.
Dinner registration has now closed. Limited seats are still available -- please call the Shaare Zedek office for more information: 212-874-7005. Unregistered guests are still welcome to join us for the talk; we recommend arriving no later than 8:15 pm.
About the talk:
Where Start-Up Nation Meets the Green Revolution: How Israeli Eco-Innovation is Advancing Sustainability World-Wide
From state-sponsored aid of decades past, to the private entrepreneurship of today, Israeli eco-innovation has been changing the face of the developing world. What are the drivers of innovation in Israel? Jay will explain the special qualities that have allowed Israel to lead innovation world-wide in many fields. Learn about advances in both human capital and technology toward sustainable development with a triple bottom-line: environmental, economic, and social. In solar power, agriculture, irrigation, urban nature, water management, birding conservation, public transportation apps, and more, Israeli innovation is driving the market and changing societies.
Jay Shofet serves as the Director of Partnerships and Development at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. Jay previously served as the Director of The Green Environment Fund, which was a leading philanthropic partnership that supported the environmental movement in Israel for 15 years. Previously, Jay served as the Director of Resource Development Consultation for Shatil, responsible for a national team of consultants who provided training and support for NGOs in fundraising and income-generation, as well as Director of Shatil's Religious Pluralism project, working to advance religious pluralism. Jay has also worked for the Jewish Agency for Israel and was the founding director of the Agency's People-to-People Center.
A resident of south Tel Aviv, Jay grew up in upstate New York and moved to Israel in 1986. He holds a BA in Government from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and an MA in Political Science from New York University. Jay served in the IDF in the Military Police, and in the Civil Guard, and is father to Shani, 26, a social worker in Kiryat Shemona, and Nadav, 22, an intelligence officer in the IDF.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) is the oldest, leading, and largest environmental non-profit organization in Israel, and represented in the United States by NatureIsrael™. Since 1953, SPNI has dedicated itself to protecting and preserving Israel’s natural resources, environment, and unique landscape through education, activism, and advancing the love of nature. SPNI works with policy makers and young people, across the country and in all sectors, to create a sustainable future for Israel, protecting and harnessing Israel’s natural resources for current and future generations.