The Environment: MI-COEJL

CARING FOR THE EARTH

Michigan Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (MI-COEJL) is the local affiliate of COEJL, the leading Jewish environmental organization in the United States.  Since its founding in 1993, COEJL has helped tens of thousands of Jews make a connection between Judaism and the environment.  COEJL has put environmental protection on the agenda of the organized Jewish community and made the case to elected officials and decision-makers that protecting the environment is a moral and religious obligation.  Today, COEJL represents 29 national Jewish organizations spanning the full spectrum of Jewish religious and communal life and serves as the voice of the organized Jewish community on environmental issues in Washington, D.C. and around the country.

• Bring together the teachings of Judaism with the lessons of our natural world.
• Expand the contemporary understanding of such Jewish values as tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedek (justice) to include the protection of both people and other species from environmental degradation.
• Extend such traditions as social action and g’milut hasadim (performing deeds of loving kindness) to environmental action and advocacy. And shalom (peace or wholeness), which is at the very core of Jewish aspirations, is in its full sense harmony in all creation. 
• Provide forums for Jews to explore and deepen a commitment to protecting the environment. 

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit sponsored the founding of MI-COEJL and provides ongoing in-kind support for the organization.