Podcast interview with Rabbi Yonatan Neril – 🎧 The Green Lectionary Podcast
Rabbi Yonatan Neril is the founder and executive director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), an organization that promotes the vital connection between faith traditions and environmental responsibility while encouraging religious communities to take meaningful action on climate issues. In 2024, he helped lead a major faith-and-ecology video initiative in partnership with Nas Daily, reaching an audience of more than nine million viewers.
Yonatan is the author of the bestselling book Eco Bible: An Ecological Commentary on the Hebrew Bible and is widely recognized as a leading voice on the intersection of religion and sustainability. He has spoken at prominent international gatherings, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, several United Nations climate summits, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
A member of the World Economic Forum’s Faith in Action working group, Yonatan played a central role in launching and co-organizing the first Faith Pavilion at a UN climate conference during COP28 in Dubai in 2023. The pavilion hosted 70 sessions and featured 325 speakers from around the world. He has also helped organize twelve interfaith environmental conferences across Israel and the United States.
Originally from California, Yonatan earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University, where his research focused on renewable energy development in India and genetically modified corn in Mexico. After moving to Israel, he received rabbinical ordination and now resides in Jerusalem with his wife, Shana, and their two children. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors.
Share this post:
