We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands

Rabbi Yonatan Neril frames the ecological crisis in spiritual terms.

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, which reveals the connection between religion and ecology and mobilizes faith communities to act on climate change. Yonatan authored the bestselling book Eco Bible: An Ecological Commentary on the Hebrew Bible. He speaks internationally on religion and ecology, including at the World Economic Forum in Davos, multiple UN climate conferences, and the Parliament of World Religions. In December 2023 he co-organized the first-ever Faith Pavilion at a UN climate conference (COP28 in Dubai), which included 70 sessions with 325 speakers. Yonatan has also co-organized twelve interfaith environmental conferences in the U.S. and Israel. In addition, he advances faith-based renewable energy innovation in the developing world, facilitating development of a solar field on church lands in Mozambique. Raised in California and active in NFTY, Yonatan completed his M.A. and B.A. from Stanford University where he conducted research on renewable energy in India, and on genetically modified corn in Mexico. He received rabbinical ordination in Israel and lives with his wife, Shana, and their two children in Jerusalem. He enjoys hiking and being in nature.