Green Prophet

Karin Kloosterman
Senior Editor, Co-Founder

While strapped to a lab bench somewhere in the middle of Switzerland, Karin understood that ecology and the environment was her biggest passion.

Unable to communicate with bugs effectively, she decided that life could be more interesting if she wrote about other people’s discoveries, rather than make her own.

Life led her to Israel, where she now works as a freelance writer for papers like the Jerusalem Post and blogs for sites such as TreeHugger and Carbon Catalog. She also likes to write songs in her spare time – MySpace.

The environment is her most favorite topic and she hopes to be able to share some insight about Israel’s current strides and setbacks along the way. For tips, feedback and prophet sightings, Karin can be reached at karinkl (at) netvision.net.il.

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Ilana Teitelbaum
Managing Editor, Co-Founder

Ilana is of the somewhat controversial view that the earth is worth saving.

This is partly because as a writer, she is hoping to have an audience when her epic fantasy novel is published many years from now.

Currently she lives in hectic, colorful downtown Jerusalem and works as a freelance writer for the Jerusalem Post and Israel21c.

In her spare time she reads voraciously and sometimes reviews books as the Madwoman in the Attic.

For tips, feedback and prophet sightings, Ilana can be reached at ilana (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Jack Reichert
Tech & Development, Co-Founder
As far back as he can remember Jack Reichert has been interested in the environment.

In the second grade, he rallied all of his classmates to donate one recess a week to cleaning up litter from the schoolyard. That was the same year that a city councilman asked him to help with his campaign because of the letter Jack had written asking him to clean up Boston Harbor.

Ever since Jack has followed the development of the international green conscience with anticipation and hope that one day we will treat Mother Earth with the respect she deserves and not turn her into another Giving Tree.

After finishing a five year army/yeshiva program and studying philosophy at the Hebrew University Jack worked for a year training to become a business coach and then another year studying life coaching. Today, when he is not working to make our planet a healthier place he works to help people better their lives.

Check his new self-help site out if you are looking for effective success techniques.

For tips, feedback and prophet sightings, Jack can be reached at jack (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Rachel Bergstein

Rachel is a Peace and Justice Studies major at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. She was also the summer 2008 intern at Friends of the Earth Middle East in Tel Aviv.

When she is not trying to save the earth from environmental apocalypse, she can be found in hot pursuit of the best vegetarian food that Tel Aviv and Washington DC have to offer.

Rachel can be contacted at rachel (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life.

She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment, even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.)

These days she works in an art museum in Tel Aviv, tries to figure out ways to be kinder to our planet, and writes practical advice about how to be green in Israel at Crunchy Greenola. Her Moroccan grandmother is still disappointed but has learned how to cook seitan.

Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Daniella Cheslow

I grew up in a car-dependent suburb in New Jersey, where I noticed strip malls and Wal-Marts slowly replacing farmland.

I got my introduction to nature through hiking trips in Israel. As a counselor for a freshman backpacking program at Northwestern University, I noticed that Americans outdoors seemed to need to arm themselves with performance clothing, specialized water bottles and sophisticated camping silverware. This made me think about how to interact with and enjoy nature simply.

This year, I have been freelance writing and photographing about the environment for the Jerusalem Report and blogging at thetruthherzl.com. In my free time, I bike across Tel Aviv, learn how to cook local foods like stuffed zucchini, and visit farms and dairies across the country.

Daniella can be reached at daniella (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Hamutal Dotan
Hamutal never planned to become obsessed with food, much less with sustainable food. It crept up on her when she wasn’t looking.

At first it was pure self-defense: her parents, though well intentioned, had no idea what to do in a kitchen, and so she had to learn a bit about cooking, sheerly for the sake of her sanity. Chopping things, it turned out, was great for soothing the savage teenager. Skip ahead several years, and she’d figured out that making your own jam from local organic berries was even grander.

Love of food led to love cooking, led to love of ingredients, led to love of markets, led to love of farmers, led to love of land. Hamutal is profoundly convinced that sustainability and pleasure are the best of friends, and tries to write about both of these in equal measure.

She can be reached at hamutal (at) green prophet (dot) com.

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Jesse Fox

Jesse Fox is hoping to complete a graduate degree in urban planning at the Technion sooner rather than later. In the meantime, he is working at green NGO’s, volunteering with African refugees and writing as much as he can to try and get the word out. He is also a regular contributor at TreeHugger.com. Originally from North Carolina, Jesse has lived in Memphis, Boston, Quito and the Arava before finally settling down in Tel Aviv, where he can occasionally be found chilling at the beach.

Jesse can be reached at jesse (at) greenprophet (dot) com

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Michael Green

Born into a family of auto mechanics and engineers in east London’s urban sprawl, Michael bucked the trend and chose a bicycle instead of a car.

A relative newcomer to downtown Jerusalem, he works as a freelance journalist writing for the Jerusalem Post and other publications, as well as blogging at Swords and Ploughshares.

Before moving to Israel, he worked for an environmental NGO in England where he developed a healthy obsession with organic vegetables and an aversion to pesticides and GMOs. Michael’s surname is pure coincidence.

Michael can be reached at michael (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Ziva Haller Rubenstein

Ziva Haller Rubenstein is no revolutionary though she’s hoping she’s starting something big over at Designistdream.com. A blog about art and design from, by and in Israel, DesignistDream (say it slowly and you’ll get it) throws Israel’s visual and design culture into the ring because, it turns out, we’re good. Really good. And not enough people know about it.

Ziva’s professional experience ranges from art and culture magazines and non-profit art educational organizations to museums and galleries in the US, UK and Israel. After avidly reading many of the big art and design blogs for years, she is excited to join the ranks with a focus on Israel’s contribution to the art and design community.

She lives in Modiin with her husband Harry, daughter, Tzofi, and dog, Noonie. She’s thrilled to join the Green Prophets and show that being good to the Earth doesn’t have to conflict with good design taste.

Ziva can be reached at ziva (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Tyson Herberger
After a stint deep-frying foods, Tyson’s second ever job was as a radio announcer. Since then, a passion for news, community and the environment pushed him through the Center for Environmental Citizenship’s Environmental Journalism Academy and National Public Radio’s Next Generation Radio – not to mention high school and university diplomas. With credentials like those under his belt he was able to get a part-time gig as a newsreader while working a day job in urban renewal.

Eventually he gave up community organizing for a full-time career in journalism and media management with assignments in North America, Europe and the Middle East for a variety of radio, web and other endeavors, including Primedia’s now defunct RAM-FM. He’s also an avid hobby photographer.

Tyson can be reached at tyson (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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James Murray-White
Growing up in a green village outside Cambridge, UK gave me an eye into the natural world, and years later, after being an actor, dramatist, weary traveller and anthropologist, the Environment fires me up the most - and the need to save and nurture it, while we live within it.

I now live in Jerusalem, with partner Tania and 2 pesky cats - writing and filming the world (slowly making a documentary about the Bedouin situation) take up my creative time, while growing things organically and composting profusely take up the remainder.

James can be reached at james (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Cleantech and Green Living from the Land of the Prophets

Sophie Ohana
Being a mum at the best of times can be quite a challenge, so much to learn and so quickly, so when everybody is talking about being an eco-mum it can seem just like one more thing that is too much to take on. Well I am here to help and to show you how it can actually make being a mum just that little bit simpler.

So what are my creds for this task? Well I grew up on an organic farm in England and in a slightly crazy eco-house, later studying conventional farming and learnt all about agricultural chemicals, which was a real eye-opener. I became pregnant just under three years ago and felt it was not a question of what but of how; there seemed to be nothing available to keep up with my idea of giving my baby the healthiest environment.

During my first few months I found it ever more frustrating: the idea that I had to send to England for the basics, such as organic cotton clothes, bedding, nappies & toiletries. Hence Tinok Yarok was born. I started with a basic collection of organic cotton baby clothes for the first year and spiralled out to bring together everything green & eco for baby and family; and to let you know just how easy it can be!

Sophie can be reached at sophie (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Daniel Pedersen
Having spent my Jerusalem childhood ear-deep in science fiction stories, I’m still waiting for clean and abundant fusion power. On the way, I dabbled in solar-powered desalination and alternative building technologies at Swarthmore College, and studied the chemistry and mutagenic effects of particulate air pollution at MIT for a PhD in environmental engineering.

Since returning to Jerusalem in 2002, I’ve directed air quality research campaigns from Rosh Hanikrah to Eilat & Aqaba for Hebrew University. I’ve led cooperative regional projects, wrote a successful proposal for the largest air-quality study in the history of the Middle East, and established the first monitoring network in Palestinian cities. Last year I edited a weekly TV environmental spot on Channel 2 and wrote a companion blog.

At Hadassah College I train the next generation of environmental science professionals, audit Israel’s chemical and environmental laboratories for the Israel Laboratory Accreditation Authority, and provide

environmental consulting services to diverse clients.

Daniel can be reached at daniel (at) greenprophet.com

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Hannah Schafer
Hannah moved to Israel from Portland, Oregon in 2006, leaving behind her beloved Cascade Mountains and Columbia River for the Arava desert and Mediterranean Sea. She now lives in Tel Aviv, biking to and from the office of Zalul Environmental Association where she works to raise the world’s awareness of Israel’s water pollution problems.

Hannah is a graduate of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and serves as the Coordinator of the Arava Alumni Peace and Environmental Network, the Arava Institute’s alumni network of over 400 Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and North Americans who work together for peace and environmental change.

Hannah can be reached at hannah (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Jonathan Shapira

Jonathan Shapira authors a blog, Cleantech Investing in Israel, and is a founder and organizer of the Cleantech Israel meetup group, which enables people — including entrepreneurs, investors, academics and government officials — to meet and exchange ideas about the renewable energy, water, and environmental technology sectors.

Now in his final semester at Boston College Law School, he is an intern at Israel Cleantech Ventures and an exchange student at Tel Aviv University.

Jonathan can be reached at jonathan@greenprophet.com.

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Jeffrey Yoskowitz
Jeff grew up in suburban New Jersey where he began his sustainable living crusade as a child by collecting his father’s discarded letterhead paper and using it in the printer for drafts. His knowledge and passion for sustainable living later matured and flourished in college where composting was cool and urban agriculture projects and local foods potlucks were his school’s equivalent of frat parties.

Since then he’s accumulated various organic (and industrial) agricultural experiences and is obsessed with the belief that how we eat affects our world as much as our bodies.

He now lives on the beach in Tel Aviv and when he’s not playing the water or researching food-related issues in Israel, he’s bringing his neighbor’s organic waste, as well as his own, to a nearby compost heap, in addition to tending a closed compost on the roof. A writer, pickler and cook, Jeff is also really proud of his porch garden that he irrigates using his patented gray water system, known to some as a bucket in the shower.

Jeff can be reached at jeff (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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Think you could be the next Green Prophet? Drop us a line: karin (at) greenprophet (dot) com