Frequently Asked Questions

Some twenty years ago I reached the conclusion that if one wishes to truly have a positive influence on the state of Israel in general, and the environment in particular, one needs to be involved politically. Today, I know this to be true. The question is: “how”? For years my view was that similar to Europe, it is best to establish a powerful green party that can join the government coalition and influence the national agenda.  Back in the day, we created the “Green Movement Party” and I ran for Knesset on its list.   I learned from the experience that even the “green” Israeli public, that sees sustainability the central challenge on the country’s political agenda will for the most part vote for large parties which are generally considered to be less esoteric and having better prospects for crossing the electoral threshold, in light of its being raised to 3.25% of the votes. It took a few years, but eventually I internalized this reality.

When I heard that Benny Gantz was toying with idea of entering politics, I knew that I wanted to be part of the new party he was founding.  I have known Benny for forty years. I knew that he offered the alternative that Israelis were looking for to Netanyahu leadership: An honest man, courageous, decent, ethical and moderate: a natural leader. His main messages “Israel before anything else” with unity and reconciliation being the of imperative of the hour resonated with me.  I also knew that Benny’s love for the State of Israel included a commitment to the “Beautiful Land of Israel” and its preservation.  I sensed that that I could contribute to the environmental vision and activities of the new parties.  Most of all, it was clear to me that at this juncture in history, the state of Israel does not need parties that highlight the things that separate between the country’s different “tribes”, but rather a party that brings us together and bridges the gaps between us. 

 The truth is that I first met Benny Gantz when I was 17 years old.  The Young Judaea Year course in Israel that I attended included a period of time working on a farm, and I found myself adopted with a young family on Moshav Kfar Warburg: Shoshi and Elli Inbar and their children Orit, Kfir and Barak.  I would wake early each morning to milk cows and work at different tasks. One day, Shoshi announced to me that we would be traveling in the afternoon for the Closing Ceremonies of her little brother’s Basic Military Training.  At the time, I had been in Israel for four months and I recall that I was forced to sheepishly ask her what the meaning of “Tiranut” (Basic Training) was. We ultimately attended the ceremony near Hadera, and when it ended she introduced me to her brother Benny who had just finished finished the first chapter in what would eventually become a storied military career.

At the end of the year, I thought that I might like to stay in Israel but my parents asked that I return to the states and delay my joining the Israeli army for a year.  I agreed, and eventually after two years and a degree at the University of North Carolina I made Aliyah and was drafted into the IDF as a lone soldier in the Nahal infantry.  When I reached the stage of noncommission officer and advanced training, by total coincidence my company commander was a very young and admired Benny Gantz. I was in the company with a group of lone soldiers from abroad and Benny made sure that all of us would complete the grueling six months as paratroopers in every way. And so it was.  During the time I was a soldier under Benny’s command I learned a great deal from example about being a competent soldier, leadership and most of all, values.  More than once I heard my fellow soldiers in the company say that if our talented company commander doesn’t one day become the Israeli army’s chief of staff, then something in the system is wrong. In retrospect, it seems that the military promotion system works just fine

Without a doubt, passing the 2021/2022 budget after several days and nights of voting was an unforgettable moment.  So many people were sure that this coalition, comprised of such different perspectives would never succeed to come together and agree on a budget. And – what do you know – we proved that the “Government of Change” and everything it represents  – in terms of political leaders ability to listen and compromise for the good of the people and the state – was not a passing phenomenon.

Along with that, my first meeting as chair of the Knesset subcommittee for environment and climate influence on health, the major conference we convened to announce the State Comptroller’s Report About the Climate Crisis along with the preliminary vote in the Knesset plenary which approved “The State of Nature and Biodiversity Preservation Law” that I had written five years earlier with my friend Uri Shanas – were also profoundly meaningful experiences.

Three magnificent daughters: Mika the eldest is completing her advanced degree in the U.S., in public policy and computational analysis with a focus on renewable energy;  Hadas finished her bachelor of science in biology at Tel Aviv University  and today is study for a doctoral in molecular biology at Yale; Zoe, our youngest, has completed her military service as a combat soldier in the Bardelas unit and is now traveling and figuring out what’s next. Each girl has brought a wonderful partner with them to the family. In everything involving family: “My cup runneth over”!

Sometimes I am asked this question as not-so-subtle criticism, seeing that I am a well-known advocate for zero population growth.  Invariably I’ll answer that the inconsistency is duly recognized.  I also add that when I started having children, the population of Israel was half its present size. But there’s no question, that my own understanding about demographic stability being axiomatic to sustainability, has evolved over time.

Sports and Music: Ever since I was in junior high school I ran competitively. I continue to run every day, and also enjoy a weekly tennis game. Bridge and chess have recently made a comeback. I also started taking violin lessons at age 7 and continued throughout high school. At some point, I started playing other instruments. So today I play several (guitar, mandolin, fiddle) but none at a very high level.  Apparently, I play well enough to remain a member of the Arava Riders, by now a veteran Israeli country ensemble, with my deal pal, Bill Slott from Kibbutz Ketura.  We continue to give performances from time to time. 

I came to Israel after high school at age 17.  Initially I worked in sundry branches of Kibbut Neot Mordechai and studied Hebrew.  Until that time people called  me “Albert Rosenthal” after my late grandfather who died in an accident just months before I was born.  On my last day on the kibbutz, my adopted father, Reuven Kamar, invited me to a one-on-one conversation.  Reuven remains one of the most ethical people I ever met:  a diligent apple orchard farmer for decades.  Reuven was a man who took his work, Zionism and the Hebrew language very seriously. 

He explained to me that before he made Aliyah in the 1930s, he was active in a Czech Zionist youth movement.  At some point he had a counselor named Teddy Kolleck.  Kolleck informed him when he was 14, that given the importance of reviving the Hebrew language, he could no longer continue with the name “Herbert” but that he would have to become “Reuven”. And so it was.  Lucky for me, Reuven Kamar, was more flexible than Tedy Kolleck. And so, he gave me two choices: “Abraham” or “Alon”.  In those days, Teddy Kollek was something of a living legend: the all-powerful mayor of Jerusalem.  I was impressed by this heritage and did not hesitate – choosing the latter.  Years later it occurred to me that Kolleck himself, never Hebraicized his name. But by then it was too late.

As for my family name: For about a decade I was known as “Alon Rosenthal”. When Mika was born, I consulted with my wife, Robyn Klein, regarding the baby’s family name.  We both agreed that one family name, without hyphens in the middle, would be better for the girl. Fortunately, Robyn was absolutely unwilling to consider the name “Robyn Rosenthal”.  But at the time, my father had recently moved to Israel and Hebraicized his name.  “Robyn Tal”, however, actually sounded reasonable to her. And so it happened that the whole family changed its name together.  And from then on, Alon Tal roams about — happy and free.

At a young age in the U.S. I joined the Zionist youth movement “Young Judaea”.  In 1977 I noticed that there was a new member who had begun attending activities in our region who was particularly lovely and bright.  I was told that her name was “Robyn Klein”. As I had skipped a grade, I was about to finish high school and she was only in eighth grade. Even though there was only a three-year difference between us, in terms of a youth movement, we were separated by an entire generation.  And still, we became friends.

Four years passed, I moved to Israel and during my first year in the military I became ill and found myself in the Tel HaShomer hospital for several weeks.  To this day I’m not sure how she heard about it , but a letter arrived from Robyn that raised my spirits immeasurably. I wrote her back and it quickly evolved into a torrid correspondence.  My little brother, Oren and her little brother David were fast friends at the time.  They decided that this was an excellent match.  In any event, during that summer, I received permission to have a “Lone Soldier Furlough” in order to visit my parents.  I loved my parents very much. But truth be told, the person that I really wanted to visit was Robyn Klein who had just finished high school.  We went on a date and I was very impressed: she was an excellent driver.

A month went by, and Robyn arrived in Israel as part of the gap year program of Young  Judaea. Today, I find it possible to understand how a soldier in those days, with no cell phone, who wandered between remote training grounds in the periphery, succeed in courting a young, Jerusalem-based student. Perhaps, it can be attributed to passion and good luck.  Whatever the reason, forty years later — we are still together.

Here’s a shout out for CODA, an Oscar best picture nominee for 2021: the story of a young woman who loves to sing, growing up in a family with parents and a brother who are deaf and cannot apprehend her aspirations.  As I see it, perhaps the greatest challenge of parenting is managing the separation — an ineluctable event when children grow up and need to leave. It is not easy to let go of the most valuable thing in your life and at the same time preserve a family that is strong and loving.  This challenge is in the center of CODA’s storyline, along with wonderful music and the protagonist’s enchanting voice.  I found it completely moving.

The only time I have to read books is on Shabbat.  In fact, most of my hours on Saturday are devoted to reading.  From the past months, I can recommend three excellent books without reservation or hesitation:

• Empire of Pain documents the rise and fall of the Sackler family, three brothers who acqire the pharmaceutical company “Purdue” in the last century –  and go on to develop the opioid, OxyContin. On the one hand it is a fascinating account of the American-Jewish sociological experience and at the same time, a chronicle of the U.S. opioid epidemic.  It is a story of greed, obtuseness and addiction.

• Author and raconteur Bill Bryson has a new book out: The Body, A Manual for Occupants. It is a long, (in the good sense) comprehensive, authoritative and fascinating tome about human physiology. But it is much more as it includes humorous anecdotes and a steady stream of hilarious prose.

Last-but-not-least: The Attention Revolution: That’s at least my unofficial translation from Hebrew of Micha Gutman’s most recent book – a book Blue and White Knesset members received from our party chair as a gift for Rosh Hashanah.  Gutman documents the powerful influence of the social media and the cellular telephones that accompany us morning, noon and night along with their effect on society and human psychology.  Notwithstanding the good that these technologies bring, the book highlights the associated risks associated with enabling extremism, bullying, loneliness and depression.

Adam Teva V’din (1990); The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (1996); The Tal Fund (2006). I was also a partner in the founding of other organizations like The Green Movement (2009); This is My Earth (TiME) (2016); Zafuf, the Israel Forum for Population, Environment and Society  (2016); ( Ecopeace Middle East (1995). And if you go check the founding documents in the non-profit register’s office, you’ll find that I’m among the six founders of Zalul (1998) even as beyond that formal act, I was never involved in the praiseworthy activities of this important organization.

Blue, White – and Green.