Sierra Club Reverses Decision to Cancel Trips to Israel

Sierra Club Reverses Decision to Cancel Trips to Israel
TT

Sierra Club Reverses Decision to Cancel Trips to Israel

Sierra Club Reverses Decision to Cancel Trips to Israel

The Sierra Club reversed its decision to cancel trips to Israel, saying it was "hastily" made and did not accord with the conservation group's mission.

"Recently, the Sierra Club hastily made a decision, without consulting a robust set of stakeholders, to postpone two planned outings to Israel," said the Club.

Earlier, the organization announced it was canceling environmental-tourism trips to Israel because of its actions against the Palestinians.

In a Tuesday statement, the Club confirmed new Israel trips would be announced later this year, saying earlier decision to cancel tours was made in ways that created "confusion, anger, and frustration."

The head of Sierra Club's National Outings, Mary Owens, confirmed in a previous mass email to hundreds of volunteers and members that trips were canceled saying the decision came after activists alleged the foundation was "greenwashing the conflict" and "providing legitimacy to the Israeli state, which is engaged in apartheid against the Palestinian people."

"Greenwashing" is a term used by anti-Israel activists that accuse the Jewish state of using environmental causes to disguise alleged human rights violations.

The Sierra Club Foundation, founded by John Muir in 1892, is a charitable foundation concerned with nature, with over 750,000 members and an annual budget for the current year of more than $97 million.

Its first trip to Israel began in 1960 to explore biodiversity, bird migrations, desert landscapes, and ancient monuments. Last year's trip was called "Natural and Historical Highlights of Israel," offered for two weeks in March for about $5,000 per person.

More than 250 upcoming trips are listed on Sierra Club's website, including more than 200 to sites in the US and others to places like Malaysia, Nepal, and Antarctica.

The email sent from Owens stated that the Club's decision was taken after a campaign an advocacy push from one "Jewish American activist" and a host of both progressive and anti-Zionist groups, including the pro-Palestinian Adalah Justice Project, the Indigenous rights group the NDN Collective, the Campaign for the Boycott of Israel, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Sunrise Movement and the Movement for Black Lives.

An employee confirmed he was aware of his organization's efforts but was not authorized to say more. A request for comment from JVP, the Jewish anti-Zionist group, went unanswered.

The decision sparked outrage in Israel, particularly against Jewish Voice for Peace, which has been working in the United States since 1996.



Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks with Three European Powers in Geneva on Friday

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
TT

Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks with Three European Powers in Geneva on Friday

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran plans to hold talks about its disputed nuclear program with three European powers on Nov. 29 in Geneva, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, days after the UN atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran.
Iran reacted to the resolution, which was proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, with what government officials called various measures such as activating numerous new and advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium.
Kyodo said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of US President-elect Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that the meeting would go ahead next Friday, adding that "Tehran has always believed that the nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy. Iran has never left the talks".
In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between President Joe Biden's administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said in his election campaign in September that "We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal".