During the Shabbat service, Peter Ornstein will describe a trip he and others took to Israel last fall to help Israelis and Palestinians work jointly on earth-friendly projects. Ornstein is president of Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Project (SIPP), a Boulder-based nonprofit that received a grant from B'nai's Tikkun Olam fund.

Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, can find common ground on environmental issues that affect everyone, and Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Projects (SIPP) believes that we in Colorado can provide meaningful assistance.  In less than a year since its formal incorporation as a nonprofit organization, SIPP is engaged with Israelis and Palestinians on a wetlands project in the Kidron, an electronic waste project in the Negev and West Bank, and are hoping to get involved in a school pairing project near Be’er Sheva. This talk will briefly cover SIPP’s successes, challenges, and our future plans. Read about Peter's work in this link to the Boulder Jewish News.

Peter Ornstein is president of SIPP, an environmental lawyer, and a member of Bonai Shalom in Boulder.  Peter had a career with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and retired in 2012 as the Deputy Regional Counsel in EPA's Denver office.  When he left EPA, he joined the Colorado Mediation Center, LLC, offering environmental mediation services, and he teaches environmental law at the University of Denver's law school.  In addition to law, Peter also has a graduate degree in hydrogeology and worked as a hydrogeologist early in his career.  Peter's lifelong passion to protect the environment and support Israeli society has led him to work with others to create Sustainable Israeli-Palestinian Projects.