Council for a Beautiful Israel

The Council for a Beautiful Israel is described as a private organization that receives no government support.[3] Its work includes environmental education and awareness, campaigns against the destruction of ecosystems and landscapes, and recognition of individuals, organizations, institutions, and industrial plants for projects intended to beautify the environment and improve quality of life.[1][3]

Its activities span public-information campaigns, environmental studies carried out for the Ministry of Education and the Israel Defense Forces, educational programs and visitor centers for public authorities, and support for private-sector corporate-responsibility efforts.[2] An official directory lists Council offices in Ashdod, Beersheba, Carmiel, Kfar Saba, Haifa, Holon, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv.[1]

The Council was established in the late 1960s, with Aura Herzog — identified as Ora Herzog in the Hebrew-language Maariv account — playing a central founding role at the behest of the Knesset's Interior Committee.[5][6] Environmental scholar Benny Furst attributes the spearheading of its establishment in 1968 to Yosef Tamir, while the Jerusalem Post account credits Herzog as the founder.[4][5] A 2013 Ynet report also cites 1968 as the founding year, whereas a 2022 Maariv obituary places the founding in 1969.[2][6]

Herzog led the organization voluntarily for approximately 40 years; in 2006 she was stepping down from the Council's international presidency, with her successor to be announced at a September ceremony.[5][6] Maariv subsequently described the Council as Israel's first environmental organization and characterized its establishment and leadership as Herzog's life's work, after which she was designated its international president emerita.[6]

A Jewish Virtual Library entry on New York–Israel cooperation uses the combined name "American-Israel Environmental Council/The Council for a Beautiful Israel" and the abbreviation AIEC, saying that the body was established in 1973 as a support organization for Israel.[7] It describes activities including education, town planning, environmental lobbying, historical-site preservation, and the beautification of industrial and commercial areas, as well as sponsorship of the CBI Center for Environmental Studies in Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv.[7] The entry says the organization's official name changed repeatedly over three decades, but it does not clarify AIEC's legal or organizational relationship to the Israeli Council.[7]

The Council's recurring competitions assess municipalities and public shelters.[2][8] Separate competitions recognize hotels and industrial plants.[9][10]

The "Beautiful and Sustainable City in Israel" competition, by 2013 in its 20th year, drew entries from about 115 cities and localities.[2] The competition assessed overall services and urban infrastructure, with an emphasis on sustainability and quality of life; site visits over several months examined cleanliness, public amenities, maintenance of public buildings, parks, and green spaces.[2] Council deputy director-general Weizman Mashiach described its aim as giving the public an independent measure to encourage local authorities to improve services and conditions for residents.[2]

The "Beautiful and Sustainable Industry in Israel" competition is held in partnership with the Ministry of Economy, the Manufacturers Association of Israel, and the Kibbutz Industry Association.[10] By 2007 the competition had run for 27 years and included 336 factories, with 40 new entrants that year — roughly 5% more than the year before.[11] Mashiach noted that the competition addressed recycling, resource conservation, water and electricity efficiency, alternative energy, and accessibility, while emphasizing that it did not replace the Environmental Protection Ministry.[11] By 2015, about 200 industrialists gathered at Bar-Ilan University for the announcement of ten winning factories selected from 200 entrants, with recipients including Katzet Chemical Industries, Osem's logistics center, and Stone and Lime Industries of Golani quarries.[10]

The "Beautiful and Sustainable Hotel in Israel" competition, conducted jointly with the Israel Hotels Association and the Ministry of Tourism, reached its tenth year in 2015.[9] Dozens of volunteer teams assessed approximately 60 hotels, examining appearance, guest service, and environmental conduct, with awards in business and leisure categories; criteria were expanded and tightened over time to encourage improvement in tourism, service, environmental performance, and community involvement.[9]

The Council also conducts a public-shelter preparedness competition in cooperation with the Home Front Command.[8] In 2015 — its fifth year — about 140 local authorities and 15 hospitals submitted to inspection, with 26 of the participating authorities coming from the non-Jewish sector.[8] Approximately 350 Council volunteers and Home Front Command personnel inspected around 400 shelters, evaluating firefighting and communications equipment, emergency-service systems, appearance, signage, accessibility, sanitation, lighting, and emergency preparations.[8] A central aim was to improve shelters expected to protect passersby and residents unable to afford a home with a protected room.[8]

Beyond its competitions, the Council confers honorary awards at an annual ceremony held at the President's Residence.[3] At the 2011 ceremony, the Council presented Yakir (Distinguished Citizen) awards to philanthropists Morris Kahn and Phillippe Nordmann.[3] Its Magshim (Realization) award that year went to 35 development towns spanning from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat.[3]

The Council's reach extends to public-health messaging. In 2019, ahead of Israel's Independence Day celebrations, it recommended that picnickers use reusable rather than disposable utensils, take their trash home, separate recyclables such as plastic bottles and compost, and ensure that barbecues were properly tended and that hot charcoal could be disposed of safely.[12]

Kiryat Sefer, a newer ultra-Orthodox town, advertised that it had won a prize of excellence from the Council for a Beautiful Israel, citing its parks and green gardens as setting new quality-of-life standards for its community.[13]

The Council initiated and produced the "Beautiful Israel in Green" nature-photography exhibition at Ben Gurion Airport's Terminal 3, in cooperation with the Israel Airports Authority.[14] The exhibition featured 47 photographs of Israeli flora selected by Israeli botany experts, displayed along a wall more than 150 meters long; the airport authority projected that the exhibition would accompany more than 15 million passengers over the course of a year.[14]

Council CEO Asher Segal described the exhibition as taking passengers on "a journey through the diversity of colours and landscape textures created by Israel's flora," likening the coexistence of plants from different origins and climates to Israel's human melting pot.[14]

The Council's Tel Aviv premises have also served as a venue for diplomatic and public-affairs gatherings. On April 17, 2018, the World Jewish Congress held a Jewish Diplomats event at the Council's offices, at which IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Ronen Manelis discussed communicating the IDF's messages to international media and the public through five languages and five major social-media platforms.[15]

By 2013, the Council was chaired by Avraham Katz-Oz, an agronomist and painter who had previously served as Israel's agriculture minister, a member of the Knesset, and director-general of the kibbutz movement.[16][2] Eshul Segal served as director-general at that time.[2] The Council operates through a nationwide network of approximately 2,000 volunteers who carry out site inspections for its competitions and assist with educational and public-information programs.[2]

Furst places the Council's significance in its early effort to connect environmental concerns with local community life rather than relying primarily on conventional environmental activism and campaigns.[4] That community-oriented model was expressed through a nationwide volunteer network and recurring assessments of municipalities and public shelters.[2][8] Its hotel and industry competitions also applied service, sustainability, resource-efficiency, and environmental criteria to major economic sectors.[9][10]

The Council's founding year is reported differently across sources. Furst's scholarly account and a 2013 Ynet report cite 1968.[4][2] A 2022 Maariv obituary places Herzog's founding of the Council in 1969.[6] The available sources do not resolve the discrepancy.

The National Library of Israel's Hebrew institutions directory lists two similar entries — המועצה לארץ ישראל יפה and המועצה לישראל יפה — without description or further detail, leaving open whether these are alternate names for the same organization or separate entities.[17] Similarly, the Jewish Virtual Library entry describes the American-Israel Environmental Council as a support organization for Israel but does not establish whether it was the same body as the Israeli Council, an affiliate, or a distinct organization.[7]