Israeli religious leaders gathered today at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, ahead of the UN Climate Conference COP27 next week in Sharm al-Sheikh. Participants included Vatican’s Ambassador to Israel and Cyprus Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, Orot Shaul Yeshiva head Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, Baha'i Jerusalem representative David Freeman, Druze imam Jaber Mansour and many others. The special event was organized in collaboration with the Israeli nongovernmental organization the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development.

The interfaith conference focused on the role of religious leadership in dealing with climate change, with the goal of empowering religious communities both in Israel and globally to curb climate change and promoting the use of renewable energy. Participants signed a Jerusalem Climate Declaration calling for urgent action to mitigate climate change.

Tania Berg-Rafaeli, the director of the Foreign Ministry's department of world religions, told Al-Monitor that while the event was a first of its kind, it was only a start and more forums for interfaith dialogue on climate change will be convened.

Berg-Rafaeli said, "Climate change is a global problem that concerns all of us. For the sake of our children we must all act, and religious communities have an important role to play in this campaign. For the Israeli government, engagement with the climate issue is of the utmost importance. We will work to continue this type of cooperation between civil, social and religious parties for this common and critical goal."