Alon Tal

Alon Tal is an environmental visionary who has transformed ecological activism into a powerful force for peace and sustainability in the Middle East. In 1996, he founded the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a groundbreaking program that has educated more than 1,500 students from Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and beyond to collaboratively address the region's environmental challenges. He also established Adam Teva V'Din (the Israel Union for Environmental Defense), Israel's leading environmental advocacy organization, which has filed hundreds of successful legal actions protecting environmental quality and natural resources. From 2010 to 2013, Tal chaired Israel's Green Movement, leading to the election of the country's first Green Knesset member, and he himself served in the Knesset from 2021 to 2022 representing the Blue and White Party.

A Professor of Public Policy at Tel Aviv University and former Chair of the Department, Tal holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has authored nine books and over 100 academic publications on environmental issues, including The Land Is Full and All the Trees of the Forest. After receiving the Charles Bronfman Prize in 2005, he established the Tal Fund, which has distributed more than $800,000 to grassroots environmental initiatives. His achievements include co-founding the international conservation initiative "This is My Earth" (TiME), serving as a founding board member of EcoPeace Middle East, and chairing the biennial Conference on Drylands and Desertification. Recognized with numerous honors including a Lifetime Achievement Award from Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection, Tal continues his advocacy work as a visiting professor at Stanford University while living in Maccabim, Israel.