Alon Tal
Biographic Data
| ID | 3731005 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alon Tal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alon |
| FAMILY NAME | Tal |
| SIGNATURE | TAL A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2243-4005 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 28 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Community Shades of Green
The present study begins with a comprehensive review of Jewish environmental perspectives and then investigates environmental consciousness and identity within Israel’s Haredi communities through a novel methodological approach. Rather than following traditional categorizations of Hasidic, Sephardi, and Lithuanian sub-groups, we developed a modern-Ultra conservative continuum to examine these communities’ engagement with secular society. Through …
An Airport, a Valley—and the Consequences of Chronic Indecision
A proposal to build a major civilian airport in the Jezreel Valley has been one of Israel's longest and most acrimonious environmental controversies. The decision about where to site the country's second international airport has been plagued by special interests and conflicting values. The anticipated environmental and health impacts caused by a civilian airport on life in the Jezreel Valley are described, along with the heated debate between th…
A Charismatic Hyena
As human-wildlife interactions become more common in an increasingly urbanized world, widespread encroachment on habitat can exacerbate conflicts between indigenous fauna and the populations of cities and towns. Conservation strategies seeking to create empathy and harmony between humans and their natural world upon occasion utilize charismatic species to engage the public. Understanding the nature of charisma in nonhuman animals is therefore imp…
The impact of the Corona crisis on the environmental behaviors of different socioeconomic groups
The Corona pandemic led to changes in consumptions patterns, which are both positive and negative. Past research suggests that crises present opportunities for adopting sustainable consumption practices. Alternatively, they tend to increase frugality which can marginalize environmental considerations. This study extends research conducted in 2018 evaluating the environmental impacts of consumption patterns among Israel’s different socioeconomic d…
What really undermines public acceptance of wind turbines? A choice experiment analysis in Israel
Returning Population Policy to the Sustainable Development Discourse
Population policy, once a core environmental concern globally, has long since shifted its focus and is typically informed by considerations of maternal/fetal health. Yet, in many countries, environmental progress will remain elusive as long as the population continues to grow. Israel already exhibits adverse ecological impacts as a result of its rapidly growing population and needs to begin to adopt policies that prioritize demographic stability.…
Water Wisdom
Israel and Palestine are, by international criteria, water scarce. As the peace process continues amidst ongoing violence, water remains a political and environmental issue. Thirty leading Palestinian and Israeli activists, water scientists, politicians, and others met and worked together to develop a future vision for the sustainable shared management of water resources that is presented in Water Wisdom. Their essays explore the full range of sc…
Transforming an Environmentally Pernicious Holiday into an Environmentally Healthy Festival
While the environmental impacts of religious and secular holidays are increasingly characterized, interventions to reduce their effects are modest and poorly understood. Israel’s L’ag B’omer holiday has emerged as a major air pollution source due to the common practice of lighting bonfires. We implemented and evaluated an intervention amongst Israeli school children in which they were challenged to design and adopt alternative “environmentally fr…
All the Trees of the Forest
In this insightful and provocative book, Alon Tal provides a detailed account of Israeli forests, tracing their history from the Bible to the present, and outlines the effort to transform drylands and degraded soils into prosperous parks, rangelands, and ecosystems. Tal’s description of Israel’s trials and errors, and his exploration of both the environmental history and the current policy dilemmas surrounding that country's forests, will provide…
From Pollution Charge to Environmental Protection Tax
Given the magnitude of China’s economy, the newly drafted Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China is among the most ambitious forays into green incentives ever attempted. The law’s provisions are evaluated as part of the country’s layering orientation, where the gradual ratcheting up of government regulation is considered an effective and durable strategy. By making a transition from “taxes on good activities” to “taxes…
Has Technology Trumped Adaptive Management? A Review of Israel’s Idiosyncratic Hydrological History
Adaptive management has been championed as an effective strategy for designing water policy and its implementation. An effective water management strategy, it is argued, must be adaptive and build in an ability to change management practices based on new experiences and insights. While such an approach was not part of official nomenclature, over the years, Israel’s water managers developed a nimble orientation, responding to available data, hydro…
Conflict Versus Consensus Strategic Orientations Among Environmental NGOs
Israeli environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) are assessed in light of Resource Mobilization Theory, introducing a new method for dividing ENGOs according to strategic orientation. Based on a national survey, 85 groups are categorized as consensus ENGOs that seek understanding aim at finding common grounds, or as conflict ENGOs working “outside the system.” Results show that conflict ENGOs are more grassroots in orientation and conse…
Stakeholder participation in health impact assessment
Israel's environmental movement
We report results of a recent national survey of the Israeli environmental movement, assessing its activities, strategies, and financial viability. Since the early 1990s, the movement has undergone significant expansion, with numerous new organisations at both local and national levels. The movement is undergoing notable operational and ideological changes, and exhibiting tremendous capacity, cooperation, and increased sophistication. Yet, enviro…
Herd no More
Arab/American
Book Review| July 01 2009 Arab/American: Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts Arab/American: Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts. Gary Paul Nabhan. Alon Tal Alon Tal Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Agricultural History (2009) 83 (3): 417–418. https://doi.org/10.1215/00021482-83.3.417 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Alon Tal; Arab/American: Landsca…
Space Matters
The article considers the history of open space preservation in Israel from the inception of the state until the present. The primary modes for protecting open spaces are assessed: nature reserves, forests, and agriculturally designated lands. While present frameworks ensure that reserves and forests remain well-protected, there has been significant erosion in the normative protection of agricultural lands, reflected in their steady decline. Thre…
Enduring Technological Optimism
When Zionism emerged in Europe as the Jewish people's national movement at the advent of the twentieth century, its political leaders and ideological visionaries were concerned about defining an appropriate relationship between Jewish settlement in Palestine and the “Land of Israel.” Just as it sported a rich variety of political camps and philosophies, Zionism did not embrace a monolithic “environmental ethic.” The perceptions and attitudes towa…
To Make a Desert Bloom
This article offers an overview of the vicissitudes faced by Israeli agriculture during the past century. The Zionist pioneers who came from Europe to Palestine sought to "reclaim" the status of Jewish farmers in their homeland. This ethic translated into an extraordinary societal support for Israel’s agrarian economy and steady growth in agricultural production. Seven key factors are identified as being critical to this record of success, includ…
Pollution in a Promised Land
Virtually undeveloped one hundred years ago, Israel, the promised "land of milk and honey," is in ecological disarray. In this gripping book, Alon Tal provides--for the first time ever--a history of environmentalism in Israel, interviewing hundreds of experts and activists who have made it their mission to keep the country's remarkable development sustainable amid a century of political and cultural turmoil. The modern Zionist vision began as a q…
Space Matters
The article considers the history of open space preservation in Israel from the inception of the state until the present. The primary modes for protecting open spaces are assessed: nature reserves, forests, and agriculturally designated lands. While present frameworks ensure that reserves and forests remain well-protected, there has been significant erosion in the normative protection of agricultural lands, reflected in their steady decline. Thre…
To Make a Desert Bloom
This article offers an overview of the vicissitudes faced by Israeli agriculture during the past century. The Zionist pioneers who came from Europe to Palestine sought to "reclaim" the status of Jewish farmers in their homeland. This ethic translated into an extraordinary societal support for Israel’s agrarian economy and steady growth in agricultural production. Seven key factors are identified as being critical to this record of success, includ…
Conflict Versus Consensus Strategic Orientations Among Environmental NGOs
Israeli environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) are assessed in light of Resource Mobilization Theory, introducing a new method for dividing ENGOs according to strategic orientation. Based on a national survey, 85 groups are categorized as consensus ENGOs that seek understanding aim at finding common grounds, or as conflict ENGOs working “outside the system.” Results show that conflict ENGOs are more grassroots in orientation and conse…
What really undermines public acceptance of wind turbines? A choice experiment analysis in Israel
From Pollution Charge to Environmental Protection Tax
Given the magnitude of China’s economy, the newly drafted Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China is among the most ambitious forays into green incentives ever attempted. The law’s provisions are evaluated as part of the country’s layering orientation, where the gradual ratcheting up of government regulation is considered an effective and durable strategy. By making a transition from “taxes on good activities” to “taxes…
Israel's environmental movement
We report results of a recent national survey of the Israeli environmental movement, assessing its activities, strategies, and financial viability. Since the early 1990s, the movement has undergone significant expansion, with numerous new organisations at both local and national levels. The movement is undergoing notable operational and ideological changes, and exhibiting tremendous capacity, cooperation, and increased sophistication. Yet, enviro…
Enduring Technological Optimism
When Zionism emerged in Europe as the Jewish people's national movement at the advent of the twentieth century, its political leaders and ideological visionaries were concerned about defining an appropriate relationship between Jewish settlement in Palestine and the “Land of Israel.” Just as it sported a rich variety of political camps and philosophies, Zionism did not embrace a monolithic “environmental ethic.” The perceptions and attitudes towa…
Stakeholder participation in health impact assessment
Pollution in a Promised Land
Virtually undeveloped one hundred years ago, Israel, the promised "land of milk and honey," is in ecological disarray. In this gripping book, Alon Tal provides--for the first time ever--a history of environmentalism in Israel, interviewing hundreds of experts and activists who have made it their mission to keep the country's remarkable development sustainable amid a century of political and cultural turmoil. The modern Zionist vision began as a q…
To Make a Desert Bloom
This article offers an overview of the vicissitudes faced by Israeli agriculture during the past century. The Zionist pioneers who came from Europe to Palestine sought to "reclaim" the status of Jewish farmers in their homeland. This ethic translated into an extraordinary societal support for Israel’s agrarian economy and steady growth in agricultural production. Seven key factors are identified as being critical to this record of success, includ…
Space Matters
The article considers the history of open space preservation in Israel from the inception of the state until the present. The primary modes for protecting open spaces are assessed: nature reserves, forests, and agriculturally designated lands. While present frameworks ensure that reserves and forests remain well-protected, there has been significant erosion in the normative protection of agricultural lands, reflected in their steady decline. Thre…
Enduring Technological Optimism
When Zionism emerged in Europe as the Jewish people's national movement at the advent of the twentieth century, its political leaders and ideological visionaries were concerned about defining an appropriate relationship between Jewish settlement in Palestine and the “Land of Israel.” Just as it sported a rich variety of political camps and philosophies, Zionism did not embrace a monolithic “environmental ethic.” The perceptions and attitudes towa…
Herd no More
Arab/American
Book Review| July 01 2009 Arab/American: Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts Arab/American: Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts. Gary Paul Nabhan. Alon Tal Alon Tal Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Agricultural History (2009) 83 (3): 417–418. https://doi.org/10.1215/00021482-83.3.417 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Alon Tal; Arab/American: Landsca…
Stakeholder participation in health impact assessment
Israel's environmental movement
We report results of a recent national survey of the Israeli environmental movement, assessing its activities, strategies, and financial viability. Since the early 1990s, the movement has undergone significant expansion, with numerous new organisations at both local and national levels. The movement is undergoing notable operational and ideological changes, and exhibiting tremendous capacity, cooperation, and increased sophistication. Yet, enviro…
Has Technology Trumped Adaptive Management? A Review of Israel’s Idiosyncratic Hydrological History
Adaptive management has been championed as an effective strategy for designing water policy and its implementation. An effective water management strategy, it is argued, must be adaptive and build in an ability to change management practices based on new experiences and insights. While such an approach was not part of official nomenclature, over the years, Israel’s water managers developed a nimble orientation, responding to available data, hydro…
Conflict Versus Consensus Strategic Orientations Among Environmental NGOs
Israeli environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) are assessed in light of Resource Mobilization Theory, introducing a new method for dividing ENGOs according to strategic orientation. Based on a national survey, 85 groups are categorized as consensus ENGOs that seek understanding aim at finding common grounds, or as conflict ENGOs working “outside the system.” Results show that conflict ENGOs are more grassroots in orientation and conse…
All the Trees of the Forest
In this insightful and provocative book, Alon Tal provides a detailed account of Israeli forests, tracing their history from the Bible to the present, and outlines the effort to transform drylands and degraded soils into prosperous parks, rangelands, and ecosystems. Tal’s description of Israel’s trials and errors, and his exploration of both the environmental history and the current policy dilemmas surrounding that country's forests, will provide…
From Pollution Charge to Environmental Protection Tax
Given the magnitude of China’s economy, the newly drafted Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China is among the most ambitious forays into green incentives ever attempted. The law’s provisions are evaluated as part of the country’s layering orientation, where the gradual ratcheting up of government regulation is considered an effective and durable strategy. By making a transition from “taxes on good activities” to “taxes…
Transforming an Environmentally Pernicious Holiday into an Environmentally Healthy Festival
While the environmental impacts of religious and secular holidays are increasingly characterized, interventions to reduce their effects are modest and poorly understood. Israel’s L’ag B’omer holiday has emerged as a major air pollution source due to the common practice of lighting bonfires. We implemented and evaluated an intervention amongst Israeli school children in which they were challenged to design and adopt alternative “environmentally fr…
Water Wisdom
Israel and Palestine are, by international criteria, water scarce. As the peace process continues amidst ongoing violence, water remains a political and environmental issue. Thirty leading Palestinian and Israeli activists, water scientists, politicians, and others met and worked together to develop a future vision for the sustainable shared management of water resources that is presented in Water Wisdom. Their essays explore the full range of sc…
What really undermines public acceptance of wind turbines? A choice experiment analysis in Israel
Returning Population Policy to the Sustainable Development Discourse
Population policy, once a core environmental concern globally, has long since shifted its focus and is typically informed by considerations of maternal/fetal health. Yet, in many countries, environmental progress will remain elusive as long as the population continues to grow. Israel already exhibits adverse ecological impacts as a result of its rapidly growing population and needs to begin to adopt policies that prioritize demographic stability.…
The impact of the Corona crisis on the environmental behaviors of different socioeconomic groups
The Corona pandemic led to changes in consumptions patterns, which are both positive and negative. Past research suggests that crises present opportunities for adopting sustainable consumption practices. Alternatively, they tend to increase frugality which can marginalize environmental considerations. This study extends research conducted in 2018 evaluating the environmental impacts of consumption patterns among Israel’s different socioeconomic d…
A Charismatic Hyena
As human-wildlife interactions become more common in an increasingly urbanized world, widespread encroachment on habitat can exacerbate conflicts between indigenous fauna and the populations of cities and towns. Conservation strategies seeking to create empathy and harmony between humans and their natural world upon occasion utilize charismatic species to engage the public. Understanding the nature of charisma in nonhuman animals is therefore imp…
Community Shades of Green
The present study begins with a comprehensive review of Jewish environmental perspectives and then investigates environmental consciousness and identity within Israel’s Haredi communities through a novel methodological approach. Rather than following traditional categorizations of Hasidic, Sephardi, and Lithuanian sub-groups, we developed a modern-Ultra conservative continuum to examine these communities’ engagement with secular society. Through …
An Airport, a Valley—and the Consequences of Chronic Indecision
A proposal to build a major civilian airport in the Jezreel Valley has been one of Israel's longest and most acrimonious environmental controversies. The decision about where to site the country's second international airport has been plagued by special interests and conflicting values. The anticipated environmental and health impacts caused by a civilian airport on life in the Jezreel Valley are described, along with the heated debate between th…
Geography (13 works) · Political science (12 works) · Economics (10 works) · Business (8 works) · Ecology (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Natural resource economics (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Environmental Education and Sustainability (5 works)