LE BOURGET, France (JTA) — There is a Jewish blessing when one is in the rare presence of a national leader. But what is the blessing when the single largest gathering of world leaders in history — 150 in one day — come together outside Paris with soaring rhetoric and promises to fight the devastating effects of climate change?
Paris is guarded and mourning weeks after the deadly Nov. 13 terror attacks that killed 130, and yet the city was twinkling and alive as it plays host to this historic global climate summit. The gathering is a marathon negotiation against a ticking carbon clock, whose alarm went off a decade ago and yet only now the wary hand of humanity seeks to hit the pause button. Among the diverse crowd of tens of thousands, I am, as far as I can see, the only one wearing a kippah — knitted and green, proud to be on the official Israeli delegation of more than 50 people. Yet I’m ashamed that my instinct is to curse — not to bless — many of the leaders parading to the podium.
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