Homeland Guards

Homeland Guards (Hebrew: שומרי הבית, Shomrei HaBayit) is an Israeli national volunteer-based non-profit organization focused on environmental protection and public health. It was founded out of the struggle to move the Leviathan gas platform away from the coast, and it works to guarantee fair and correct conduct by governments, corporations and companies toward the citizens and residents of Israel. The organization is funded entirely by donations from individuals and groups without any political agenda. The organization's stated aims include: processing crude gas only above the well 120 km into the sea; no transportation, storage or treatment of dangerous by-products of natural gas processing on Israel's land; relocating petrochemical industry from Israel's population centers; and meeting Israel's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets based on the UN's IPCC to fight global climate change. It also promotes renewable energy use in transportation, industry and electricity generation, and works to halt polluting industry affecting air, sea and drinking water sources, with emphasis on fossil and petrochemical industry. Homeland Guards operates on three core principles: non-political (it avoids taking sides on political issues and is home to activists from all political parties, religious and secular, Jewish and Arab, men and women); non-violent (its tens of thousands of volunteers and supporters are law-abiding citizens and all activities are carried out in accordance with laws and regulations); and respectful dialogue (its strength lies in the justness of its cause and its ability to maintain respectful and appropriate dialogue). The organization was registered as an association (עמותה) in August 2018. Its founder and chairman is Yoni Sapir. It is a member of the umbrella organization Life and Environment (חיים וסביבה), which unites about 130 environmental organizations across Israel. Homeland Guards has organized the largest environmental rally in Israel's history in Rabin Square on the evening of September 1, 2018, several scientific conferences on gas platforms and renewable energy, and many civil activities across the country. It was also among the organizers of the annual climate march in Tel Aviv in 2019. Among its achievements, the organization cites: a precedent-setting court ruling that changed the interpretation of the Clean Air Law, canceling an emission permit for huge quantities of pollutants in Ashdod; leading public pressure that brought strict emission limits on the Leviathan platform (98% less than the smaller Tamar platform emitted in 2016-2017), with financial sanctions totaling about 11 million shekels imposed on the Leviathan partnership for exceeding various limits; forcing limits on the Tamar platform after 7.5 years of operation without any limit on pollution, leading Noble Energy (later acquired by Chevron) to invest about 140 million shekels to meet the required limits; and two unique oil-spill detection systems to be installed on the Leviathan and Karish platforms following its demand and initiative. The organization also exposed a severe government health report that had been suppressed.

Homeland Guards (שומרי הבית) is an Israeli national volunteer-based environmental non-profit organization. It was founded out of the need to lead the struggle to move the Leviathan gas platform away from the coast, and it works for public health and environmental quality, and to promote integrity and clean hands in corporate and governmental conduct toward citizens. The organization was registered as an association (עמותה) in August 2018. Its founder and chairman is Yoni Sapir. According to the organization's website, it is a national volunteer organization focused on health and environmental issues, effectively serving as a gatekeeper for Israeli citizens on the core issues of its activity. The organization works for proper conduct by corporations, organizations and government authorities toward citizens and residents. Its activity is based entirely on donations from private individuals and bodies without any political agenda who agree with its goals. After the establishment and operation of the Leviathan platform near the Dor coast, the organization's main goals were updated and currently include: stopping the operation of the Leviathan platform near the coast; preserving crude gas reserves from the Leviathan reservoir for future generations; Israel meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets derived from UN IPCC studies to prevent global climate crisis; and immediate transition to clean solar energy in Israel. The organization advocates for the energy economy's transition to renewable energies to respond to the global climate crisis. As an intermediate stage, the organization agrees to the use of gas as long as it is done responsibly, considering the public interest, public peace, health and security. According to the organization, there is a problem in the natural gas production process, which is a highly polluting process with health, safety and security dangers, especially at the gas refining stage on the gas platform. This process is required to turn natural gas extracted from the ground into "dry gas" (gas intended for use in power stations). Therefore, the organization struggles to move gas platforms to the deep sea, above the wellhead, as is customary in most countries of the world. Such distancing would contribute to preserving the marine environment, beaches, marine life and fish, drinking water sources produced by desalination plants near the coast, and would prevent placing strategic targets for the enemy near the coast and residents. The organization regards a gas platform as a petrochemical plant or refinery that emits high amounts of pollution into the environment, including carcinogens and substances dangerous to humans and the environment, such as heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. There is also concern that in the event of a malfunction or damage to a gas platform, a disaster of enormous scale could occur that could destroy Israel's coasts for generations and harm residents' health. These claims are based on the known emission levels from gas refining platforms worldwide, as well as the emission levels from the Tamar platform, located about 22 km off the Ashkelon coast. According to data from Noble Energy, the platform's operator, emission levels are 30 times higher than the estimates given by the reservoir partners. The organization works to distance the Leviathan platform, planned to be built 10 km from the Dor coast, as well as additional gas platforms and condensate tanks planned near communities off Israel's coasts. In addition, the organization believes that the production and refining of gas from reservoirs discovered in Israel's economic waters should be done only for local market use and not for export. Thus, the organization supports moderate gas production according to the economy's needs, and opposes developing the reservoirs at the current pace. The organization's claim is that the State of Israel should move to an energy economy based on renewable energies, and preserve the gas reservoirs underground for the unknown future and for future generations, in case a future need arises. The organization opposes additional gas and oil exploration and production activities, both in the economic and territorial waters and on state land, in any form, based on the perception that such activities impose disproportionate risks on the civilian population in the country, and delay the economy's transition to renewable energies. The organization petitioned the High Court of Justice in a lawsuit to stop the development of the Leviathan platform off the Dor coast. In the state's response to the High Court, the state claimed that tests conducted by the Ministry of Energy and the Home Front Command showed that in no scenario is the platform expected to endanger those at a distance of 10 kilometers or more from it. A report describing security flaws in the planning and risks to the gas platform and its onshore facilities if located near the coast was attached to the High Court petition. An investigation by Shakuf on the security aspect of the location of gas platforms also supports the organization's position. Ahead of the elections for the 21st Knesset, Yoni Sapir, chairman of Homeland Guards, joined the Social Justice party of Gad Haran. Yoni Sapir, chairman of the association, said: "The struggle to distance the Leviathan gas platform being built near the Dor coast, and the other platforms to the deep sea, is too important to abandon to politicians, who are subject to pressures from interested capital owners. We will act to promote environmental issues in the next Knesset, including distancing gas platforms and their by-products from the coasts, distancing petrochemical plants and facilities from populated areas, and a rapid transition of Israel to the use of renewable energies." The Homeland Guards association maintained its non-partisan character, despite Sapir's joining the "Social Justice" party. The Homeland Guards organization organized the largest environmental rally in Israel's history in Rabin Square on the evening of September 1, 2018, several scientific conferences on gas platforms and renewable energy, and many civil activities across the country. It was also among the organizers of the annual climate march in 2019 in Tel Aviv. Following claims of poor monitoring, data deletion and sampling not coordinated with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the organization launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance an independent monitoring system.

• 2019

  Among the organizers of the annual climate march in Tel Aviv.

• 2018

  Registered as an association (עמותה) in August 2018.

• 2018

  Organized the largest environmental rally in Israel's history in Rabin Square on September 1, 2018.

Non-political, non-violent, volunteer-based environmental advocacy organization focused on clean energy and public health in Israel.

1. 1עמותת שומרי הביתhomelandguards.org
2. 2אודות שומרי הבית | עמותת שומרי הביתhomelandguards.org
3. 3אודות שומרי הבית | עמותת שומרי הביתhomelandguards.org
4. 4מידע על חברת נובל אנרג'י השותפה הבכירה במאגר לוויתן ותמר - עמותת שומרי הביתhomelandguards.org
5. 5Homeland Guardswikidata.org
6. 6שומרי הביתhe.wikipedia.org