Sylvie Waging War on Litter

September 2019 Environment

Have bin bags, will clean up ... (from left) Martha Kruger, Karen Fruchtman, Sylvie Schapira, Claire Curetti and Sylvia Kruger

When ESRA member Sylvie Schapira landed in Zichron in 2015, husband and dog in tow, she had plans to learn Hebrew and use her MSc in Psychotherapy (Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma) and be of use here. "The litter was more of an offensive nuisance that I kept trying to ignore. People kept saying "it's cultural." Until one day, Sylvie got angry and knew she couldn't accept it any more.

Shocked by what she saw in the parks, in the streets and on the beaches, Sylvie transformed herself into an activist, an educator and an inspiration. As she explained, "I had to do something for this beautiful country which is slowly being choked by the detritus of modern life."

Her talks and her publicity have been very successful and now she has a band of loyal volunteers who regularly grab a black bin bag and get out to work.

About the author

Jane Krivine

Jane Krivine was in the classical music business in London for thirty years, the first decade as a concerts promoter, the second as a publicist and the third as a festival director. She came to Israel in 2003, and lives in Binyamina. She is the former chairperson of ESRA Caesarea-Zichron Ya'akov branch, and also helps ESRA with specific projects. She runs the Freddie Krivine Foundation founded by her late father, which brings Arab and Jewish children together through tennis: www.freddiekrivinefoundation.org

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