Tracing back to 1492 Spain, via Turkey and Syria - the family settled in Jerusalem and became staples of the modern Israeli culture and its economy. They were at the periphery of its politics and had they wanted to reach for it - both brothers, very popular, could have also been part of Israel political scene. Their life is testimony to the fact that Israel belongs to its place in the Middle East.

What coincidence that Benny’s passing happened on the day that President Bush was being celebrated in Jerusalem for his backing the unrelenting stubbornness of this State to show just that.

The obituary is from the New York Times of today, May 15, 2008.

Below are remarks by the President to the Knesset. This speech is worth taking the time to read.

Jeremy Katz
White House Liaison to the Jewish Community

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

(Jerusalem)

________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release May 15, 2008

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO MEMBERS OF THE KNESSET.

The Knesset

Jerusalem

2:55 P.M. (Local)

THE PRESIDENT: President Peres and Mr. Prime Minister, Madam Speaker, thank very much for hosting this special session. President Beinish {this is the Chief Justice called in Israel President of the Supreme Court}, Leader of the Opposition Netanyahu, Ministers, members of the Knesset, distinguished guests: Shalom. Laura and I are thrilled to be back in Israel. We have been deeply moved by the celebrations of the past two days. And this afternoon, I am honored to stand before one of the world’s great democratic assemblies and convey the wishes of the American people with these words: Yom Ha’atzmaut Sameach. (Applause.)

It is a rare privilege for the American President to speak to the Knesset. (Laughter.) Although the Prime Minister told me there is something even rarer — to have just one person in this chamber speaking at a time. (Laughter.) My only regret is that one of Israel’s greatest leaders is not here to share this moment. He is a warrior for the ages, a man of peace, a friend. The prayers of the American people are with Ariel Sharon. (Applause.)

We gather to mark a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel’s independence, founded on the “natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate.” What followed was more than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David — a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael.

Eleven minutes later, on the orders of President Harry Truman, the United States was proud to be the first nation to recognize Israel’s independence. And on this landmark anniversary, America is proud to be Israel’s closest ally and best friend in the world.

The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. It is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: “Come let us declare in Zion the word of God.” The founders of my country saw a new promised land and bestowed upon their towns names like Bethlehem and New Canaan. And in time, many Americans became passionate advocates for a Jewish state.

Centuries of suffering and sacrifice would pass before the dream was fulfilled. The Jewish people endured the agony of the pogroms, the tragedy of the Great War, and the horror of the Holocaust — what Elie Wiesel called “the kingdom of the night.” Soulless men took away lives and broke apart families. Yet they could not take away the spirit of the Jewish people, and they could not break the promise of God. (Applause.) When news of Israel’s freedom finally arrived, Golda Meir, a fearless woman raised in Wisconsin, could summon only tears. She later said: “For two thousand years we have waited for our deliverance. Now that it is here it is so great and wonderful that it surpasses human words.”

The joy of independence was tempered by the outbreak of battle, a struggle that has continued for six decades. Yet in spite of the violence, in defiance of the threats, Israel has built a thriving democracy in the heart of the Holy Land. You have welcomed immigrants from the four corners of the Earth. You have forged a free and modern society based on the love of liberty, a passion for justice, and a respect for human dignity. You have worked tirelessly for peace. You have fought valiantly for freedom.

My country’s admiration for Israel does not end there. When Americans look at Israel, we see a pioneer spirit that worked an agricultural miracle and now leads a high-tech revolution. We see world-class universities and a global leader in business and innovation and the arts. We see a resource more valuable than oil or gold: the talent and determination of a free people who refuse to let any obstacle stand in the way of their destiny.

I have been fortunate to see the character of Israel up close. I have touched the Western Wall, seen the sun reflected in the Sea of Galilee, I have prayed at Yad Vashem. And earlier today, I visited Masada, an inspiring monument to courage and sacrifice. At this historic site, Israeli soldiers swear an oath: “Masada shall never fall again.” Citizens of Israel: Masada shall never fall again, and America will be at your side.

This anniversary is a time to reflect on the past. It’s also an opportunity to look to the future. As we go forward, our alliance will be guided by clear principles — shared convictions rooted in moral clarity and unswayed by popularity polls or the shifting opinions of international elites.

We believe in the matchless value of every man, woman, and child. So we insist that the people of Israel have the right to a decent, normal, and peaceful life, just like the citizens of every other nation. (Applause.)

We believe that democracy is the only way to ensure human rights. So we consider it a source of shame that the United Nations routinely passes more human rights resolutions against the freest democracy in the Middle East than any other nation in the world. (Applause.)

We believe that religious liberty is fundamental to a civilized society. So we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms — whether by those who openly question Israel’s right to exist, or by others who quietly excuse them.

We believe that free people should strive and sacrifice for peace. So we applaud the courageous choices Israeli’s leaders have made. We also believe that nations have a right to defend themselves and that no nation should ever be forced to negotiate with killers pledged to its destruction. (Applause.)

We believe that targeting innocent lives to achieve political objectives is always and everywhere wrong. So we stand together against terror and extremism, and we will never let down our guard or lose our resolve. (Applause.)

The fight against terror and extremism is the defining challenge of our time. It is more than a clash of arms. It is a clash of visions, a great ideological struggle. On the one side are those who defend the ideals of justice and dignity with the power of reason and truth. On the other side are those who pursue a narrow vision of cruelty and control by committing murder, inciting fear, and spreading lies.

This struggle is waged with the technology of the 21st century, but at its core it is an ancient battle between good and evil. The killers claim the mantle of Islam, but they are not religious men. No one who prays to the God of Abraham could strap a suicide vest to an innocent child, or blow up guiltless guests at a Passover Seder, or fly planes into office buildings filled with unsuspecting workers. In truth, the men who carry out these savage acts serve no higher goal than their own desire for power. They accept no God before themselves. And they reserve a special hatred for the most ardent defenders of liberty, including Americans and Israelis.

And that is why the founding charter of Hamas calls for the “elimination” of Israel. And that is why the followers of Hezbollah chant “Death to Israel, Death to America!” That is why Osama bin Laden teaches that “the killing of Jews and Americans is one of the biggest duties.” And that is why the President of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages and calls for Israel to be wiped off the map.

There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain away their words. It’s natural, but it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Jews and Americans have seen the consequences of disregarding the words of leaders who espouse hatred. And that is a mistake the world must not repeat in the 21st century.

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history. (Applause.)

Some people suggest if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it. Israel’s population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because the United States of America stands with you. (Applause.)

America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world’s leading sponsor of terror to possess the world’s deadliest weapons would be an unforgivable betrayal for future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. (Applause.)

Ultimately, to prevail in this struggle, we must offer an alternative to the ideology of the extremists by extending our vision of justice and tolerance and freedom and hope. These values are the self-evident right of all people, of all religions, in all the world because they are a gift from the Almighty God. Securing these rights is also the surest way to secure peace. Leaders who are accountable to their people will not pursue endless confrontation and bloodshed. Young people with a place in their society and a voice in their future are less likely to search for meaning in radicalism. Societies where citizens can express their conscience and worship their God will not export violence, they will be partners in peace.

The fundamental insight, that freedom yields peace, is the great lesson of the 20th century. Now our task is to apply it to the 21st. Nowhere is this work more urgent than here in the Middle East. We must stand with the reformers working to break the old patterns of tyranny and despair. We must give voice to millions of ordinary people who dream of a better life in a free society. We must confront the moral relativism that views all forms of government as equally acceptable and thereby consigns whole societies to slavery. Above all, we must have faith in our values and ourselves and confidently pursue the expansion of liberty as the path to a peaceful future.

That future will be a dramatic departure from the Middle East of today. So as we mark 60 years from Israel’s founding, let us try to envision the region 60 years from now. This vision is not going to arrive easily or overnight; it will encounter violent resistance. But if we and future Presidents and future Knessets maintain our resolve and have faith in our ideals, here is the Middle East that we can see:

Israel will be celebrating the 120th anniversary as one of the world’s great democracies, a secure and flourishing homeland for the Jewish people. The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved — a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror. From Cairo to Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will live in free and independent societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy and tourism and trade. Iran and Syria will be peaceful nations, with today’s oppression a distant memory and where people are free to speak their minds and develop their God-given talents. Al Qaeda and Hezbollah and Hamas will be defeated, as Muslims across the region recognize the emptiness of the terrorists’ vision and the injustice of their cause.

Overall, the Middle East will be characterized by a new period of tolerance and integration. And this doesn’t mean that Israel and its neighbors will be best of friends. But when leaders across the region answer to their people, they will focus their energies on schools and jobs, not on rocket attacks and suicide bombings. With this change, Israel will open a new hopeful chapter in which its people can live a normal life, and the dream of Herzl and the founders of 1948 can be fully and finally realized.

This is a bold vision, and some will say it can never be achieved. But think about what we have witnessed in our own time. When Europe was destroying itself through total war and genocide, it was difficult to envision a continent that six decades later would be free and at peace. When Japanese pilots were flying suicide missions into American battleships, it seemed impossible that six decades later Japan would be a democracy, a lynchpin of security in Asia, and one of America’s closest friends. And when waves of refugees arrived here in the desert with nothing, surrounded by hostile armies, it was almost unimaginable that Israel would grow into one of the freest and most successful nations on the earth.

Yet each one of these transformations took place. And a future of transformation is possible in the Middle East, so long as a new generation of leaders has the courage to defeat the enemies of freedom, to make the hard choices necessary for peace, and stand firm on the solid rock of universal values.

Sixty years ago, on the eve of Israel’s independence, the last British soldiers departing Jerusalem stopped at a building in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. An officer knocked on the door and met a senior rabbi. The officer presented him with a short iron bar — the key to the Zion Gate — and said it was the first time in 18 centuries that a key to the gates of Jerusalem had belonged to a Jew. His hands trembling, the rabbi offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God, “Who had granted us life and permitted us to reach this day.” Then he turned to the officer, and uttered the words Jews had awaited for so long: “I accept this key in the name of my people.”

Over the past six decades, the Jewish people have established a state that would make that humble rabbi proud. You have raised a modern society in the Promised Land, a light unto the nations that preserves the legacy of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And you have built a mighty democracy that will endure forever and can always count on the United States of America to be at your side. God bless. (Applause.)

END 3:18 P.M. (Local)

China, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Libya … seem to have money to burn - will they burn us? The question is about the buying up of agricultural land outside their countries. Is the intent just to create new food production sites to feed their own citizens, or is this also an effort to corner commodities?

At this week’s session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, China distributed an April 2008 “Review of Sustainable Development in China (2008): Agriculture, Rural Development, Land, Drought, and Desertification.” prepared by The Office of the Leading Group for Promoting the Sustainable Development Strategy, P. R. China.

The report speaks frankly about “Obstacles and Challenges” but presents a program for the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Eleventh Five -Year Plan for Development of National and Rural Economy - “the objectives set up for building a new socialist countryside.” (Chapter 4, page 25, of the report)

The report is a statement of past success, and of great plans for further increase in efficiency while reducing the number of farmers and the rural percentages in the total population. This is the story of industrialization and of modernization in the agriculture sector of the economy - historically the high majority sector in China. We know that China is an agricultural success story as they turned away from a history of hunger. I had no intention to get anywhere deeper into the subject.

But, surprise, even though we knew that China is doing well in its exports and has a $1.3 trillion reserve, having created in the process also a new, sizable, middle class that will aim at an increase of the standard of living and demand a better array of foods including much more meat, we were yet not prepared for the Friday, May 9, 2008 article of the Financial Times that brought before our eyes the actual figures: “FOOD SHORTAGES - NEW EATING HABITS FORCE REVOLUTION ON CHINA’S FARMS.” “With 21% of the world’s population, 9% of its arable land and below average and poorly distributed water resources, China is already unable to supply enough homegrown animal feed” - says the article. www.ft.com

Further - “Although analysts disagree on the timing of china’s emergence as an importer of all grains, a few doubt that Beijing will be forced to modify its longstanding policy of self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs to meet demand.”

But, the pressure for animal feed that is already felt now, nd the expectation of future shortages, send already now China to look for off-shore arable land.

Also from the Friday issue of the Financial Times, this from Jamil Anderlini, from Beijing, and Javier Blas from London: “Beijing looks at foreign fields in pushto guarantee food supplies - China Losing its ability to be self-sufficient.”

The reporters learned that a proposal drafted by the agriculture ministry would make supporting offshore land acquisition by domestic agricultural companies government policy. These acquisitions will be made by state-owned banks, manufacturers and oil companies. Some rather small projects have already been established in Africa.

It is easy to foresee how Chinese farms will evolve in various places - mainly in Africa, and Chinese farmers will be toiling on these farms. There is nothing alarming here, but it is hard to see how this will not project a return to colonialism - this time seated in China government owned enterprises - something like the old Dutch and English Trading companies? When I say it is not alarming, I mean that the intent will be to lift the produce for consumption at home and not as part of an international trade. if the locals will have any luck, they may actually be pushed to copy the Chinese production technologies and develop their own agriculture in parallel.

What is more worrisome, is a different paragraph in that article: “The move comes as oil rich, food poor countries in the Middle East and North Africa explore similar options. Libya is talking with Ukraine about growing wheat while Saudi Arabia has said it would invest in projects abroad TO ENSURE FOOD SECURITY AND CONTROL COMMODITY PRICES.” Now that is something hair-rising.

What we are now foreseeing is how the specialists in cartel building who have cornered the petroleum market, will now extend their reach into the food market. When the banana exporters tried this years ago - they were laughed off - but when the rise of food demand by China and India creates shrinking worldwide supplies, games by the money rich oil producers to start cornering food staples like corn, soy, wheat, rice or sugar, could indeed cause havoc.

Today, Monday May 12, 2008, The Financial Times writes under World News / Food: “UAE INVESTORS BUY PAKISTAN FARMLAND.”

The story from Dubai (Simeon Kerr) and Lahore (Farhan Bokhari) is about the Dubai based Abraaj Capital, one of the middle East’s largest private equity companies quietly buying farmland in Pakistan as part of plans by the UAE to increase food security and dampen inflation. Further, the government of Abu Dhabi was talking to the Islamabad officials. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also looking at Pakistan.

Abraaj already owns 800,000 acres of farm land in Pakistan and the Emirates Investment Group, and the Abu Dhabi Group are not far behind. Some in Pakistan start thinking that this might lead to increase in food prices in Pakistan. This while prices of food have already caused riots in Pakistan because of a 20% increase in March.

Besides Pakistan, a State in trouble these days, other Islamic States in trouble - Sudan and Somalia, are also offering lands for sale. Will all of this lead to what some dreamers (Jordan’s Agriculture minister) think will be sort of an Islamic/Arab self-help organization - or just another plain cartel? That is something to look after.

Further, also today, May 12, 2008, at the CSD at the UN, there was the SIDs Day. At one of the panels there was talk about the impact of the increase of the price of food commodities that is harming the Small Islands States. There was some talk about the global effects of the biofuel’s production using agricultural commodities. I felt compelled to bring up the Financial Times on-going articles in order to explain that the issue is much more complex and that it has to do rather with the fact that countries with excess money are causing this with their acquisition of land helping drive up the price of the commodity because of the creation of expectation of price increases. Also, the increase in price should be viewed as an opportunity because it will eventually bring more products to market.

The Ohel Ayalah Community led by conservative Rabbi Judith Hauptman, a Professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, held this year’s Passover Seder in the Banquet Hall of the First Presbyterian Church in the Village -on Fifth Avenue at West 12t Street.    The Haggadah that was used was “The Lively Seder Haggadah” by Dr. David Arnow that combines the traditional text with a look at our world today. The real world intruded into the deliberations at this Seder more then at the UN. Participation was by tables. There were 17 tables with the full house I estimated at over 150 people.

BUT SLAVERY IS STILL A REALITY TODAY:

And Just Look At a Story out of Sudan:

FOR THE THE PART OF THIS SEDER THAT TOUCHED UPON CLIMATE CHANGE - AN INSERT THAT WENT BEYOND THE ARNOW HAGGADAH  - AND SPILLED OVER INTO THE SERVING CUPS AND PLATES -
WE ARE RESERVING  A SEPARATE POSTING.

But, nevertheless, let us point out here that as per added material to the Arnow Haggadah, there were two pages written by Rabbi Jeff Sultar and Julia Porper, that point out that PASSOVER IS ABOUT RENEWAL OF EARTH-LIFE IN THE SPRING - something that in Hebrew is expressed as THE FESTIVAL OF SPRING - CHAG HAAVIV - as well as about the renewing of our freedom from oppression - OPPRESIVE TOP_DOWN POWER (as the insert says).

BOTH ABOVE ISSUES ARE RAISED IN THE DANGERS ENHANCED BY THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS.

Japan wants IMF to monitor sovereign wealth funds.

By SHINYA AJIMA, Monday April 14, 2008 on Japan Times online.

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) - Japan expressed hope Saturday that the International Monetary Fund will play a more active role in monitoring the movements of sovereign wealth funds because such an involvement of the international body would help minimize “protectionism” in countries receiving their investment.

“We recognize the higher presence” of SWFs, or state-backed investment entities, in the global financial market, Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said in a statement released at a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the policy-guiding panel of the IMF.

“I support the IMF’s action to make full use of its experience in monitoring movements in international capital flows, and formulate best practices in the areas of governance, institutional arrangements and transparency,” Nukaga said.

Such efforts would benefit both SWFs and countries which receive their money “by minimizing protectionism in recipient countries,” he said.

His remarks came at the time of increasing influence wielded by SWFs in helping major financial institutions reinforce their capital bases as the global credit turmoil stemming from U.S. subprime mortgage problems has deepened.

The market has increasingly recognized the greater presence of SWFs owned by emerging economies such as China and oil-rich Middle Eastern countries.

Experts, however, says that such SWFs becoming large shareholders in financial institutions in major economic powers could raise concern about the control of the financial industry by those funds and lead to protectionist moves, such as restricting their investment, in those countries.

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda launched a project team in February to study whether Tokyo should have its own investment arm using the world’s second-biggest foreign exchange reserves.

BOJ’s new chief meet with Fed, ECB chiefs: New Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa held separate talks with U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet in Washington on Saturday, Japanese officials said.

The officials did not reveal the details of the talks held on the sidelines of a series of international financial meetings.

Shirakawa, who assumed the post of BOJ governor Wednesday, is believed to have exchanged views with his counterparts of the U.S. and European central banks on how to tackle the global financial turmoil stemming from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. He is also believed to have briefed Bernanke and Trichet about Japan’s monetary policy management.

nbsp;http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/297…

Abu Dhabi to invest $15 billion in green energy - Abu Dhabi unveil plans for sustainable city - Architect Foster sees future in green desert city

Reports by Reuters coming from Dubai:

Imagine a city of 50,000 with no cars, no carbon, no waste, a green city of the future. Now imagine it in the Gulf desert, where summer temperatures can hit 50 degrees and 24-hour air conditioning is a way of life. British architect Norman Foster has his work cut out in Masdar City, a project the Abu Dhabi government hopes will bring the United Arab Emirates’ carbon footprint down to size.
“We are involved in a number of projects in Abu Dhabi and this is without question the most idealistic. It is probably the most idealistic project in the world today and the most relevant to any conferences from Kyoto to Davos,” Foster told Reuters.

“This is not about fashion, this is about survival.” The rapid economic growth of the United Arab Emirates and fellow Gulf Arab countries flush from record oil prices comes at a time of mounting international concern over climate change.

The UAE is among the highest per capita emitters of greenhouse gas in the world but the capital Abu Dhabi announced on Monday it would be investing $15 billion in developing renewable and clean energy, including Masdar City, which is scheduled to be built in seven phases from 2008 to 2018.

To do that in a desert climate is no mean task and the formidable Foster, whose firm is behind a slew of famous designs from London’s Millennium Bridge to Berlin’s rebuilt Reichstag, says he went back to basics in designing Abu Dhabi’s green city.

“This is a specific response to a place that is more climatically demanding in terms of achieving zero carbon. It is more difficult in the desert than in temperate environments. It would be easier in the Mediterranean or northern Europe,” he said in a telephone interview. “But I think it is all about working with nature, working with the elements and learning from traditional models.”

Masdar will be a walled city in traditional Arab style. With no cars allowed, it will be a compact city, with narrow, shaded streets amenable to walking, not dissimilar to the way urban spaces were traditionally organized to shelter shoppers and pedestrians from the harsh sun of the Middle East.

It will also feature eco-friendly transport systems to ferry people around, including a light railway, unusual in a part of the world where public transport is minimal and people rely heavily on big cars.

Rather than spreading out buildings, which is common in Gulf Arab countries that have plenty of empty desert to work with, Masdar will go for density not sprawl.

It will draw its power from solar panels in a part of the world with year-round sunshine, will harness wind and thermal power and rely on photovoltaic farms, all with the aim of making it self-sustaining. “Take Venice. You don’t feel any deprivation in Venice because there are no cars. Quite the reverse. It is so attractive it is in danger from being too popular,” Foster said. “We are talking about the technology to do more with less.”

 REAL EXCITEMENT At THE FINANCIAL TIMES, Further Reporting In The NEW YORK TIMES - ISRAEL TO JUMP-START ELECTRIC CAR MARKET - This and Other Renewables To Decrease Israel’s Dependence On Oil To Near Zero WITHIN ONE DECADE! Program To Start TODAY. RENAULT and NISSAN To Work With The Israelis FOR REAL ELECTRIC, NOT THE HALF-WAY HYBRIDS. SILICON VALLEY PROMOTER SHAI AGASSI and ISRAEL PRESIDENT SHIMON PERES are THE FORCE BEHIND THE $1 Billion PROJECT. “Project Better Place” has calculated that if Israel’s fleet of 2m cars were all electric, they would require 2,000MW of electricity per year, which could be provided by a one-off investment of $5 Billion in solar plants. In future, customers buying long-term recharging packages might even be offered “free” cars, much as some mobile providers offer handsets free of charge. IDAN OFFER IS AN ISRAELI REFINERY OPERATOR - HE INVESTS $100 MILLION AND SAYS THIS IS ISRAEL’S NOKIA. James D. Wolfensohn
is a Minor But Very Excited Investor.

The Crazy Way We Report on the Above Gives Away That At www.SustainabiliTank.info We Are Also Extremely Excited About These Announcements. In effect this is a dream come true for us, if you look at the many postings we have on our Israel button where we pointed out that technology for the reduction of world’s dependence on oil will come eventually from Israel because it is the country that has lost most because of world’s dependence on oil. We had interviews in the last 30 years with many Israeli officials asking them why they do not just make technology and ideas available for the world - FOR FREE - that is not in terms of developing patents for economic gain. Israel would get back in what it would invest in developing such ideas from the savings it could have then in its military expenses. The simple fact being that the perception the world is dependent on Middle East oil is the political burden, and the outflow of funds from the industrialized Nations to the oil exporters of the Middle East is the direct security burden.

Things have seemingly changed. The high cost of oil, the increase in world suffering from terrorism, the decrease in the American super-power status with its US oil-industry pushed negative influence against changing the strangle-hold oil has on our thinking - all this allows now for single bright individual entrepreneurs, to do what has to be done to answer the needs of the moment and of the future as well.

So, there is this confluence between environmental/climate change thinking, fear of flow of funds to potential indeologically or religious extremism driven backers of terrorism, the coming of age of the peak oil theory, and the availability of a small, highly technological and entrepreneurial State.

Mr. Shai Agassi, like his father, is prone to unconventional thinking and has a lot of experience in the cell phone technology and business. His idea is to base the introduction of the electric car on an infrastructure network similar to what was done in the mobile phone business. Idan Offer, did not grow into petroleum refineries because he has a love for oil - for him this is just business and he knows that the name of the game is energy not oil. Energy is solar based not fossil based. The distribution is a stationary network of battery replacement facilities. Shimon Peres, the old visionary has cooked up many ideas for the Israelis and the Middle East - he has had success stories also. Former World Bank Head, James Wolfensohn knows the world inside out and does not just contemplate - if needed he will put his shoulder to push the wagon. He was the one who bought the Israeli hot-houses in the Gaza region and turned them over to the Palestinians who could have started on the road to economic independence - he did provide the way for it and if the Palestinians did not make a go of it - that was not his fault. If this new project he gets involved is a success, the recipients of the benefits will be again not just the Israelis, but much of the rest of the world as well. With Wolfensohn involved we will hear shortly of many of his friends in the international money world coming in also. Who knows, there might even be some funds in Dubai or Hong Kong that will not want to miss an opportunity. We hope, that the timing of the release of these news has something to do with the Davos Economic Forum meeting later this week. We would be surprised if this does not get a threshing out there. We promise to keep our eyes open.

Israel jump-starts electric car market.
By John Reed in London, On The Financial Times online.
Published: January 20 2008 22:21 | Last updated: January 20 2008 22:21

A venture capital-backed plan to be announced on Monday will aim to jump-start the stalled electric vehicles market and make Israel a national laboratory for the world’s first mass roll-out of rechargeable cars.

Renault/ Nissan and startup company Project Better Place, backed by Ehud Olmert’s government, will outline plans to blanket the Jewish state with half a million charging spots and battery-swap stations for electric cars.

Renault is developing an electric sedan to target the Israeli market, and wants to mass-market electric cars there by mid-2011, people briefed on the plan told the Financial Times last week. The carmakers are not commenting on the project ahead of a press conference scheduled for Monday, January 21, 2008.

The scheme will aim to make electric vehicle recharging facilities ubiquitous, and alter the sector’s punishing economics by making the cars’ batteries the property of an outside service provider akin to a mobile-phone infrastructure company. In future, drivers would be able to monitor the battery power remaining in their cars, with in-car software directing them to the nearest place to recharge their cars, or swap their spent batteries for fully recharged ones.

Carlos Ghosn, Renault and Nissan’s chief executive, is championing pure electric vehicles and has expressed scepticism about the hybrid petrol-electric cars promoted by rival carmakers such as Toyota, which he sees as an interim technology.

If successful, the plan could give the carmakers an early advantage in mass-producing electric cars, a growing focus in the industry as lawmakers in Europe, the US and Asia seek to improve cars’ fuel economy and cut their emissions. The scheme’s backing by the Israeli government could, however, prove controversial in the region’s oil-rich countries where Renault does business, including Iran.

Shai Agassi, Project Better Place’s founder, holds Israeli and American citizenship, and had been discussing the plan with Mr Ghosn, President Shimon Peres and other Israeli officials for the past year. Israel’s small size, anxiety about reliance on petroleum, and desire to promote high-tech industries all made it an ideal incubator for the plan, expected to cost about $1bn in total.

However, Mr Agassi has said he is in talks with officials in 15 other countries, including the UK, Denmark, and China. His company is targeting “transportation islands” – actual islands, or geographic regions small or self-contained enough to lend themselves to a dense enough network of recharging infrastructure to make its business plan feasible.

Automakers have to date failed to develop electric cars suitable for the mass market, due in large part to the high costs of the cars’ batteries, which can add $20,000 or more to the price of a vehicle.

The cars’ limited driving ranges, and patchy availability of recharging infrastructure, led to a basic customer-satisfaction issue that one GM executive last week described as “range anxiety.” Electric vehicles have been produced in small production runs, adding to the cost car buyers paid per vehicle.

Project Better Place is proposing to offer drivers “ubiquity of charge” by building about 150,000 recharging spots each located at Israeli workplaces, residences, and public parking spots, to be built over the next 18 months. Mr Agassi’s company will also build about 150 battery swap stations, similar to filling stations, where drivers can exchange their cars’ batteries within five minutes.

Mr Agassi’s company plans to offer driver long-term prepaid packages for recharging which, he said, would sharply bring down the cost of electric cars. In future, customers buying long-term packages might even be offered “free” cars, much as some mobile providers offer handsets free of charge.

Some rival carmakers have expressed scepticism about whether Mr Agassi’s company will be able to swap the cars’ batteries effectively and reliably.

It is also uncertain whether Israelis are prepared to move to shift on a large scale to electric cars.

Israel’s government last week approved generous tax incentives for electric vehicles, apparently aimed at laying the groundwork for the project to be announced on Monday. Other countries around Europe, including Sweden, France, and the UK, have recently begun offering tax incentives for zero-emission vehicles.

Israel plans electric car network.
By Fiona Harvey and John Reed in London and Tobias Buck in Jerusalem
Published, The Financial Times: January 20 2008 23:17 | Last updated: January 20 2008 23:17

Israel will set out plans on Monday to cut drastically its dependence on oil imports, with a private-sector initiative for a nationwide electric car network.

The privately funded plan to build 500,000 recharging points and battery-swap stations for electric cars in the next 18 months has the backing of the government and president, Shimon Peres. Renault and Nissan will develop an electric car with a range of more than 100 miles to be mass-produced from 2011.

Israel jump-starts electric car market - Jan-20

Mr Peres told the Financial Times the plan would cut Israel’s oil imports by half within a few years, and Israel could cut the remainder by building solar energy generating plants. “In one decade, we will not need oil.”

The infrastructure will be built by Project Better Place, a US start-up, which has raised $200m (€137m) for the purpose, enough to cover the initial stages. Further roll-out of the infrastructure and vehicles is expected to add about $800m to the cost.

Electric cars have failed to find mass-market acceptance due to their limited driving ranges, high costs relating to their batteries and small production runs. Project Better Place, founded by Shai Agassi, an Israeli-American, champions a business model that would see the costs of batteries borne by infrastructure companies.

Israel’s government this month approved tax incentives for electric vehicles.

The plan’s government backing could prove a sensitive point in the region’s oil-rich countries, where Renault does business; in Iran it assembles low-cost cars in a joint venture. The company was not available for comment ahead of Monday’s announcement.

Mr Peres made it clear the aim of the project was both economic and political. “The two greatest problems today are oil and terror,” he said. “Oil is the greatest polluter, and the great financer of terror. [Oil-producing nations] make a mockery of democracy.”

By contrast, he saw a bright future for solar energy to replace oil imports: “The sun is permanent, democratic, friendly, and it does not pollute.”

Project Better Place, which has held talks with carmakers other than Renault and Nissan, will also offer prepayment packages for recharging that it claims will bring down the cost of electric cars. It likens itself to the early infrastructure companies that made widespread use of mobile phones possible.

Caroline Öhrn, senior research analyst at Venture Business Research, said: “This may finally kick-start adaptation on a larger scale.” The take-up of electric cars had been inhibited by the lack of recharging sites, she said. “It’s great to own an electric car, but its use is limited if you’re only able to recharge it at home.”

If successful, the Israeli project may also be rolled out in other countries.

Electric cars are regarded as a “green” alternative to petrol or diesel driven vehicles because the only greenhouse gas emissions they produce arise from the generation of the electricity. If this comes from low-carbon sources, the resulting emissions are very low.

Project Better Place has calculated that if Israel’s fleet of 2m cars were all electric, they would require 2,000MW of electricity per year, which could be provided by a one-off investment of $5bn in solar plants.

Israel Is Set to Promote the Use of Electric Cars.

By Steven Erlanger, The New York Times, Published: January 21, 2008.JERUSALEM — Israel, tiny and bereft of oil, has decided to embrace the electric car.

On Monday, the Israeli government will announce its support for a broad effort to promote the use of electric cars, embracing a joint venture between an American-Israeli entrepreneur and Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor Company.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, with the active support of President Shimon Peres, intends to make Israel a laboratory to test the practicality of an environmentally clean electric car. The state will offer tax incentives to purchasers, and the new company, with a $200 million investment to start, will begin construction of facilities to recharge the cars and replace empty batteries quickly.

The idea, said Shai Agassi, 39, the software entrepreneur behind the new company, is to sell electric car transportation on the model of the cellphone. Purchasers get subsidized hardware — the car — and pay a monthly fee for expected mileage, like minutes on a cellphone plan, eliminating concerns about the fluctuating price of gasoline.

Mr. Agassi and his investors are convinced that the cost of running such a car will be significantly cheaper than a model using gasoline (currently $6.28 a gallon here.)

“With $100 a barrel oil, we’ve crossed a historic threshold where electricity and batteries provide a cheaper alternative for consumers,” Mr. Agassi said. “You buy a car to go an infinite distance, and we need to create the same feeling for an electric car — that you can fill it up when you stop or sleep and go an infinite distance.”

Mr. Agassi’s company, Project Better Place of Palo Alto, Calif., will provide the lithium-ion batteries, which will be able to go 124 miles per charge, and the infrastructure necessary to keep the cars going — whether parking meter-like plugs on city streets or service stations along highways, where, in a structure like a car wash, exhausted batteries will be removed and fresh ones inserted.

Renault and Nissan will provide the cars. The chairman of both companies, Carlos Ghosn, is scheduled to attend the announcements on Monday. Other companies are developing electric cars, like the Tesla and Chevrolet Volt, but the project here is a major step for Renault, which clearly believes that there is a commercial future in electric cars.

Israel, where the round-trip commute between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is only 75 miles, is considered a good place to test the idea, which Mr. Agassi, Renault and Nissan hope to copy in small countries like Denmark and crowded cities like London, Paris, Singapore and New York. London, which has a congestion area tax for cars, lets electric cars enter downtown and park free.

Project Better Place’s major investor, Idan Ofer, 52, has put up $100 million for the project and is its board chairman. He will remain chairman of Israel Corporation Ltd., a major owner and operator of shipping companies and refineries. “What’s driving me is a much wider outlook than Israel,” Mr. Ofer said. “If it were just Israel, I’d be cannibalizing my refinery business. I’m not so concerned about the refineries, but buildi