Israel should reject copying the world’s insanity

As an ex-pat American, Israeli citizen, who regularly watches the news in both countries, I have always felt that – in a contest between Israel and the U.S. – the level of craziness and profound lack of wisdom is won, hands down, by the U.S.

Given the extremely unrealistic aspirations of the American progressive, woke and green movements, there is an expectation of being able to forcibly drag their population into a new Utopian horizon – one which offers electric cars, plant-based food, the end of fossil fuels, renewable green energy, ending the right to bear arms granted by the Second Amendment, defunding – or doing away with – the police, accommodating gender fluidity at any given moment, placing tampons in men’s restrooms, with the list of insane measures going on and on.

Along with that lengthy list has been the attempt to mandate things which, up until 2020 were totally left to the personal discretion of members of society. But something happened the moment a pandemic made its debut onto the world’s stage. It felt as if all of the global elites conspired to take full advantage of a time where helplessness ruled, using it to co-opt our rights, freedoms, self-governance and ability to make personal choices concerning our bodies, eating habits, purchases and, in general, how we conduct our daily lives.

So, it’s not by coincidence that many of us, over the past couple of months, have gotten wind of a plan first introduced in California to rid the state of all gas-fueled cars by the year 2035. It wasn’t long before we also heard about the State of Virginia having the same intention. In fact, 15 states have signed on to support this futuristic move with the intent of eventually adopting the same measures. But wait, there’s more!  The Biden Administration has taken on the same mantra – a 2035 goal of fully transitioning to electric vehicles.

Now, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Israel is on the same track. In The Jerusalem Post article, “Israel is way behind on its pledge to complete transition to EVs by 2030,” published on Aug. 31, we are told that, “In November 2018, Israel became one of the world’s first countries to set a target for banning sales of gasoline and diesel cars in 2030,” – actually outdoing America’s goal by five years.

Perhaps the only ray of hope in this disturbing article is the reason that this lofty aspiration may never get off the ground.

“One of the main problems with Israel’s commitment to phase out all but electric vehicles by 2030 is the absence of legislation and no clearly defined intermediary milestones anchored in law.”

As it turns out, this very subject was the opening block on the Aug. 30 episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, in which he asked the question, “Banning gasoline engines, which we have had for more than 100 years, which have completely defined modern society… means that this is the biggest change in your lifetime. Have you been consulted on it? Has there been a debate about it? No!”

But the point is well taken, because when you consider that we are the ones who will have to be willing to comply, by giving up our cars and switching over to another method of transportation that seems less attractive, given its dependence upon China for the nickel needed to manufacture the batteries, we should definitely have a say!

Of course, no one has mentioned the inconvenient fact that electric cars are not within the financial reach of everyone, or the exorbitant price to charge a car which, in some countries, is now more expensive than filling a tank with gas.

“Electricity prices in Norway are set to reach about $1 per kwh. At these prices, it would cost $1,000 to fully charge a Tesla,” claims Swedish journalist, Peter Emanuelsson.

Nor has anyone spoken about the fragility of electric grids, which, if attacked, would render an electric car undrivable. But why even speak about an attack? If government controllers of electric grids choose to reduce energy output, wouldn’t that surely impact one’s ability to charge their auto in order to use it at will? Why would anyone think that the impulse to travel would remain in our control?

At the moment, we are told that, “Israel only has 60 government funded quick-charging points, while 1,200 are required by 2025 to achieve the target.” 

In addition, no budget has been earmarked for the addition of needed charging stations. A proper allocation is said to be upwards to 70-100 million shekels per year. While that may be chump change for a country whose existence is not threatened, Israel must concern itself with producing Iron Dome intercept missiles to ensure its survival.

We can exist without electric vehicles, but we may not have a fighting chance without Iron Dome!

So why should Israel follow the rest of the world’s mad dash into a lesser convenient and more expensive option of electric vehicles, all in the name of appeasing the green activists who will continue to fly in private jets and not give two hoots about their enormous carbon footprint?

Do we really want to copy California, which has already warned its residents that significant power outages are sure to be present over the coming five years?

Will the Promised Land, yet again, revert to the times when Israel longed to be ruled by a king just as the other nations? Or will we resist the impulse to go totalitarian in order to prove our virtue to a world which won’t take notice anyway?

This so-called “energy transformation,” is an imposed measure which will seek to mandate a way of life which will be forced upon people against their will and against their financial means.

Israel has no choice but to muster the courage to go against the tide – a tide which will sweep many into a deep abyss of control, loss of autonomy and total adherence to a system which will never cease to amass more and more power until they achieve their ultimate goal of eradicating our freedoms.

So, as we approach the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah, we might do well to recall our exodus from bondage into liberty, our journey from servitude to freedom and ask ourselves whether or not we really want to go back to Egypt?