Geula Investment Trust

BrightSource Israel Solar Power Development Center

2008-10-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

BrightSource Energy and LUZ II have created the first Solar Power development Center in the world. Find out why they claim their solar technology is at the top of the market and will compete with fossil fuel.

Harnessing the Energy

2008-04-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

B"H

by Prof. Yirmiyahu Branover

There is more good news on the renewable energy front. With fossil fuels becoming more expensive, not to mention their effects on the environment, the search is on for a reliable source of clean energy that will not be used up. One of the best sources of renewable energy is solar power, especially in hot desert areas. The intense sunlight in those areas is a potent form of energy that in most cases, merely bakes the earth but is not harnessed towards productive ends.

That may soon change, thanks to a burgeoning development of a new type solar power plant, which involves placing rows of bright mirrors along acres of desert ﬂoor. The mirrors focus the intense light from the sun onto a ﬂuid, heating it into steam. The steam turns a turbine to generate energy. So far, two such plants have been opened in the United States, with ten more in the planning stages. Each plant produces enough energy to power several large hotels. Plans are also underway to develop ways of storing the energy to produce electricity after the sun has gone down.

No form of energy is of any use unless a way can be found to channel and harness it. Otherwise, the energy simply dissipates as heat. We ﬁnd a similar concept in Jewish thought. There are certain times of the year when special spiritual energy is generated—such as Shabbat, holidays or the new moon. We must make ourselves into a vessel to channel the energy and use it to drive our continuing development as human beings, to energize us in the fulﬁllment of Mitzvot.

We ﬁnd an example of poorly channeled energy in the Chumash, when Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aaron, entered the Tabernacle and brought a “strange ﬁre” to G-d. They were so enthusiastic at the building of the Mishkan and the prospect of becoming close to G-d, that they brought a ﬁre at a time that was not appropriate for them. As a result, they died. Had they not been so over-eager, they could have drawn down this intense spiritual power to bring about real change and elevation to the world. However, their spiritual zeal was focused only on rising to G-d but not on channeling the energy here on earth, and therefore they perished.

Over the course of exile, we have been engaged in the task of building “mirrors in the desert,” to harness the intense Divine radiation that is beaming down upon us. The mirrors are our Mitzvos and the sunlight is the Divine light being drawn down to the world through our actions. When Moshiach comes, the “construction project” will be complete, and we will be able to derive the full beneﬁt of the work we have done over so many generations. Then, G-d will “take the sun out of its shield” and the night will shine like the day.

Adopted from www.ChabadWorld.net

Prof. Yirmiyahu Branover is chairman of the Center of Magnetohydrodynamic Studies and Training at Ben-Gurion University.

Israel's Project Better Place and Renault-Nissan Agree To Electrify Israeli Roads -

2008-01-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

B"H

Left to right: Mr Shai Agassi - CEO of Better Project Place, Prime Minister - Ehud Olmert, Mr Carlos Ghosn - President and CEO of Renault Nissan

VIDEO ENHANCED

Left to right: Mr Shai Agassi - CEO of Better Project Place, Prime Minister - Ehud Olmert, Mr Carlos Ghosn - President and CEO of Renault Nissan

MOU signed today in Jerusalem for first application on Israeli market

JERUSALEM - January 21, 2008: In a significant move towards reducing CO2 car emissions as well as particles pollution, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Project Better Place engage in a breakthrough with electric vehicles in Israel.

The solution framework comes in response to the Israeli State's challenge to the auto industry and its supply chain to migrate the country's transportation infrastructure to renewable sources of energy.

Click PLAY to watch video

For the first time in history, all the conditions necessary for electric vehicles to be successfully mass-marketed will be brought together in a partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Project Better Place in Israel. The Israeli government would provide tax incentives to customers, Renault would supply the electric vehicles, and Project Better Place would construct and operate an Electric Recharge Grid across the entire country. Electric vehicles will be available for customers in 2011.

-- 100% electric vehicles: Renault's vehicles will run on pure electricity for all functions. The objective of zero emissions will be achieved, while at the same time offering driving performances similar to a 1.6 liter gasoline engine. Renault's electric vehicles will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries, ensuring greater driving range and longevity.

-- Innovative business model: For the first time in the electric vehicle business, ownership of the car is separated from the requirement to own a battery. Consumers will buy and own their car and subscribe to energy, including the use of the battery, on a basis of kilometers driven. This model is similar to the way mobile phones are sold, with an initial purchase and a monthly subscription for the mobility service. -- Competitive cost of ownership: The Israeli government recently extended a tax incentive on the purchase of any zero-emissions vehicle until 2019, making them more affordable. Combined with the lower cost of electricity as opposed to fuel-based energy, and the vehicle's lifetime guarantee, the total cost of ownership for the customer will be significantly lower than that of a fuel-based car over the life cycle of the vehicle. -- Electric Recharge Grid infrastructure: California-based Project Better Place plans to deploy a massive network of battery charging spots. Driving range will no longer be an obstacle, because customers will be able to plug their cars into charging units in any of the 500,000 charging spots in Israel. An on-board computer system will indicate to the driver the remaining power supply and the nearest charging spot. Nissan, through its joint venture with NEC, has created a battery pack that meets the requirements of the electric vehicle and will mass- produce it. Renault is working on development of exchangeable batteries for continuous mobility. The entire framework will go through a series of tests starting this year. -- Perfect first mass market: In Israel, where 90% of car owners drive less than 70 kilometers per day, and all major urban centers are less than 150 kilometers apart, electric vehicles would be the ideal means of transportation and could therefore cover most of the population's transportation needs.

Along with Project Better Place, this is the first illustration of the Alliance's commitment to mass-market zero-emission vehicles all over the world.

Project Better Place
Project Better Place is a venture-backed company that aims to reduce global dependency on oil through the creation of a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles, providing consumers with a cleaner, sustainable, personal transportation alternative. Launched in October 2007, Project Better Place will build its first pilot Electric Recharge Grid in Israel and plans to deploy the infrastructure on a country-by-country basis with initial deployments beginning in 2010.
related to this see:
Solar Energy the next Frontier
The Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlit"a on Solar Energy :
http://geula-investment-trust.blogspot.com/2005/05/solar-energy-next-frontier.html

Israel Is Set to Promote the Use of Electric Cars

2008-01-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

B"H
Does anyone have more info about this?
Please comment.

Israel Is Set to Promote the Use of Electric Cars
January 21, 2008

By STEVEN ERLANGER

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 building a world-class company. If Israel will ever produce a Nokia, it will be this.”

Mr. Ofer has his eye on China, with its increasing car penetration, oil consumption and environmental pollution, where he has interest from a Chinese car company, Chery, for a similar joint venture.

Renault will offer a small number of electric models of existing vehicles, like the Megane sedan, at prices roughly comparable to gasoline models. The batteries will come from Mr. Agassi. The tax breaks for “clean” electric vehicles, which Israel promises to keep until at least 2015, will make the cars cheaper to consumers than gasoline-engine cars. “You’ll be able to get a nice, high-end car at a price roughly half that of the gasoline model today,” Mr. Agassi said.

He contends that operating expenses will be half of those for gasoline-driven vehicles, especially in Europe and Israel, where gasoline taxes are high. The company, and the consumers who use it, will normally recharge their batteries at night, when the electricity is cheapest, and they expect the batteries to have a life of 7,000 charges, though Mr. Agassi says he is counting on only 1,500 charges, which is roughly 150,000 miles, the life of the average car.

“Because the price of gasoline fluctuates so much during the life of a car, it’s hard to predict the cost basis for driving,” Mr. Agassi said. “But electricity fluctuates less, and you can buy it in advance, so I can give you a guaranteed price per mile, cheaper than the price of gas today.”

Mr. Agassi predicts that a few thousand electric cars will be on Israeli roads in 2009 and 100,000 by the end of 2010; Israel has two million cars on the road, and about 10 percent are replaced each year.

Mr. Agassi suggested this model for the electric car — concentrating on infrastructure rather than on car production — at a 2006 meeting of the Saban Forum of the Brookings Institution, which Mr. Peres attended. He was enthralled by the idea.

Mr. Peres, who is sometimes dismissed as a dreamer by more cynical Israelis, has in the past embraced and helped to develop some successful notions — like Israel’s nuclear weapons program. He is a strong believer in Israel’s mission to better the world, he says, and not simply sell arms to it. Israel is the 11th-largest arms exporter, as measured by dollar sales, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Mr. Peres, who knew Mr. Agassi’s father, said in an interview that after hearing Shai Agassi speak: “I called him in and said, ‘Shai, now what?’ I said that now is the time for him to implement his idea, and I spoke to our prime minister and other officials and convinced them that this is a great opportunity.”

“Oil is becoming the greatest problem of our time,” Mr. Peres said in an interview in his office. Not only does it pollute, but “it also supports terror and violence from Venezuela to Iran.”

“Israel can’t become a major industrial country, but it can become a daring world laboratory and a pilot plant for new ideas, like the electric car,” he said.

Mr. Peres sees this project as part of his “green vision” for Israel, arguing that what the nation may lose in tax revenue it will save in oil. He also supports a larger investment in solar power, saying that “the Saudis don’t control the sun.”

Mr. Ofer wants profits, but also thinks the project will help the environment, especially in developing countries. “China is on a very dangerous march from bicycles to cars without any notion of what they’re doing to this planet in terms of air,” he said.

And in Mumbai, he said, “you can’t even see the sky.”

James D. Wolfensohn, the former World Bank president, is a modest investor in the project.

“Israel is a perfect test tube” for the electric car, he said. “The beauty of this is that you have a real place where you can get real human reactions. In Israel they can control the externalities and give it a chance to flourish or fail. It needs to be tested, and Agassi is to be commended for testing it and the Israeli government for trying it.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/world/middleeast/21israel.html?ei=5065&en=e8435952c4b2651d&ex=1201582800&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

Yes, but who has the patience to wait until 2022?

2007-02-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

B"H
Yes, but who has the patience to wait until 2022?

By Ami Ginsburg

Nine hundred percent in 15 years is the yield of investment of the Tel Aviv 100 index in January 1992, when the index stood at 100 points, until February 14, 2007, when it first crossed the four-digit line.

Nine hundred percent makes for an annual average of 15.7 percent. If we deduct the rate of inflation during this period, an average of 5.2 percent annually, the average real yield on investment in the Tel Aviv stock exchange was 10.5-11 percent yearly. Would you like such a yield on your own savings? It's safe to say that the answer is yes.

And just think about all the upheavals Israel and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange have undergone. Two bubbles, two wars, six elections, seven prime ministers and about the same number of finance ministers.

And despite it all, whoever put their money in the TASE 15 years ago and left it there, increased their investment ten-fold. Why? Because the stock exchange has rules of its own, and is more closely related to the performance of companies than it is to the identities of prime ministers and finance ministers.

And now for a secret. On the average, over time, stock markets go up, and earn more, than any other investment.

The recipe for profiting from the market is a simple one: You need to stick around for a long time. Through bad times and good. This is true not only for the Israeli market. Had someone invested in the Dow Jones index, for instance, in 1992, rather than the TA-100, he would have earned a nice annual yield of 15.5 percent. One anomaly is the Japanese stock market, which earned its investors an average yield of only 4 percent.

With stocks there is also a risk of no earnings at all, even over an extended period. This is precisely the reason to spread your investment portfolio. In a well-spread portfolio, the meager earnings of the Japanese stock exchange would hardly be noticeable.

Beyond patience and self-discipline, you need to cultivate conservatism in investment in shares as well, and not be seduced by fads. It's not always easy to recognize a financial bubble, but sometimes they just scream out, and one need only listen.

Just to clarify, the Israeli market is showing no signs of a financial bubble. Not at all. But price levels are not low. On a stock market that goes up 230 percent in four years on a regular basis, even when the increases are backed up by real, solid economic data, it's worthwhile to be careful. It could keep going up, but it may begin to fluctuate more.

The long-term perspective shows that at times like this, it doesn't hurt to take a conservative position. It can't hurt to spread stock investments over various countries. Even if you have the patience to wait until 2022.

from HaAretz Newspaper

Introducing www.GeulaInvestmentTrust.com

2005-05-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

By the grace of G-d
Shalom uBrocha!
The Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches that we are now living in the age of Moshiach and redemption.The Rebbe teaches that the world is being transformed to a more perfect state as explained in the prophecies of the Tanach (Bible) about the time of redemption. Wealth can be used in many positives ways. For example when asked why did he helped to discover gold and diamonds in Australia the Rebbe explained that very soon they'll be used for the construction of the 3rd Holy Temple in Yerushalaim (Jerusalem).
I have studied the Rebbe's teachings and saw the fulfillment of his many prophecies for the last 15 years thus among other things I have gained some insight to see which types of
investments are most likely to succeed and in the past I have many succesfull predictions based on this knowlege.However I haven't been able to benifit from it personaly since I had no money to invest. Now I'd like to use my knowlege of this subject for your benifit.
I'm going to use this blog to list various companies comodities curencies and other investment opportunities and explain how they are connected to Moshiach and redemption.
1st of all there are a number of companies which are built based on the Rebbe's prophecies or have his blessing to succeed for example Shefa Yamim - exploration for Diamonds, Precious stones and Gold in the Zevulun Valley along the Qishone River in the North of the land of Israel (Haifa), according to the prophetic statement of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, King Mashiach
and Givot Olam Oil Limited which has the Rebbe's holy blessing see: http://www.givot.co.il/bracha.htm
Besides that there are prophecies of the Rebbe said in 5751-1991 about the current in Iraq and the global war on teror (using these prophecies I was able to earn 400% paper gains by trading curencies in a Oanda.com game trading account making just a few long-term trades)
And to advice people to adjust their investments almost 2 years in advance of the War in Iraq based on the certainty of the fulfillment of the Rebbe's prophecies relating to this war.
Besides posting my investment tips I'm thinking of using this domain to prommote an investment trust I'm planning to create to take advantage of investment opportunities connected to the time of Moshiach and redemption (geula) we are living in now.
I am also thinking of posting info related to affiliate marketing programs and other opportunities connected to the prophecies of the messianic age.
To learn more about this check this blog often for new updates.
With respect and blessing:
Ariel Sokolovsky
http://www.Torah.5u.com/aboutme.html
PS: Check out my other sites:
http://www.MoshiachTV.Blogspot.com
and http://www.ChabadTravel.com
http://www.CompareSave.da.ru
http://www.CafeShops.com/geula
Disclaimer:Any information on this site is for educational purposes only and is not an investment advice.I may hold positions in the investments I'm recomending. If this is the case will disclose it here.
Long Live our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe King Moshiach Forever and Ever!

About Shefa Yamim

2005-05-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

By the grace of G-d

About Shefa Yamim
Background

The story of Shefa Yamim is a fascinating one, not least because of the events leading to its establishment and the success of the Company’s subsequent activities.
In 1988, the Lubavitcher Rebbe held a conversation with the then mayor of Haifa, Mr. Arye Goral, in which he stated that:

“… In Haifa, there is a sea. One shouldn’t become intimidated by something that is deep. This is the uniqueness of Haifa - that it has a sea and that there is a valley and in the valley are precious stones. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, did a wondrous thing; he concealed them in the depths of the earth, and in any case, in the depth of the river….” Click here to view the video of this conversation.
Ten years later, A few followers of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Experienced members of the Diamond industry seized upon the significance of this vision, and established Shefa Yamim as a corporate vehicle through which it could be examined from a scientific perspective, with a view to commercial exploitation.
The Company’s founders believe that this vision guarantees the site’s success from the perspective of both quantity and quality. They have not been disappointed, and the enterprise has met with extraordinary success.
To fund its initial activities, the founders Shefa Yamim raised a necessary funds.
The Company made a number of test drills, and the extracted core was analyzed. Recent geological opinions resulting from these activities indicate the existence of a large Diamond and precious stone deposit in the Shefa Yamim permit area.
The Company now expects to open a mine with a joint venture agreement with a market leader within 12 to 18 months after raising its second round of financing.

Permits

The Company’s operations have focused on a site located in the western Galilee, along the Qishone River in the Zvullun Valley.

Shefa Yamim obtained a Exploration permit from the official state authorities in Israel (the Supervisor of Mines at the Ministry of National Infrastructure). Initial findings have since resulted in seven consecutive permits being issued to the Company.

Company Laboratories

Most operations take place at the Company’s laboratories in the Nesher Industrial zone in northern Israel. The Company employs in-house geologists, specializing in mineral and Diamond prospecting. These include a sophisticated microscopic laboratory for locating minerals, petrography, and mineralogy examinations.
The extracted core was washed and geologically tested. All precious stones and associated minerals were initially recognized and microscopically tested at the laboratory to find their optical and physical properties. Each stage of laboratory testing and its respective outcome was meticulously recorded. Analyzed material was then specially packed and stored for future re-testing, if necessary.
Third party institutions like the Technion Institute and Be’er Sheva University have conducted their own tests on the minerals found. Some were also tested using the SEM method at the Geological Survey of Israel and at the De Beers Africa exploration laboratory.

Findings

Core samples extracted by the Company have yielded a number of exciting discoveries:

64 micro and macro Diamond crystals and fragments.
Numerous associated minerals and precious stones such as:
Moissanite, Sapphire, Ruby, Garnets (Pyrope), various Corundum, Chrome Spinel, colorless Zircon, red Rutile, Olivine, Kyanite, and more.

Potential

Findings of Diamonds, as well as large amounts of minerals associated with Diamond deposits, all strongly indicate commercial amounts and qualities of Diamonds.
Some of the minerals found have independent market value, such as Rubies, Sapphires and Moissanite.
Geological experts from around the world are closely watching the progress of the Company.
These facts clearly suggest that the permit area currently held by Shefa Yamim is extremely valuable, and that those associated with the Company stand to benefit when full scale mining activities take place.

More than Just Science

Shefa Yamim’s prospecting activities have brought a strong scientific base to the comments made by the Lubavitcher Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach SHIL”O, that precious stones and gems can be found in the valley of Haifa.
Further examination of the Rebbe’s words reveals more of what is likely to be in store:
“the Holy One, blessed be He, did a wondrous thing” – Company founders believe that this refers to the wondrous nature of the extent of the eventual finds, that will be unique both in terms of quantity and quality.
This is reinforced by a remarkable statement made by the Rebbe in a public address in 1992. The Rebbe referred to the famous Biblical verse that enumerates the produce with which the Holy Land is blessed. The verse says:
“A land of wheat, barley, grape, fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil-olives and honey.” Here the Rebbe added “and a land full of precious stones and gems.”
This is even more pertinent because the Rebbe, in that same address, connected this subject to the passage in Prophets that mentions the Qishone River, the very place where Shefa Yamim has made its findings of Diamonds and precious stones.
The Rebbe’s vision has already led to unexpected findings. Geological experts now believe that a commercial deposit does indeed exist in the Company’s license area.
Further consideration of the Rebbe’s words:
1) “…the Holy One, blessed be He, did a wondrous thing…”
2) “…and a land full of precious stones and gems”
brings the promise of extremely successful results and substantial profits well beyond conservative scientific estimations.

Summary

Shefa Yamim has proven itself, by bringing scientific support to a vision of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The permit area has already yielded extremely promising Diamond fragments and minerals.
Geological reports indicate a placer (deposit) with commercial viability.
The teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe suggest that the extent of the precious stones to be found in the area is far beyond conservative scientific estimates.

http://www.shefayamim.com
Thank you for visiting http://www.GeulaInvestmentTrust.com
check out my other sites http://www.ChabadTravel.com
and
Moshiach TV Blog
With respect and blessing!
Ariel Sokolovsky

Long live the Rebbe King Moshiach forever and ever!

Solar Energy the next Frontier

2005-05-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

By the grace of G-d
The Rebbe King Moshiach Shlit"a on Solar Energy :
There is, however, one energy source which can be made available in a very short time. Solar energy is non-polluting, cheap, and inexhaustible. Already used in many countries, it can power individual homes as well as giant factories. The United States has been blessed with plentiful sunshine, especially in the south, and it is no great technological feat to transport the energy derived from it to other parts of the country. The entire United States, and indeed, other countries not so well blessed with sunshine, can have their energy needs met with the solar energy produced in the southern United States. The U.S.A. need but have the proper determination, brush aside all opposition, and very quickly solve its energy problems. Then, no longer dependent on foreign countries, it can utilize its G-d given assets to influence peoples around the world -- to be productive, G-d fearing citizens.

This is a country which has traditionally been full of kindness and compassion to those less fortunate than itself. The determination to continue in this admirable work lends urgency to the necessity of utilizing all possible assets. We do this not for our own selfish, egocentric purposes; for G-d has blessed this country richly, and it is our duty to use those riches to their fullest good.
With the independence and power thus granted to it, the United States can fulfill its role of bringing peace and stability to this sorely troubled planet.

Starting with solar energy, the U.S.A. must quickly as possible begin its program of energy self-sufficiency. Let those who hinder the pursuit of peace take heed of this determination, and be warned that this country will not allow the havoc and chaos to continue. Just the knowledge that the U.S. is preparing to do so will contribute immeasurably to the stilling of the madness and instability presently rampant. Then speedily we will come to the time when all will be peace and plenty, in the final redemption through our Righteous Redeemer.
(Based on Rebbe's talks said in early 80s)

Solar Energy Tipping Point?
now things may be picking up....

Investing in Solar Photovoltaics: a Market at the Tipping Point
http://www.csrwire.com/article.cgi/3537.html
(hat tip to http://moshiachblog.blogspot.com )