Iran in Trouble
I ran remains in the headlines. And the
theocratic regime is taking a beating.

But instead of criticism focused on the polit-
ically divisive nuclear deal — which has gener-
ated fi ts and starts of possible agreement, only
to fall victim to Iran’s intransigence and unrea-
sonable demands — the focus has been upon
the mass outpouring of rage over the murder
of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the
regime’s morality police.

Amini was arrested for allegedly violating
Iran’s strict rules on how to wear a hijab. She
died while in police custody, reportedly suf-
fering multiple blows to the head. The mass
Demonstrators in Toulouse, France, gather in support
protests have spread to at least 50 Iranian
of Iranian women, and in protest of the death of Mahsa
cities. For the conservative Islamic theocracy,
Amini, on Oct. 2, 2022.

these spontaneous acts of rebellion are a sig-
nifi cant challenge to the state. Iranian law forbids clubs and, in some instances, live ammunition.

any dissent and imposes fearsome punishments
Revolutionary Iran, now 43 years old, has proved
for those deemed a threat to the state. But the as implacable as the old Soviet Union. And we are
protests are growing nonetheless and are a clear left to ponder how to restrain this international
reminder that Iranian citizens don’t all see eye to outlaw whose goal of staying in power means
eye with their insular Islamic thought police and turning its back to the world and arresting, impris-
government. oning and killing the opposition.

While Iran watchers warn not to misread the
But there are some things Iran can’t control —
hijab protests as opposition to the scarf itself, like the complication that the unrest coincides with
there is no mistaking the message conveyed in reports of the ailing health of Iran’s top authority,
the videos that show women burning their head- 83-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There are
scarves and crowds chanting “death to the dic- reportedly deep divisions in Iran’s “ruling elite”
tator,” unfazed by security forces using tear gas, over Khamenei’s eventual successor — including
high-level negotiations and jockeying for infl u-
ence within the country’s Assembly of Experts,
the 86-member body that is supposed to
decide succession. All of that is reportedly dis-
tracting regime leaders from unifying around
security issues and the best way to deal with
the growing protest movement.

Among the things Iran has done in reac-
tion to the protests is to cut off the internet
and block social media. The hope is that by
restricting communication about the protests,
they will die down. In response, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S.

will ease restrictions on technology exports to
help counter Iranian state censorship activi-
ties. Which then prompted tech billionaire Elon
Musk to announce that he was “activating
Starlink” in order to save the Iranian people.

Starlink is Musk’s satellite internet company, and
his announcement implied that his non-govern-
ment service could solve Iranians’ tech problems.

But it can’t. Among other things, Starlink custom-
ers need a special dish to send and receive inter-
net data. Those dishes are not available in Iran,
and the regime won’t let them in. Indeed, Iran has
already blocked Starlink.

While Iran may be able to block Musk, it hasn’t
yet fi gured out how to explain Amini’s violent
death or how to deal with the mounting outrage it
has engendered. JE
An EU Opportunity
I n 1995, Israel and the European Union entered
into an Association Agreement which called
for ministerial-level meetings between EU
representatives and Israel at least yearly, at which
issues of mutual concern were to be discussed.

For a number of reasons, it took almost fi ve
years for the Association Agreement to be rat-
ifi ed. And then in 2013, Israel canceled further
meetings in reaction to the EU’s promulgation of
a policy that prohibited EU funding for or coopera-
tion with an Israeli body that operates or has links
beyond the Green Line.

But now, thanks to eff orts by Israel’s prime
minister, Yair Lapid, and support from EU lead-
ership — particularly representatives of France
— the freeze has thawed and Association Council
meetings are back on track. The fi rst meeting in
a decade was held in Brussels earlier this week.

Among the issues scheduled for discussion
were the war in Ukraine, the global energy cri-
sis and food insecurity. EU representatives also
made clear their interest in discussing the Middle
East peace process, in the hopes of building on
12 OCTOBER 6, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
what they saw as encouraging remarks by Lapid
during his recent United Nations address, in which
he called a two-state solution “the right thing for
Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the
future of our children.”
Historically, the friction between the EU and Israel
has centered on various aspects of Israel’s rela-
tionship with the Palestinians. EU member nations
overwhelmingly support a two-state solution and
oppose Israeli settlements in the West Bank. There
were also economic tensions, driven by Europe’s
thirst for oil, and EU member deference to the his-
toric antagonism of Arab oil states to Israel.

Much of that seems to have changed with the
regional embrace of the Abraham Accords, a height-
ened need for Europe’s cultivation of alternative oil
sources because of the war in Ukraine and the shift
in Israel’s leadership from the hardline positions of
former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the
more moderate positions of Lapid.

From the EU’s perspective, the stars may have
aligned to off er an opportunity for a reboot of
Europe’s relationship with Israel: Israel’s current
leadership is receptive to the idea of a two-state
solution, and Lapid is seen as a leader with
whom they can pursue that approach. In addition,
Israel has increasingly strong connections to
and business relations with Arab oil producers,
and is increasingly seen as a possible partner
in Europe’s developing approach to a growing
Russia-triggered energy crisis. Indeed, this past
summer, Israel and Egypt signed a memoran-
dum of understanding with the EU to boost gas
exports. All of that said, we hope that eff orts toward
renewed EU-Israel cooperation are not short
lived. While the benefi ts of a meaningful joint
eff ort are clear, there remain members of the
EU who continue to vilify Israel and oppose rap-
prochement and there is the increasing likelihood
that a less EU-sympathetic Netanyahu-led coali-
tion will retake control of the government follow-
ing next month’s elections.

Both sides should therefore seize the current
opportunity to create facts on the ground that
strengthen EU-Israel relations. JE
Photo by Patrick Batard / Abaca/Sipa USA
editorials



opinions & letters
BY ALINA CLOUGH
T American West Should Look to
Israel for Climate Solutions
he American West is learning climate lessons
the hard way. This summer especially,
droughts have required the federal government
to settle disputes over water shortages between
states, signaling rising tensions in U.S. water policy.

While these challenges are uncharted territory
for the U.S., time-tested solutions from other
countries may be closer than they seem. Israel,
in particular, having weathered extremely tight
water margins for years, is several steps ahead
in climate innovation. We should look to it for
inspiration. Despite 71% of the earth being covered in water,
just half a percent is drinkable fresh water. For this
reason, the Colorado River is a lifeline for more
than 40 million people across seven U.S. states
and even parts of Mexico — but the reservoir that
feeds it has dropped to only 25% of its capacity.

California has been experiencing a similar decline
in freshwater availability. Its drought is worsening,
despite some areas conserving water at record
levels. Government officials responded to this prob-
lem by imposing strict rations on water usage
and, in some cases, long-term policy actions like
the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,
which requires local agencies to adopt sustain-
ability plans to stop groundwater depletion. While
necessary, these measures are emergency care,
not a cure. Many of the areas affected by this sum-
mer’s droughts are on track to literally run out of
water or already have.

Current policy focuses heavily on the demand
for water, encouraging households and farms to
restrict their use. Still, these policies fail to elicit
long-term change because the base levels of
water needed to support humans and the food
they eat aren’t sustainable without supply-side
interventions. This brings us to Israel. The tiny country sur-
rounded by deserts only sees rain in the win-
ter and has limited sources of freshwater. With
a growing population and a strong agricultural
industry, Israel’s need for water has long out-
grown its conventional supply — as is the case in
much of the American West. As recently as 2015,
Israel had a one billion cubic meter potable water
deficit. Now? It produces 20% more water than it
needs. In addition to regulations intended to optimize
its use of groundwater, much of the country’s
focus has been on increasing the supply of water
Israel, in particular,
having weathered
extremely tight water
margins for years, is
several steps ahead in
climate innovation. We
should look to it for
inspiration. by less conventional means. In a typical year, half
of Israel’s water supply comes from the desalina-
tion of seawater or from reclaimed water via flood
overflow and sewage processing.

The American impulse may be to begin large-
scale government projects to mimic these efforts,
but many government projects become more
expensive and longer-lasting than planned.

Crucial to Israel’s success has been a climate
innovation ecosystem that helps create solutions
driven by market incentives rather than tax dol-
lars. Israel is ahead of the curve on this issue, as
a recent report by the Boston Consulting Group
found that government investment in clean tech
alone is not enough to curb climate change.

Private investment will need to multiply eightfold.

One of the innovations developed by Israel is its
use of drip irrigation, which reduces agricultural
water usage by placing water directly onto the
roots of plants. U.S. water usage is dominated
by agriculture, and Israel used to be in the same
boat. Since 2000, however, Israel has cut agri-
cultural water usage in half by using both drip
irrigation and reclaimed sewage water. Seventy-
five percent of Israeli agriculture now uses drip
irrigation, compared with only about a third of
U.S. farms.

Similarly, desalination has been crucial to
Israel’s water efficiency, allowing the country
to use reverse osmosis to turn water from the
Mediterranean Sea into potable water. The Israeli
government has relied on public-private partner-
ships with a wide range of private water com-
panies that have driven the country’s success in
the production of clean water. This water is then
employed both for domestic use and billions of
dollars in exports. Rather than the state taking
control of these projects the way many American
initiatives reflexively begin, companies bid to pro-
vide the most competitive solutions.

Israeli government support facilitates these
privately-developed climate innovations. Earlier
this month, the Israeli government announced a
partnership with Microsoft that will help climate
tech startups attract private funding, including
from the tech giant itself. The Israel Innovation
Authority similarly provides proof of concept for
even earlier stage climate tech, particularly in the
fields of commercialization support and access to
private capital for research and development.

Israel is far from solving every climate chal-
lenge, even in its home country. The Dead Sea
has been suffering, due in part to Israeli water
use in the area, with its levels now dropping
more than a meter each year. Still, the country’s
rapid turnarounds from droughts and water short-
ages through market-focused climate innovation
should be an optimistic case study for a rapidly
drying American West. JE
Alina Clough is an energy and environment fellow
with the American Conservation Coalition and
Young Voices.

letters Headline Misled
The headline for the comments of Rabbi Boteach
(“Rabbi Shmuley Boteach Says Mehmet Oz’s
Senate Run Is ‘Tragedy for the Jewish People,’”
Sept. 29) indicates the Exponent’s support for the
Democrats’ “destroy the opponent” campaign. It
is also poor journalism. Nothing in the comments
supports the headline that Dr. Oz is a “tragedy for
the Jewish people.”
I am an 80-year-old Jewish senior citizen. Since
the Democrats have come to power, we have high
inflation, a recession, the stock market tanking
and high incidents of crime. The Democrats can’t
run on their failures. They have to resort to the
“destroy the opponent” campaign. I will not be
fooled. This article is just an example of campaigning
by personal destruction, and I will not be diverted
from the issues that matter. JE
Myron Goldman, Cheltenham
Letters should be related to articles that have run in the print or
online editions of the JE, and may be edited for space and clarity
prior to publication. Please include your first and last name, as
well your town/neighborhood of residence. Send letters to
letters@jewishexponent.com. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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