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Editor’s note:  The following note was written by Michelle Levine, an environmentalist who helped lead a campaign in Israel to defeat wind turbines.  Michelle wrote her note to Esther Wrightman who, like Michelle, is a young woman of courage and formidable will.  Evidently the battle in Israel is not definitively over; nonetheless it’s encouraging to see that the courts have upheld the principle that wind turbines slaughter birds.  I am unaware of any other court in the world which has such common sense.  Bravo to the Israelis!

—Michelle Levine

Esther, you are fighting a righteous battle, but my prayer for you is that you should be joined by legions, and that some of them will take a different tack—by helping you fight in the courts, by raising public awareness, as Nina clearly has done.

I believe it is usually the combined efforts of many that help bring a win—and with you as their leader, your legions would be tenacious indeed.

My colleagues have successfully fought off wind farms in Israel, but we had a lot more organizational support, from the nationwide environmental movement—the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI). SPNI attorneys took the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to court, and though it took a judge to issue the ruling, the IEC also understands SPNI’s position of massive nationwide public support.

Interestingly, the campaign in Israel has been and continues to be about the threat turbines pose to decimating species of migrating birds, rather than focusing on public health. Wind farms continue to be proposed, however, so it is an ongoing battle.

I will pass on word about your struggle, so that this obviously critical issue be considered as well.

B’hatslacha—to your victory!