Three weeks ago, Senator Joe Lieberman, an Independent representing Connecticut, took time on a visit to Israel to stop by the Better Place Center and learn how Israel, as its Prime Minister put it on Jan. 21, 2008, “set itself a goal of making our lives better and cleaner…[and by 2020, being] completely free of petroleum and its by-products as the fuel which powers transportation.”

During his visit, Senator Lieberman marveled at the impact that Better Place’s success could have on the two issues that many would say have defined his long public service – security and environment. While his emphasis on the former has historically landed him in trouble with Democrats, his passion to combat climate change dates back to long before it was in vogue, often irking Republicans. What everyone can agree on is that ending oil dependence resolves a broad swath of problems that cut across traditional partisan ideologies.

Most of the 20,000 people who have come to the Better Place Center in the six months since it opened, just outside of Tel Aviv, are ordinary Israeli car-owners, gaining an understanding of how choosing their next car can also enlist them in a powerful global mission. After being welcomed to the visually-striking facility, visitors are given a brief but powerful multimedia presentation recapping the problems wrought by dependence on oil, and demonstrating how making the switch to electric could save them both time and money – and save the planet for their grandchildren. Next, all licensed visitors have a chance to drive a prototype electric vehicle on a test track – long enough for them to test its power and acceleration. Finally, visitors get an up-close demonstration of how Better Place makes electric vehicles unlimited in range – by switching depleted batteries for fully charged ones in just minutes.

It’s a powerful message for people thinking about their next car. But it’s also powerful for decision-makers setting plans and policies for governments and industries. So it’s small wonder that the Center has also become a magnet for government and industry leaders from countries the world over.

For example, the same week Senator Lieberman visited, Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado, who has distinguished his term with an emphasis on economic growth through a cleaner economy, came to the Center. Other American officials who have come include the Deputy Secretary of State, Jacob Lew, who was recently appointed the White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Dr. Eric Lander, co-chair of the White House Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

In recent weeks, visitors from other countries have included Parliamentary delegations from Canada and El Salvador, 25 members of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India, and an international group of professors representing 30 universities in 18 countries. The Center has received heads of state from Panama and Estonia, diplomats from Korea, mayors from France, venture capitalists from China, ministers from Australia, Belize, Colombia, Lithuania and Luxemburg. Staff from many of the Embassies located nearby have come, and later encouraged their visiting colleagues to take a tour as well. Additionally, dozens of student and organizational groups from the US and many other countries around the world come regularly to the Center.

Invariably, visitors from abroad have also visited Israel’s most important historic sites dating back many thousands of years, provoking a near-universal appreciation for encountering on the same trip the very distant past, and the very dramatic future.

Better Place opened the Center primarily to educate local future consumers. But, passionate as everyone at Better Place is about the mission of ending oil, we are delighted that so many of the influential women and men drawn to visit Israel for such a wide variety of reasons, have also found the glimpse into the future of energy that the Center offers to be inspiring in its own right.

And we encourage you to come to Israel and see the Center for yourself!