We sometimes keep quiet about Israel. It can be an uncomfortable topic. People who can happily debate and disagree on a wide range of issues will often come to Israel and then stop. It is too contentious. Too liable to raise tempers. However, we no longer have the option to keep quiet about things that need to be addressed.
In the past, when people could live within their borders, the sufferings of other countries were at the back of our minds and the back of our newspapers. But today, we share the same problems and the same threats. It is one interlinked and interconnected world. Even if it is painful, we need to have an honest and open debate. And we should start from this premise: Israel can no longer be asked to -- or appear to -- do the world's dirty work.
Every day, we are all brought closer together. By trade, the Internet, technology and all the forces of globalization. We can no longer see the Middle East as a regional issue. Its problems are our problems. Our problems are its problems. Yet too often we provide Israel with no constancy. Sometimes the international community supports Israel and stands shoulder-to-shoulder, sometimes it stands back.
We can no longer allow the appearance of the U.S. using Israel to serve its own agenda. Two recent examples are the strikes on Syria this September and the invasion of Lebanon in summer 2006. As long as the U.S. is perceived to favor Israel, there will be an imbalance that creates an impasse. It is for global agencies and alliances to address what are fundamentally global problems, whether in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, or elsewhere. We cannot mandate Israel to deal with issues that are global responsibilities -- through intention or through neglect. By allowing the burden to rest with Israel we intensify the situation. And we confuse it.
A change of course is needed. Along with greater international accord, we need to bring together the countries within the Middle East through dialogue, trade alliances, education, economic independence and cultural understanding. The consequences of not going the right way are unlimited. We have all come together from so far, but we have much further to go.
With bioweapons coming to surface and tools of mass destruction becoming more available, the course and methods of the past can no longer be used. Globalization demands us to share economies, but also we need to share decisions. Every time we resort to violence it is a sign that we have failed in our dialogue.
It is the role of the international community to try to support Middle Eastern issues. The U.S. must not walk alone; many must walk together. We need a new consortium of people to unite with international agencies to create empathy and accord. We need long-term, focused and constant efforts. The world has the money. The world has the influence. Defining the balance of responsibility between Israel and the Middle East, and the Middle East and the world, is a conversation we have to have now.
If we continue to leave Israel alone when it suits us, if we neglect our global duties to protect, then we will have this conversation under different circumstances. Perhaps when Iran has the bomb, perhaps when thousands more are dead, perhaps when it is all too late?
By then, saying uncomfortable things about Israel will be the least of our problems.