I am sure we will hear the same old criticisms of Israeli policies, but very ...

I am sure we will hear the same old criticisms of Israeli policies, but very little about the core challenges facing our region. The United Nations Development Programme has sponsored five Arab human development reports since 2002. The reports reveal the crippling deficits of freedom, educational opportunities and women's empowerment that have long afflicted the Arab world. I ask: Is Israel responsible for the fact that gays are hunted down and hanged in Iran; that bloggers in the West Bank are jailed by the Palestinian Authority; that artists in Lebanon are ruthlessly censored by their Government; or that women in Gaza are arrested and tortured for daring to leave the house without a headscarf? Are we responsible for the Christians and other minorities who are fleeing the Middle East these days in droves because Islamic extremists attack their communities? Is Israel responsible for the fact that 25 per cent of Arab young people are unemployed and that many others are desperate to find a decent job? Maybe it is time to stop using Israel in this debate to sweep such important issues under the carpet. It is certainly time to finally deal openly and honestly with the basic deficits that cripple the Middle East.