Far from being isolated, Israel increasingly is acknowledged as a world player in view of its social, economic, financial and diplomatic achievements in the last 64 years.
Its latest integration (not isolation) in the company of other important global players is its newly won membership in the executive committee of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Yes, we all know about the anti-Israel bias of most UN institutions. Yet, with support from the Western bloc - the U.S., Australia, Japan, Holland, among others - Israel is now at the policy-making apex of one of the more credible UN branches, with its $1 billion budget to generate important health and welfare programs, as well as initiatives on empowerment of women, in the developing world.
UNDP has earned its credibility spurs in the last couple of decades with an annual report card on living standards among UN member nations - drafted without favoritism or bias.
In the latest UNDP report, Israel ranked 17th - ahead of Belgium, Austria and France. And Israel was 20 spots ahead of the first Arab country - oil-rich Qatar in 37th place. Saudi Arabia was a distant 56th.
In welcoming Israel into their executive committee, UNDP members pointed to its technological and agricultural know-how - a clear asset for UNDP's mission in the developing world. Israel also was recognized as a sterling model for empowerment of women - an agenda it expects to incorporate in its work for the UNDP.
Accession to the top policy-making rungs of the UNDP is not an isolated occurrence. Last year, Israel was elected to membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - a Paris-based grouping of some of the world's most important financial heavy-hitters, like Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Britain and the U.S.
With its OECD and UNDP memberships, Israel is hardly isolated.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/02/the_myth_of_israels_isolation.html#ixzz1lPa8Pncn
