We are hopeless. We do not understand how the world is working, and we do not want to learn. How can we nominate someone for an international post if we do not know what qualifications that candidate should have in the first place? Egypt has nominated Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni for UNESCO Director-General. His nomination was approved by the Arab world, the African ministers of culture and a number of European, Asian and Latin American countries. They all know that he had many accomplishments in heritage protection and restoration (including the restoration of Jewish antiquities) and in building museums and libraries. He also received many prizes for making the cultural scene available to everyone, irrespective of their political affiliations, to the extent that many of his staff members are former persona non grata under the previous political situation. Add to this the culture and civilization that Egypt represents, which is supposed to strengthen the position of any Egyptian candidate for international cultural posts. Egypt was a founding member of UNESCO more than half a century ago, which is why many countries said it is time for the Arabs to run the UNESCO that has always been run by candidates from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. But the fact that all his supporters forgot is that he needs to meet the most important condition for his nomination, namely that Israel agrees to it. While this is a tacit condition, everyone knows it. Farouk Hosni has throughout his tenure committed to the position of the Egyptian intellectuals that he represents, which is not to normalize relations with Israel except within the context of a comprehensive settlement that would give the Palestinians their legitimate rights in order to ensure the continuity of such normalization, and in order not to repeat incidents like assaulting the Israeli pavilion at the Book Fair or burning the Israeli flag in protest against the State of occupation and expansion, racism and breaking the bones of children, where prisons now have more than 11,000 Palestinians in tragic conditions as per the reports of international organizations. Also not while there is the inhumane siege of the Gaza Strip that President Jimmy Carter described as the biggest violation of human rights at this time. We all know that, but when it comes to nominating for international posts, we should not choose an efficient candidate or a person who represents the will of his nation. We should choose someone that Israel likes. The Israeli ambassador in Cairo said Farouk Hosni will not win without the blessing of Israel. Although his statement was printed in the newspapers, we did not notice it. We should have immediately withdrawn our nomination or replaced it with one of those figures who have visited Israel before and who love her. Although one such candidate would not get the support of the Egyptian people and of the Arab countries, he would get that of the State of occupation and expansion, racism and breaking the bones of children. This is more important. Israel is using the Bush administration to fight the Egyptian candidate, and the administration is complying fully with the will of Israel. The U.S. threatened to withdraw from UNESCO and refrain from paying its 22% share of the budget if Hosni is elected. It is also putting pressure on the countries that have supported Egypt to backtrack on their position. Perhaps the U.S. blackmail is the manifestation of the Egyptian - American strategic relations, and Israel's hostile position is the manifestation of her commitment to the peace agreement. At any rate, we Arabs must admit our mistake and make up for it by recognizing the sovereignty of the State of occupation and expansion, racism and breaking the bones of children, and actively seek her blessings before nominating anyone for international posts.
