The land of milk and money

My first questions concerned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as that is a subject of which I both know and care much about. I was, almost without exception, flippantly dismissed. Not because my views were different than those of the people I was trying to talk with, but apparently the subject is entirely passe! I was told that the silly squabbling between those two groups is full of overused rhetoric and overplayed emotion and is going nowhere — that the region has bigger, more productive things to worry about.

Many are focused on the next stages of the Arab Spring. There is huge interest in and importance placed on the prospect of building affordable housing developments for the underprivileged in Egypt. The new young leadership in Egypt is genuinely concerned with living up to all the promises for an improved future for the Egyptian people. There was general anxiety as to what the fallout from violence-torn Syria will look like. Naturally, a nuclear Iran was a primary concern on everyone’s mind. It was not a partisan issue, like it is here in the United States; there was agreement that a nuclear Iran is a nightmarish reality that is going to happen if not for some thorough intervention.

The shared thread which was pervasive in every conversation I had was that ultimately what mattered most in “The Region” was growth in the respective economies of each country. Having sufficient jobs for the populace and having a culture of entrepreneurialism was the conclusion to almost any debate. Israel was not a word to shy away from, but was the topic of cautious approval as the notion of sharing technology and venture capital trumped the traditional finger-pointing and cantankerousness. This all seemed to me an incredibly positive turn of group-think. If the plane of interaction becomes that of finance and not politics, I foresee a future of coexistence between Israel and Palestine, the East and the West. In order for interaction to center around economics there has to be open and willing partnership on the side of the West. In the MENA region there is a trillion-dollar network of economies that is looking to work and expand.

Economic forums are common place. Conventions that discuss specific regional politics are also easy to come by. What ought to exist is an economic forum that focuses on the MENA region, where entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, London and Tel Aviv can meet with government officials and entrepreneurs from countries in the Middle East. The people of the Arab Spring are forgetting the politics of their parents. They are seeing beyond the archaic and stilted views of the older generation. They are driven by prosperity, success and social equality. Jobs, wealth and growth can bridge the gap between the historically disparate parties. The youth have become the people with power — they played a large part in the Arab Spring.

We are the young people at the other end of the equation. Princeton should have some form of track-two discussion, in which non-officials engage in dialogue, or economic fora in which the focus is placed on the Middle East. Princeton is uniquely situated to host a conference like this as the Wilson School is a perfect venue, there are in-house faculty members that could help facilitate panel discussions. God knows there are enough Princeton students interested in financial services. Princeton could be on the forefront of reciprocating the enthusiasm for cooperation that is sweeping the MENA region. There is opportunity, and Princeton students can heed the call.

It is crucial to recognize the importance of the MENA region. Awareness and involvement from the Princeton community can be very important for helping to bring peace and prosperity to the region.

Aaron Applbaum is a Wilson School major from Oakland, Calif. He can be reached at applbaum@princeton.edu.