The most pressing issues facing Israel and the Middle East were the focus of the presentation given by Israel’s Consul General to the Midwest on Tuesday in Cardinal Hall.
The Honorable Roey Gilad spoke to Ball State students and the public in his first appearance outside his base in Chicago since assuming his new position two and a half months ago.
Ball State is the very first university Gilad has visited in his new position.
The first half of his presentation included him speaking about the issues that the Middle East has been having, as well as relations between the United States and Israel.
The second half opened the floor up for questions from the audience.
Topics that were discussed included the Arab Spring, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iran, U.S. relations, stability, racial issues, elections and the fear of a nuclear threat to the region. They were all examined through Israel’s point of view.
Gilad emphasized the Middle East is unpredictable.
“You never see the whole picture in the Middle East, you can never really guess what is going to happen next,” Gilad said.
Discussing Syria, he mentioned while he feels President Bashar al-Assad’s days are numbered, he doesn’t see an end to the “blood bath” anytime soon.
Gilad, a native of Israel, also stressed the need to solve the Palestinian problem.
The most significant topic that he discussed was Iran and the potential for them to acquire and possibly use a nuclear bomb.
“If they got their hands on a nuclear bomb, everyone in the region and around the world would be terrified,” Gilad said.
Gilad warned against an Iran nuclear bomb.
“Today’s violence would seem like we were in the Garden of Eden compared to what it would be like if that were to happen,” he said.
Perhaps understanding how important football is to the 11 states that he is now in charge of, Gilad made a reference to the sport in order to help explain the urgency of the Iran issue.
“No one wants to see an Iranian touchdown because it would be a very loud one. The solution all depends on where you put your defense whether that it five, ten or fifteen yards away,” Gilad said. “Nobody wants Iran to come any closer to the end zone.”
As the United States prepares for Election Day on Nov. 6, Israel is also getting ready for their prime minister elections on Jan. 22.
Gilad mentioned it wouldn’t really matter who is elected President of the U.S. and Prime Minister of Israel in terms of the relationship between the two countries.
He said he believes because of the historically friendly relations between the U.S. and Israel, a change in leadership will not change it too dramatically.
“The United States and Israel share the same agenda which is to solve the Palestinian problem, stop Iran from endangering the region with nuclear bomb, and to establish stability in that region,” he said.
The Gilad understands the difficulty of the last part of that agenda.
“Israel is the only island of stability in an ocean of instability,” Gilad said.
The United States plays a big role in that region of the world but as Gilad said, “We trust you, we trust America.”
