One of the mainstream media's favorite doomsday scenarios for Israel is its supposed isolation on the world stage.   According to this narrative, Israel is on a path to becoming the black sheep of the international community.  The most common assumption is that Israel is turning itself into a pariah state, with fewer friends across the globe, because it somehow isn't willing to give Palestinians their due. A closer look at Israel's interaction with countries near and far, as well as with international institutions, belies any such foreboding picture.  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...(Read Full Post)