I cannot imagine a world without music, art, film, dance, theater and books. It would be a dreary and colorless existence, with little cooperation and communication among citizens. The arts are the glue that holds us together, the cultural fabric of our lives, and they sow the seeds for inventive, universally shared experiences.
Amid today's challenging times — when creative minds will be needed to solve our collective problems — the stalled peace process between Israelis and Palestinians has taken an unlikely casualty, one that I care about deeply: UNESCO.
When Palestine was voted in as a UNESCO member by more than 100 countries in October, U.S. law required that all of its UNESCO funding be abolished. This restricted the United States from paying its 2011 dues, which account for 22 percent of the agency's budget. Without those funds, UNESCO will be forced to slash programming and, possibly, invaluable staff positions.