Jerusalem Post correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh will speak to UNM students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today.
Toameh is an Arab-Israeli journalist who reports from the West Bank and Gaza. He was invited to speak on the conflict by Stand With Us, a nonprofit.
He will speak at 6 p.m. in Woodward Hall.
Toameh said Americans need to take interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"It is much more complicated than what people think, and it's not enough to watch CNN or to read an article in the New York Times," he said. "That is why I'm invited to come here and speak to everyone about the conflict and to share my views."
Toameh said Israelis and Palestinians must learn to live together in the Middle East. One group is not going to eradicate the other, and the only solution is for both to learn how to coexist, he said.
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"We live over there together. We are destined to live over there forever," he said. "There is no other choice."
Toameh said he is obligated as a journalist to report fairly on the conflict from both sides. But as an Arab-Israeli, he finds himself in an awkward position, he said.
"From the Arab side, you are expected to not bring the dirty laundry out," he said. "You are expected to be a spokesman for your government and for your people and not to report anything that reflects negatively on the Palestinian people."
In 2002, Toameh exposed financial corruption in Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.
He said 20 percent of Israel's population is Arab-Israeli - a group of people caught in the middle of the conflict.
"On the one hand, we want to stay Israeli citizens. We want to stay inside Israel," he said. "We are happy living inside Israel, and we want to see the Palestinians have their own state. We want peace between our state and our people."
Student Michaela Brown, a member of Stand With Us, said students aren't concerned with the issues facing the Middle East.
"I think that UNM as a whole is very apathetic," she said. "I don't see them going out and protesting. I feel like Israel and Palestine is a huge issue in the media. It is always being covered, and there is always information on it."
Brown said people who pick a side in the conflict are not always well-informed. To argue for one side effectively, people need to be aware of what is going on, she said.
Brown said Toameh's experience and understanding of both sides makes him fit to educate, and people should listen to what he has to say even if they don't agree with him.
"I think people, they make a decision based on the info they have heard on the news, and they don't research what is happening," she said. "They just believe what they hear. They will hear something, and they will only research one side. If you are going to make a statement about the conflict, you should know both sides."
