Regional Voices Often Missing from Western Conversations
Thu, Aug 13
|Virtual Lecture
Our next Scholars Circle features Avi Melamed on Regional Voices Often Missing from Western Conversations.
Time & Location
Aug 13, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
Virtual Lecture
About the Event
About lecture:
The lecture uses case studies to illustrate the gap between the nuanced understanding of key concepts in the Middle East and the often oversimplified, slogan-driven narratives that dominate Western discourse on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The presentation explores three key concepts: Resistance (al-Muqawama), Imperialism and Israel, and Steadfastness (Sumud).
Moderated by special guest, Ari Schaffer, founder of CT for Israel.
About Scholar:
Avi Melamed is a geopolitical Middle East expert, intelligence analyst, former Israeli intelligence official, and Senior Advisor on Arab Affairs. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of intelligence, diplomacy, policy, and education, he brings decades of firsthand regional experience to his analysis of the Middle East.
Fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, and English, Avi is a frequent commentator across leading Arabic-, English-, and Hebrew-language media platforms, offering nuanced perspectives grounded in deep regional expertise and on-the-ground insight.
Avi is the Founder and Chief Educational Officer of Inside The Middle East (ITME), a U.S.-based nonprofit. ITME provides apolitical Middle East education, uses intelligence methodology to teach critical thinking and media literacy, and incorporates voices from the region absent from Western discourse – contextualizing Israel within its broader regional environment.
He is the author of three books on the Middle East, including Inside the Middle East: Entering a New Era. Avi is also the creator, producer, and host of The Seam Line, a docuseries exploring the conflict in and over Jerusalem, and The Primer (currently in production), a film grounded in regional voices and on-the-ground reporting that examines the deeper forces shaping the Middle East beyond conventional Western narratives.
Grounded in the belief that “To Understand Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and the Palestinians, We Must Understand the Middle East,” Avi's work equips students, educators, professionals, and community leaders with the knowledge, context, and analytical tools to become informed leaders and trusted voices who foster more thoughtful, nuanced, and constructive conversations within their campuses, communities, institutions, and spheres of influence.