Mark Regev, Spokesman for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke at Indiana University Tuesday night. He delivered a one-hour lecture on Israel, in which he advocated a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Throughout the speech, which was sponsored by Caravan for Democracy, Regev emphasized the importance of keeping a positive and optimistic view of the conflict: “There’s a fundamental problem with the media — the media, by its nature, emphasizes the negative.”

Amidst his overall tone of optimism regarding Israel’s status, Regev blamed Arabs for starting the conflict, and for continually preventing a peaceful two-state solution. “The [Arab-Israel] conflict stems from the 1947 attack by the Arabs, bombing Tel Aviv in opposition to the UN two-state solution,â€? he said.
Regev added that the Palestinian Authority has historically rejected all of the two-state proposals it has been offered. He echoed Kofi Annan in stating that if Hamas wants to develop diplomatic relations with Israel and the international community that it must recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce terror, and accept all of the past agreements entered into by the Palestinian Authority, including the Oslo Accords and the Road Map for Peace.
Regev devoted about half of the time to discussing Hamas, with which he said relations should have improved since the disengagement last summer. “There’s no longer Israeli settlements in Gaza, there’s no longer Israeli troops in Gaza,â€? he noted. However, he said, “the extremist policies of Hamas hurt the Palestinian people,” and that “it’s possible maybe [that] Hamas will change, and it’s also possible that they won’t change but political moderates replace them.â€?
Regev was asked many complex, and occasionally aggressive, questions. Two of the questions dealt with the sociopolitical status of Israeli Arabs, which he addressed by stating, “Israeli Arabs have more freedom than do their brothers in Syria, Iran, and — unfortunately, under the Palestinian Authority.�
One questioner asked Regev to justify the political capital of Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman, declaring that Lieberman is a “racistâ€? who supported “ethnic cleansing.â€? Regev replied that he was not there to state his opinion on Lieberman, and that “ethnic cleansingâ€? was an exaggerated and unwarranted description of Lieberman’s proposed “Population Exchange” program. Regev also responded by arguing that Hamas was racist. “The Hamas Charter says that the Jews were responsible for World War I, international Communism, and international capitalism,” he said, adding “Parts of it come from the Protocols of Zion.â€?
Regev was also asked about Israel’s relations with Iran, Lebanon, Syria, the United Nations, and China. He refused to answer a question about Jonathan Pollard, responding that it is a “sore spot.�
Regev stayed a couple minutes after to talk with the attendees about Israel over dessert. He didn’t answer a question I had about Iraq, but he did discuss other controversial issues such as Israel’s adherence to international law.
Regev left soon after, without trying the brownies. I don’t blame him, because they weren’t so good anyways.