Khaled Abu-Toameh, a Palestinian, Israeli-Arab, Muslim journalist is traveling around North American campuses at the expense of Hillels, pro-Israel student groups, and Aish Hatorah. He stopped by the University of Pittsburgh at 8:30pm and Carnegie Mellon University at 4pm on Wednesday, where he shared his experiences as a Senior Editor on Palestinian Affairs for The Jerusalem Post, BBC News, NBC News, US News and World Report, as well as other international news sources.
After working for the Palestine Liberation Organization newspaper in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Toameh decided to stay in Israel after college and become what he called a “real journalist.” He explained that he sees his role as a government watchdog, and called on the international media to challenge Western leaders and pressure the Palestinian authority to invest in social welfare for their people.
Toameh answered tough questions from a mixed audience and threw in accusations toward both Israel and the PLO, ranging from human rights violations to corruption to hypocrisy. “All that matters to these governments is how the world sees them,” Toameh said, “The real battle is in the media. “