Israeli spokesman to chat with students

This evening, IU students will have a rare opportunity to hear firsthand about the struggles in Israel from a man who has seen them from the front lines.\nMark Regev, spokesman for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will speak at Woodburn Hall, room 100, at 7:30 p.m. tonight about the conflict in Lebanon and his country's position in global affairs. A question-and-answer session will be held before the presentation at the Hillel Center.\nAustralian-born and educated worldwide, Regev held many other offices prior to taking his current post with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as the deputy chief of mission at the Consulate General in Hong Kong, the spokesman at the Israel Embassy in Beijing and worked at the Jordan Division at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem. Regev also was a professor of international relations and strategy at the Israel Defense Forces' Staff College.\nFreshman Carly Drawas, a Caravan for Democracy fellow at the Hillel Center said Regev is very easy to talk to and said she hopes students take advantage of this occasion.\n"(Regev) is very personal and loves chatting," Drawas said. "(Students) should feel free to ask anything they are curious about."\nDuring conflicts in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip this summer, Regev was involved in explaining the situation to English-speaking media outlets worldwide.\nDrawas said Regev will be particularly helpful in understanding the turmoil in the region. \n"(Regev) is the voice of everything that happened with Lebanon," Drawas said. "The speech will help explain where Israel stands on a global scale"