APPLETON, WIS. -- Rashid Khalidi, director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago, says a more open-minded, less militaristic approach is needed if the United States is to effect a long-term resolution in the Middle East.

Khalidi presents "United States Policy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict" Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102 on the Lawrence campus as part of Lawrence¹s five-part "War and Peace in the Middle East" lecture series. The event is free and open to the public.

An advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab Israeli peace negotiations from 1991-93, Khalidi will discuss three changes to current policy he feels would enable the United States to more effectively deal with the Israeli Arab situation.

Khalidi's three-prong strategy would have the United States exercise more balance to its policy by showing respect for justice on both sides of the conflict, distance itself from a force-based approach, not only in terms of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but to broader problems in the Middle East as well, and incorporate more views of other parties on how to resolve this conflict and involve those parties in the process.

In addition to directing the Center for International Studies, Khalidi is professor of Middle East History at Chicago. He also has taught at the Lebanese University and the American University of Beirut. He is president of the American Committee on Jerusalem and past president of the Middle East Studies Association.

He has written extensively on aspects of modern Middle Eastern history and is the author of three books, including "Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness," which was named co-winner of the Middle East Studies Association's Albert Hourani Prize as the best book of 1997.

The "War and Peace in the Middle East" lecture series is sponsored by the Mojmir Povolny Lectureship in International Studies. Named in honor of long-time Lawrence government professor Mojmir Povolny, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on issues of moral significance and ethical dimensions.