Drawing on his myriad experiences with the Arab world, author and former Deputy Regional Coordinator at the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative Ben Orbach urged students to rethink the “Arab Street” in last night’s lecture sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy.

Orbach first interacted with people from the Middle East as a graduate student in Jordan. He further immersed himself in Middle Eastern culture as a State Department official, a writer and now as the director of the America’s Unofficial Ambassador’s Project, a network of volunteers who partner with local organizations in the Muslim World.

According to Orbach, the media often presents a biased and simplistic view of the “Arab Street.”

“It’s a term frequently used, but I think a lot less frequently understood,” Orbach said. “It’s the Main Street of the Arab world of everyday people and everyday problems. … I think it’s a mistake to look at the Arab Street just for its destructive potential.”

One of the key misconceptions about the Arab world relates to language, Orbach said. Not only are there different dialects among Arab countries, but there are even different dialects within the same country.

“In some places, people can’t even talk to each other and they’re both from Arab countries,” Orbach said.

Orbach said his immersion in different dialects of Arabic allowed him to closely interact with the Arab people.

“You need Arabic to have first-hand access,” Orbach said. “I can’t encourage you enough to take this opportunity while you’re still an undergraduate to study a language beyond what you’re required to do by the university.”

Orbach also stressed how Arab countries dramatically differ in terms of natural resources, especially water. Orbach witnessed first-hand the devastating water shortage when he was a graduate student in Jordan. But other Middle Eastern countries, such as Syria, have abundant water supplies, Orbach said. He further added that even in a country like Jordan, there is a huge disparity in resources between the rich and the poor.

“The water never runs out at the five-star hotels in Jordan,” Orbach said.

“External differences” among Arab countries — such as the great disparity in the distribution of natural resources — are often overlooked by the media. Orbach also said people outside of the Middle East fail to recognize the “internal differences” in religion and socioeconomic structure within an Arab country. Moreover, he stressed that the Arab countries are not as religiously uniform as presented by the media.

“These aren’t one people who are united on anything,” Orbach said.

Orbach also highlighted a key misconception and said the media exaggerates the prevalence of anti-Americanism in Arab countries. There is indeed a “small percentage” of anti-American Arabs, Orbach said, but he said they do not represent the majority.

“My experience with more than 99 percent of people at the grassroots level [is that they] maintain a great affinity for the American people and a great hope for how America will act on their behalf,” Orbach said.

Although the Arabs might not agree with American foreign policy, Orbach explained how they distinguish the American government from the American people.

“They don’t judge us based on the decisions our leaders make. ... America remains a stalwart of hope and opportunity,” Orbach said.

It is this sense of opportunity that Orbach hopes to see America offer the Arab world.

“Absence of opportunities is an essential reason why people join extremist movements,” he said. “We need to offer more avenues for local leaders to choose the change that both they and we want to see.”

Orbach himself admitted that the problems faced by the Middle East are “massive.”

The lecture was attended by about 15 students, many of whom are currently studying Arabic at Cornell. Audience members expressed optimism on the relationship between America and Arab countries.

“Mr. Orbach had lots of good ideas about how to get involved,” said Daniel Blake ’11, vice president of Americans for Informed Democracy.

Blake believes Orbach’s work shows how relations with the Middle East can be affected on a “person-to-person level.”

“[The lecture] definitely made me more open-minded,” audience member Sameer Nair ’11 added.