Middle East Piece started with more modest intentions. It was intended only as a place to keep my personal notes on the Arab-Israeli conflict accessible and organized. Why did I have notes? I was exposed to the massively uninformed debate surrounding nearly every aspect of this conflict very early on. To make matters worse, this misinformation was generally not cited at all, and most debates/discussions devolved into unsupported blanket claims.
I eventually had enough research and content written to where it just made sense to publish. The content of this site is focused on the core grievances of the Arab-Israeli conflict and functions as a reference aggregator for historic facts and expert opinion related to these issues. My expectation is that this information will be used to end the argumentative flailing by people rehashing the same arguments over and over again so that more high-minded discussions can take place.
Much of the information I provide can be found online given enough time, but a substantial amount is taken from the hundreds of books, journals, and reports I have busied myself with in an attempt to get to the bottom of these issues. Middle East Piece has been, and will continue to be, a work-in-progress as I continue adding content.
My name is Mark Lewis and I am the sole researcher/writer for Middle East Piece. I have been studying the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Middle East region, and the Islamic religion for well over a decade.
I hold a Master's degree in National Security Studies with a Middle East concentration and am currently employed as a Cyber Security Engineer in the Washington DC metro area.