ITME’S HISTORY
Avi’s journey began at the left of the graph, with one-on-one or one-to-few interactions as an expert consultant, guide or lecturer for non-profits or tour groups. His skills were quickly recognized—as an educator, Avi is capable of conveying complex and nuanced ideas in a non-partisan, apolitical manner that diverse groups could incorporate into their everyday jobs and take back to their communities.
Inside The Middle East | Intelligence Perspectives [ITME] began as an undergraduate Intel-Education curriculum in 2012 when Avi was appointed the Fellow of Intelligence and Middle East Affairs at the Eisenhower Institute. In 2016, Avi published his 2nd book on the Middle East, “Inside The Middle East | Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth,” further establishing his reputation as an independent expert on the broader Middle East. In 2018, ITME expanded to Capitol Hill, teaching staffers of both parties.
Between 2012 and 2020, Avi focused his educational efforts on high school students, undergraduates, and Capitol Hill legislators. ITME’s “classroom” curriculum (spanning from 20 – 60 hours) followed by an experiential education field seminar to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, had a tremendous impact on the way High School Students in the Bronx, undergraduate students at Gettysburg College, and Capitol Hill Staffers looked at Israel, the Middle East, and the world. Through the ITME praxis, Avi transforms students and practitioners into knowledgeable, media-literate, critical thinkers. To quote Avi’s students and alumni – – ITME doesn’t tell you what to think ITME teaches you HOW to think.
With the goal of equipping current and future leaders with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to accurately decipher the Middle East and empower them to navigate complex reality, in 2018, Avi created his think tank, ‘Inside the Middle East—Intelligence Perspectives’ (or ITME), a non-profit capable of undertaking multi-modal initiatives, from lectures to publishing to webcasts to film. He engaged as an educator for larger groups, moving to the right on the ‘media megaphone.’
Under Avi’s leadership, ITME has evolved from a college course to a global institute offering knowledge and educational experiences tailored to organizations, individuals, students, practitioners, and leaders. We provide a comprehensive range of briefings, tours, courses, lectures, programs, seminars, and workshops both in person and online. Our programs and products (including articles, books, documentaries, and videos) are designed to merge intelligence and media literacy, delivering nuanced, apolitical perspectives to help people better understand the Middle East. We aim to empower diverse audiences through knowledge, believing that by providing them with the skills and tools for constructive dialogue, we can help them navigate the complexities of Israel, the Middle East, and our global landscape.
In 2020, guided by a diverse Board of Directors, ITME made a strategic decision to pivot and focus our educational efforts on the Jewish community. That decision was driven by the fact that Israel was becoming an increasingly divisive issue in the Jewish community and the understanding that we had a distinct praxis that we believed could solidify Israel as a central component of Jewish identity, strengthen the relationship between Israel and American Jews, and anchor Israel as a central component of identity for current and emerging young American Jewish leaders.
ITME achieved an inflection through several initiatives: (1) a one-to-many webcast known as ‘The Briefing Room’, which included expert voices from across the Middle East – just one of ITME’s many initiatives offering voices from the Arab world not present in Western discourse or covered in Western media; (2) an increasingly sophisticated web presence, including The ITME HUB, featuring resources available from across ITME’s ‘product line’; (3) a documentary for streaming, called ‘The Seam Line,’ drawn from Avi’s front-line role in Jerusalem during the first Intifada; (4) publication of a second book, titled “Inside the Middle East—Entering a New Era”; and (5) launch of a nationwide speaking tour, ‘ITME ON THE ROAD | EMPOWER MINDS. BRIDGE DIFFERENCES. STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY, in partnership with the JCC Association of North America and a new partnership with Hillel – ‘EDUCATE. EQUIP. EMPOWER.’
Due to this multi-media effort and expanding national partnerships, Avi’s brand exposure exploded. Avi and ITME publish original articles in numerous outlets, including as a regular contributor to USA Today, which has the largest daily newspaper circulation in the US. He gives live analysis for global media in English, Arabic, and Hebrew, including Al-Arabiya, Al-Hura, AP, ABC, BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, CBC, the Daily Beast, the Financial Times, Fox, NBC, Newsweek, NPR, Reuters, SkyNews, and others. Avi continues to offer briefings to leading journalists, government officials, and influencers in person and via the web.
The importance of Avi’s capacity to bring clarity, depth, nuance, and accuracy has only been elevated after Hamas’ terror attack of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war. Avi and ITME present ‘Israel at War’ broadcast briefings. In his comprehensive educator style, Avi goes beyond the ‘headlines’ to unravel complexity, counteract misconceptions, and establish a framework to enable people to determine for themselves the ‘why’ and the ‘what’s next.’
Since October 7th alone, ITME and its Founder and Lead Educator, Avi Melamed, have held hundreds of virtual and in-person briefings in Israel and abroad to scores of organizations reaching tens of thousands of people around the world in over 45 countries and 7 continents. That is in addition to briefing dozens of international journalists on the front lines, over 1,500 interviews and Avi having published and been quoted over 2,000 times in over 2,000 publications in over 50 countries translated in over 15 languages. Today ITME reaches millions worldwide, counteracting the tide of oversimplified narratives and misinformation with articles, videos, media interviews, and briefings for organizations across the globe.
ITME has several projects in the works that will continue to leverage the institutions and audiences that have come to rely on Avi and his capacity to contextualize, inform, and empower. These include an extended North American speaking tour – ITME-ON-THE-ROAD-360 | BRINGING CLARITY AMIDST CHAOS, Authentic Education. Educate Individuals. Empower Minds. Equip Community. Bridge Differences. Build Unity; the Inside The Middle East | “The Primer,” a one-hour video laying the educational foundation for navigating the geopolitics of the Middle East; online digital tools to educate and empower; partnerships that amplify Avi’s voice and ITME’s reach, practical and empowering educational tools, expansion of ‘The Briefing Room’ and, as long as necessary, the ‘Israel at War’ webcast, and a new book. Fundamental to all of these plans is Avi’s commitment to direct, personal education. He is an intelligence analyst at heart—seeking data from original source material, contextualizing such data in light of centuries of Middle Eastern history and contemporary friction points, and deriving and evaluating alternative future paths or scenarios. He is neither a politician nor a protagonist. He will not speak in convenient sound bites.
Through multi-modal media with substantial audiences, Avi and ITME will empower both future leaders and consumers of popular news with knowledge and tools to engage in constructive, productive, and tolerant dialogue and foster enriching encounters among people from diverse ideological backgrounds.
