Two upcoming lectures at Iowa State will provide different viewpoints on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Shlomo Gazit, reserve major-general and former chief of Israeli military intelligence for almost 40 years, will speak on “Defense and Security Issues in Israel” at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Gold Room of the Memorial Union. Gazit also has written two books on Israeli policy and is currently a senior research associate at the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

Gazit’s speech will be followed by Mark Ellis, professor of American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Ellis will speak on “Israel, Palestine and the Future of the Jewish People” at 8 p.m. on Jan. 16 in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. Ellis, who also has written several books and was the founder and head of the Justice and Peace Studies Program for the Marynoll School of Theology in Marynoll, N.Y., before going to Baylor.

“It’s an opportunity to provide two different perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian situation,” said Pat Miller, lecture program coordinator, adding that both lectures will be free and open to the public.

Although the conflict has been overshadowed in the news by the United States presidential election, Miller said, it is still important and current.

“This is very much in the news,” she said. “It is very troubling to a great many people.”

Miller said the two speakers will bring knowledge and experience to their discussions on the conflict.

“We’re very pleased that we have an opportunity to bring two very recognized scholars,” she said. “They’re both solid scholars, and one was very involved in the process in the Middle East as well.”

Samantha Kitover, president of ISU Hillel, a Jewish student group which is co-sponsoring Gazit’s lecture, said she is looking forward to Gazit’s upcoming speech.

“We are really excited to have Shlomo Gazit on our campus due to his experience in our Jewish home state of Israel,” said Kitover, sophomore in pre-business. “His knowledge is something we cannot learn behind classroom walls.”

Miller also said she was looking forward to the discussion.

“I think there will be a lot of interest in this,” she said.

James McCormick, professor and chairman of political science, also said the speakers will be presenting valuable information because of their different viewpoints on the situation.

“I think that these two speakers give contrasting views of the situation and will really help the university community and the larger community understand what’s going on,” he said. “This is obviously a very difficult time and a vexing problem that has been with us for a very, very long time. I think it’s important to get information as best we can about these issues.”