"Public interest in most of the Middle East was slight at that time; the Arab-Israeli conflict was all that people were interested in and that was not my specialty"

This quote by Juan Cole is describing the lack of public interest in the Middle East during a particular time period. He is recommending that the only thing people had an interest in was the Arab-Israeli dispute, and that this was not his location of knowledge. This might be interpreted as a criticism of the public's lack of interest in the Middle East, as there is far more to the region than simply the Arab-Israeli dispute. It might also be analyzed as a criticism of the media's focus on the dispute, as it typically overshadows other important concerns in the region. This quote could likewise be translated as a suggestion that there is more to the Middle East than simply the Arab-Israeli conflict, which there are lots of other important problems that need to be regarded.