The Israel-Palestine conflict has become one I followed closely while studying peacebuilding in college. Following the events of October 7th, the conflict has escalated to a massive humanitarian crisis and possible genocide. Following the crisis through social media and news sources, the conflict affects much more than just those in the Middle East, as violence is being reported in America from both sides. Watching the atrocities occur and feeling helpless in the situation, I was excited to hear professionals from both sides explain the situation. 

I’m glad the two speakers came from different backgrounds, as Mira Sucharov is Jewish and Canadian with emotional ties to Israel. At the same time, Omar Dajani is an American-born Palestinian whose father fled the country after Israeli occupation. These professionals create a good dynamic to discuss the conflict as they work together to understand each other’s perspectives. 

Since my thesis is on how social media plays a role in the Israel and Palestine conflict, I really enjoyed hearing their discussion of Facebook posts. I was surprised their relationship began with Mira reposting an article by Omar and defending him to her followers. They may have never met without social media, demonstrating how social media produces intergroup dialogue and connections. Furthermore, in their discussion of social media, they explained how their different narratives of the conflict lead to different reactions to media posts. Such as an article about sexual violence among Israelis on October 7th, Mira’s reaction was disgust and fear of the violence while dealing with rape denial in her comments. However, Omar had a very different reaction as he worried these events would lead to further dehumanization of Palestinians as a whole, which would lead to more violence against the community. Using narrative theory, their perspectives and experiences will lead to different reactions to given information due to their fears and concerns. Such as Mira is a Jewish woman who fears this violence is being put on her community due to their identities. At the same time, Omar is in denial of the information at first because he fears how the information will lead to further dehumanization of Palestinians. 

They continue their discussion of narratives by discussing terms like “Zionism” and sayings like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” They addressed a misinterpretation of the slogan and Zionism, as both are seen as the destruction of the others. One of Mira’s students heard that “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and something along the lines of “deaths to Jews.” However, Omar argues the slogan is fighting for Palestinians’ right to be free. Similarly, Mira was unaware of how many Palestinians view Zionism as the destruction of Palestinians, as it is multifaceted with different understandings and meanings revolving around support of a Jewish homeland. Mira and Omar demonstrate how their narratives lead to varying interpretations of terms and slogans. They highlighted the difficulty of peacebuilding and standing up for their beliefs while honoring other emotions and fears. 

Although I enjoyed the talk, I wish they had discussed how we can help the humanitarian crisis or the future. I was also surprised that Omar said we do not need more intergroup dialogue, as it leads nowhere. I wish I had heard more of his thoughts on intergroup dialogue and if he thinks the situation should be fixed by a third party or just Palestinians and Israelis. Overall, this event was informative on how narratives affect interpretations and can lead to further polarization and violence.