• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » Facebooking the Mideast conflict
Life

Facebooking the Mideast conflict

FacebookTweet
Eillie Anzilotti July 11, 2011

Thousands of miles away from where you sit at your computer, reading this article and probably scrolling through your Facebook feed, Palestinian and Israeli students are using the social network site to connect across the many divides that separate their cultures. 

Called YALA-Young Leaders, the Facebook page provides young Israelis and Palestinians with a safe place to interact and learn about each other away from the strife of the Middle Eastern conflict. The conversations range from serious, such as peace negotiations, to more lighthearted topics like music and art.

Even though sites like Facebook often receive a bad rap as shallow and promoting of laziness and stalkerism, you have to wonder if such communication would be available if it weren’t for the strength of the online community. The same reasons people scorn Facebook — it’s not real life, it prevents face-to-face connection — are the same reasons that have allowed for the beginnings of connections between two disparate groups of young people.

Its existence as an online community has made Facebook the ideal platform for communication between people who are often physically unable to meet in the real world. Sure, the conversations that take place online are no replacement for what you can learn about someone in person, but they do, at the very least, raise awareness of the humanity of everyone on the site. 

So if you feel like Facebook is limiting your in-person interactions, remember that for when seeing someone face-to-face is simply impossible, like it frequently is in the contentious areas of the Middle East, it’s about as close as you can come. Check out The New York Times for the full story.

About Eillie Anzilotti

Junior > Journalism > University of Pennsylvania

Rediscovering Home in the Heat of Things

10 Ways to Become Friends With Your Roommates

Why You Shouldn’t Go for a Run on the Hedonic Treadmill

5 Ways to Survive Grueling Summer Classes 

What To Do Next When You Don’t Know What To Do

Q&A with ASCEND app Creators Sydney Campos and David Richeson

How a Last-Minute Gap Semester Changed My Life

Is Online Learning Right for You?

5 Pre-Finals Rituals to Follow for Optimum Study Time

Previous Post:Exploring the Suburbs
Next Post:Giving Rehab Another Shot

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding