The Arab-Israeli conflict is something that has affected all aspects of life in the Middle East. It's a constant problem, noticeable through checkpoints, questioning when entering the country; all things involving the government, but dating has also become an infiltrated platform to discriminate or reject someone.
**Disclaimer, these are MY personal experiences and I do not want to overgeneralize/stereotype another group of people in any way, shape or form.**
During my time in Israel, I thought about hosting a type of experiment. As a future journalist and current Odyssey creator, I'm always wondering about aspects, and perspective is something that I thrive for. I wanted to witness how people from the country itself felt about each other as well as the constant conflict. I also wanted to see the effects the conflict has had on the people. Since I am an American Arab, I wanted to show the conversation and the directions it takes when talking to men on Tinder. Here are some responses from some men, both Arab and Israeli, after learning I was of Palestinian descent myself and briefly exploring opinions about the conflict.
1. The classic "talk to and delete once I mention it." There aren't any pictures for this one because they deleted me five seconds after responding.
2. "You're really interesting." He didn't seem to be very phased by it at all.
When discussing meeting, which never ended up happening (due to my major lack of interest), the paranoia directed towards Arabs/Palestinians and the "situation" between Jews and Arabs came to light.
3. "Ew" and then delete. Again, no picture for this one, as the "unmatch" button was pressed moments after the connection was made and message sent.
4. "That's kind of perfect." Little did I know that he was American and Palestinian as well.
5. The classic "no reply" after finding out. Even in other countries, boys do this.
6. After moving to WhatsApp, this guy showed me how the Arab-Israeli has affected his view on the Holy City, Jerusalem. Some background for you; he wanted me to come to his town and visit (that was not going to happen). I asked him to come to Jerusalem.
Now, I'm not saying all Arabs are dangerous, because they are not. Here, however, it's shown that he was scared and assumed that Jerusalem was filled with a certain race, waiting to hurt someone.
7. Here, another person and I got into a discussion about the occupation. Note: He is Palestinian, therefore his views and opinions will be biased towards the Arabs when discussing the conflict.
Below, he doesn't seem to think Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis would be able to live without the conflict and that it's not a big deal.
He also shed light on the mistreatment/restrictions that Palestinians face daily, when discussing trying to re-enter Israel, after leaving for college.
It wasn't the first time I had heard a story like this one. My father, when visiting Israel this past Spring, entered Israel through the Jordanian-Israeli border. He waited more than four hours and then was sent back, due to his wife having a Palestinian passport. After a few days and a lot of waiting, paperwork, and stress, they were finally allowed to enter the country.
8. And finally, my personal favorite: "Wtf, bye;" as if being a certain race was a big deal?
Note: I am laughing at his question, as 99.9 percent of the time, when on the streets in Israel and in general, it was assumed that I was Jewish, due to my hair color, facial features, and skin tone.
This experience made me realize how "dangerous" Israel is. It also pushed me to see the Israelis side of the conflict, as at home, I had only seen the Palestinian/Arab side. The Israelis that I talked to were nervous, and frightened around Arabs and even mentioning them leaving their homes brought fear and over generalizations. To me, this was shocking, as the Arabs that I know, and love, aren't how these strangers depicted them.
