As Israel-Gaza conflict intensifies, online movement shows that #jewsandarabsrefusetobeenemies

Make love not war.

As the Israel-Gaza conflict continues to intensify, some inter-faith couples and friends are showing the world that love is indeed stronger than hate with just one hashtag.

#jewsandarabsrefusetobeenemies is an online movement started slightly less than two weeks ago by college students Abraham Gutman, an Israeli, and Syrian Dania Darwish.

 

 

They may have their differences when it comes to Middle Eastern politics but their discussions never "became rude or had a tone of hate". 

Unfortunately, in the weeks since the air raids started, online discourse had taken on a much harsher tone.

So they wanted to "show the international community that we don't have to be enemies".

 

 

Since then, the hashtag has caught on in a big way with many people posting their own photos on Twitter and Facebook. One photo that has gone viral is the one of journalist Sulome Anderson, who is half Lebanese, kissing her Jewish boyfriend.

Anderson, who argued a lot about politics with her boyfriend, said: "When it comes down to it, we're people and we love each other and that's what matters most."

 

 

 

Anderson also said that she “loves that the #JewsAndArabsRefuseToBeEnemies movement emphasizes the human connections between people the world has taught to hate each other.”

 

 

Meanwhile, the armed conflict, which shows no signs of stopping, has already claimed more than 500 Palestinian lives and 30 Israeli soldiers.

 

 

 

 

Source: Facebook, Twitter, ABC News, Los Angeles Times