Social Media's role in Middle Eastern Affairs - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Social Media's role in Middle Eastern Affairs

By: Jillian Wilson

jwilson@cbs4qc.com

Social media is making the middle eastern conflict more personal.

It's giving Quad Citians an intimate look inside the world of Israelis and Palestinians.

"I was amazed to see some of the web pages and facebook pages. It made me feel sick really to see people writing statements that call for the killing and more killing of Palestinians," says John Dabeet, President of American & Palestinians for Peace.

John Dabeet is a Palestinian. He says the Internet is making the conflict an informational war.

Facebook pages, twitter accounts, and bloggers are giving their own account of life in Israel and Gaza this past week.

"The social media plays a very important role in showing those kids who are getting killed in Gaza City or Gaza Strip. The women and the suffering and so on usually you don't see that on the main media," says Dabeet.

But other leaders in the QC, like Rabbi Karp, say viewers are not seeing the whole picture.

He says the media is showing the deaths, but not the good that Israel has been doing all along.

"Raise awareness to the fact that injured from Gaza have been emitted into Israel and sent to Israeli hospitals for treatment. That Israel throughout the whole conflict never cut off electricity or fresh water, both of which are supplied by Israel," says Rabbi Henry Karp, Temple Emanuel.

Dabeet says social media could be the force that puts the violence to rest.

"Seeing them getting hurt, injured or even die because of that, that's really the thing that should provide us with the real determination all of us, to sit and start negotiating just and comprehensive peace agreements, so that both sides can live side by side in peace.