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A new dating app called Verona seeks to bring Israelis and Arabs together, and, thereby, peace to the Middle East. It is named for the Italian city which was the setting for “Romeo and Juliet.”
Users log in via Facebook and create a profile identifying themselves as either Israeli or Palestinian. They then search for someone from the opposite group.
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The comparisons to Tinder are obvious. As the website explains, swipe right to like or left for next. “If someone likes you back, Verona matches you up. We’re open to anyone, in any country, who chooses to identify as either nationality, because the path to peace begins by viewing people by who they are instead of where they came from.”
Verona says that its goal is to provide a platform for a new kind of conversation and that it could even be a path to world peace.
Maybe not peace, but it will certainly be condemned by religious leaders from both sides who do not wish to see their people fraternizing with people from other religions.
Its founder, Matthew Nolan, said that he got the idea when an Arab friend of his met and Israeli girl in New York and the two fell in love.
He told Ynet News, “The idea for the application came to me while I was looking for a final project application for my art school studies. I have a close Palestinian friend named Khaled, and he told me he met this amazing Israeli girl who came to live here in New York, and now they’re together and in love.
“We started joking and saying that there needs to be an application that would set up Israelis and Palestinians and then left the subject alone. But I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind, ” said Nolan.
“I really think this is the solution. If you take a look at history, every time there are social changes, they usually begin with those that are willing to defy conventions.
“Here in America we experienced amazing changes simply because people decided to try different things. So yes, I definitely think this is the first step on the path towards the right direction.”
Nolan founded the company with his partner Khaled Darweesh. The Verona app is free for both Android and iOS.
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