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Can a Tinder-style matchmaking app solve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict?

If swiping for peace works here, it'll work anywhere.

 

Dylan Love

Tech

Posted on Apr 29, 2015   Updated on May 28, 2021, 11:09 pm CDT

If love conquers all, let’s see what it can do for the IsraeliPalestinian peace process. Enter Verona, a Tinder-style matchmaking app for people living in the middle of the decades-long struggle between the two Middle Eastern societies.

Users identify themselves as Israeli, Palestinian, or other, and then the matchmaking begins. Swipe to the right if you think someone is interesting; swipe left for the next person. When two people like each other, the app connects them for what will hopefully be a civilized chat.

It’s Tinder for world peace.

The app doesn’t sell itself as a vehicle for romance; it merely bills itself as “a fun way for Israelis and Palestinians to connect.” But its familiar Tinder-style mechanics suggest that some love connections are bound to result from all this swiping.

Verona is a free download for Android devices.

Photo via TBSPhotography/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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*First Published: Apr 29, 2015, 2:25 pm CDT