Tal Orian Harel

Tal Orian Harel is a PhD student at the Department of Communication and Journalism and a research fellow at the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, both at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Middle Eastern studies and her M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the Hebrew University. Her PhD research focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the political polarization processes among rightists and leftists within Israeli society, as also manifested in social media platforms.

Research Interests

• Political discourse
• Social media
• Political polarization
• Psychology of intergroup conflict

Selected Publications

• Orian Harel, T., Katz Jameson, J. & Maoz, I. (2020). The normalization of hatred: Identity, affective polarization, and dehumanization on Facebook in the context of intractable political conflict. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120913983
• Orian Harel, T., Maoz, I. & Halperin, E. (2020). A conflict within a conflict: intragroup ideological polarization and intergroup intractable conflict. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, 52- 57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.11.013

Awards and Prizes

• The Presidents scholarship for outstanding PhD students (2020-2023)
• Scholarship for Doctoral Students in Peace and Conflict Resolution Research (2019-2022)