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)