Deema Yusuf (left) and Yaara Tal (right) pictured together with a modern symbol of peace – the dove.

A friendship built on creating peace among conflict

Growing up, Yaara Tal, BA ’17 (international studies), and Deema Yusuf, BA ’18 (religious studies), lived a mere hour and a half away from one another — Tal in a kibbutz in Israel, just miles from the Gaza Strip, and Yusuf in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. Geographically, they were close together, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict separated them.

In 2013, the two alumnae met as they boarded a one-way flight at the Tel Aviv airport for Eugene, Oregon. They had each accepted a scholarship for one Israeli woman and one Palestinian woman to attend Lane Community College.

“It was difficult traveling on the plane together because we didn’t know each other and everything was new, and I was nervous to move to the US,” Yusuf said.

Despite not knowing each other at all when they moved, Yusuf and Tal quickly developed a close friendship, becoming roommates in Eugene. They had both witnessed violent conflict growing up, but from different perspectives. Living together provided opportunities to hear the other side’s view.

“People cannot argue with your personal story and tell you that it isn’t true. At some point, I started realizing how similar all of our stories were — I became more understanding and wanting to actually listen and have a conversation, rather than fighting.” – Deema Yusuf

“I grew up with rockets around me,” said Tal. “It mainly started in early 2000 when I was in fourth grade. My family helped to keep us protected: more open-minded and not full of hate. I had a lot of curiosity, wanting to know and hear the stories of people from the other side.” 

“I grew up around shootings and bombings and clashes. That was my main experience with Israelis,” Yusuf said. “Growing up, my parents were very supportive of my siblings and I joining peace organizations. Seeing my older siblings meet Israelis and talk about the conflict with them helped me understand that there were Israelis other than the soldiers that I shared experiences with.”

During their time at Lane Community College, the two had public speaking engagements almost every weekend at churches, classes, and community groups. Through these talks, they helped educate Americans about the conflict through sharing their own experiences growing up. 

Tal and Yusuf gained their public speaking and mediation skills through organizations like Tomorrow’s Women, which provided the scholarship that brought them to Eugene and summer camp they both attended in high school. Tomorrow’s Women brings Israeli and Palestinian girls together in Santa Fe, New Mexico to share their experiences growing up with conflict and learn leadership and facilitation skills. 

“I wanted to go there and just tell my story,” Yusuf said. “It was very difficult for me to even hear the Israelis’ stories about the conflict affecting their lives at the beginning of summer camp.” 

Though Yusuf and Tal attended the camp at different times, they were both able to meet with girls from the other side of the conflict through group discussion times and fun activities, like cooking sessions and art therapy. 

“We talked a lot about personal stories in the dialogue room,” Yusuf said. “People cannot argue with your personal story and tell you that it isn’t true. At some point, I started realizing how similar all of our stories were — I became more understanding and wanting to actually listen and have a conversation, rather than fighting.” 

Shortly after Tal’s experience in Santa Fe, she returned to Israel to serve her mandatory two years in the military, where she was an observer in the Gaza Strip. During that time, she disconnected from Tomorrow's Women, which held reunion meetings for those involved. After her service, she began to attend the reunion meetings again.

“It was really nice, in a way, because a lot of the Palestinians asked me questions about the military,” Tal said. “I was able to hear their stories and also share mine as a person who came back from the military and show them that I still don’t agree with the situation that’s going on, even though I was part of this body that they hate so much. I hoped that they could still see me as a human being.”



After Yusuf and Tal’s experience at Lane Community College, they both transferred to the University of Oregon, where they joined the International Cultural Service Program, a cross-cultural exchange opportunity to extend global education to the university and local community. While at the UO, they continued to take part in public speaking engagements related to the conflict. 

“We pretty much had a positive experience talking to people about the conflict. I know not everyone agreed with me, or maybe with Deema,” Tal said. “But it was really interesting to share our opinion and our personal stories, and overall, people really respected it.” 

Yusuf added that experience in classes at the UO was one of the most impactful parts of her college experience. She got the opportunity to see how Americans and others that are not from the Middle East view the conflict.

“There was a lot of diversity in my classes,” Yusuf said. “Since I had an Israeli passport, I couldn’t visit any other Arab countries other than Jordan and Egypt, so meeting people from those regions and hearing what they think of the conflict was an amazing part of the program.” 

“I think it really shows the strength of knowing someone as a person. It doesn’t matter their background, like where they’re coming from. We have a lot of disagreements as well and it’s okay. We still very much respect and love each other.” – Yaara Tal

After graduating from the UO in 2017, Tal became an Oxford Consortium for Human Rights Fellow and later worked as a J-Street Capital South Regional Team Fellow in Washington D.C. Tal is currently working in international relations at the Israeli Ministry of Defense in South Korea. 

A year after Tal graduated, Yusuf graduated from the University of Oregon. She later earned her master’s degree in Human Rights Law at SOAS University of London, and she now works in tactical intelligence analysis in the Bay Area. 



Looking back at their time in Eugene, both Tal and Yusuf say their friendship is the greatest thing they each gained.

“We built a friendship based on a lot of things that we have in common,” Yusuf said. “We enjoy the same kind of food and music and activities, and we have the same kind of humor.”

“I think it really shows the strength of knowing someone as a person. It doesn’t matter their background, like where they’re coming from. We have a lot of disagreements as well and it’s okay. We still very much respect and love each other. It was the biggest gift of my time in Oregon, even more than my degree,” Tal said.

-By Peyton Hall, UO Alumni Association Student Associate