Noam Waksman

Student 

...outside of our homes the average American didn't really care about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- which was and is problematic -- but it allowed two kids who liked sports to become friends without anyone telling us that we shouldn't.

In America, none of those boundaries exist, however, and the only thing that could keep us from being friends is each other. But we like each other, so why not be friends?

Everyone else around me looked across the street and saw only labels, but my link to Hani prevented me from looking across the street and seeing a faceless “other.” It allowed me to look and see people.

Conflict And Common Ground: The Story Of An Unlikely Friendship

Noam Waksman: "If Hani and I had grown up in Palestine and Israel respectively, the boundaries between us would have been numerous, institutional, and tangible." Pictured: An Israeli supporter shouts at right, as Palestinian supporters shout at, left, during a rally near the White House in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. (Susan Walsh/AP)