People who care about the Arab-Israeli conflict are especially outspoken in their views and opinions. There is, after all, a saying that Israel is a country run by six million prime ministers. The same adage can easily be applied to the Palestinian Territories. In the last couple of years, these virtual politicians have become technologically savvy and taken part in the online revolution that is changing the way we express ourselves, communicate with each other, and understand the world around us.

Recently, Time magazine awarded its world-renowned Person of the Year award to  those who compose what the magazine called the “new digital democracy”—the millions of individuals who are logging on daily and creating a massive cyberspace community. This phenomenon, which is also known as Web 2.0, is made possible by some outstanding, free, and extremely popular user-generated websites such as MySpace, YouTube, and Wikipedia.

As can be imagined, this new “digital democracy” is also impacting the flow of information and discourse on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The numbers speak for themselves: enter the words “Palestine” or “Israel” on YouTube and you instantly produce over 20,000 different video entries ranging from mainstream and independent news reports to homemade videos capturing daily life in the Occupied Territories and Israel.

Do a similar search on MySpace and in seconds you can select from a plethora of personalized pages that are dedicated to such issues as defending Israel, liberating Palestine, Jewish pride, and Palestinian peoplehood. These pages are maintained by people from all over the world and contain pictures, songs, articles, diary entries, blogs, and artwork. Some also contain lively and ongoing debates.

To give you one example, there is a popular page on MySpace called End the Occupation Now! (www.myspace.com/palestine). The page receives thousands of profile views, and has, in a relatively short time, garnered a burgeoning list of roughly 6,000 friends. Upon entering the page, one is immediately confronted with disturbing pictures of young settlers attacking Palestinians, Israeli soldiers pointing their guns at Palestinian schoolgirls, and corpses of Palestinian children killed by Israeli attacks. The page also contains links to Israeli human rights organizations, numerous full-length films about the conflict (courtesy of YouTube), and a number of short articles such as “Zionism is Racism”, “Hostile Jewish Settlers”, and “Israel and Genocide” (all courtesy of Wikipedia).

The owner of End the Occupation Now, who requested not to be identified, said she “created the page to give people a perspective they do not see on U.S. news, “as well as “to inform people that Palestinians are living under occupation and that the people are suffering within it." Asked if she thinks that her MySpace page will make a difference, she replied, "I think MySpace is a very powerful tool when it comes to informing the masses. Social sites such as MySpace and especially YouTube have already proven to be effective in informing the world. It’s simple to just type something in [a] search [engine] and find an article or video on that particular subject. Governments and media can't stop people uploading information or videos, so yes, I think it will make a difference."

Another MySpace page that is trying to make a difference is the one allegedly run by Israeli TV host and supermodel Becky Griffin (http://www.myspace.com/griffinrebecca). Griffin's page proclaims the start of a revolution, a revolution that valorizes Israel to no end. First there is the site’s blog, which contains sentimental writings about visiting the troops and defending the "Motherland." These are followed by vituperative rants about the whole world’s  opposition to Israel. Each one of Griffin's entries is enhanced by a long list of comments from subscribers around the world. The majority of these comments praise of Griffin's words and ideas, although dissent is present.

In addition to the blog, Griffin's page also contains films about Palestinian terror, and a feel-good slide show of Israeli soldiers petting kittens and helping out Palestinian children and the elderly. Griffin clearly believes Israel holds the moral high ground in the conflict and is emphatic about it: "The Palestinians called for a cease-fire, yet rockets STILL fall down on Israeli towns every day. All of you that think Israel has created the hate against her—do you believe yourself? Excuse me but what exactly was the Holocaust? The Arabs use the same propaganda tactics (and even symbols) as the Nazis. Go back to my profile page and watch the videos, go back to the archive of my blog and read more... NONE of the Arab nations give a s%#t about the UN and its decisions and completely ignore its existence, yet Israel does (why? I don't know, doesn't make sense...) ISRAEL has the highest set of morals in the WORLD."

Pages like Griffin's and End The Occupation Now are just a small example of what the digital revolution has created—an interconnected world in which everyone, regardless of expertise or pedigree, can share their thoughts and feelings with all who care to read.

Viewing this phenomenon romantically, this can be seen as a mass paradigm shift from the ground up—amateurs wresting power from the elites, or the rise of what blogger Glenn Reynolds memorably called an "Army of Davids." From a more sobering perspective, however, this Copernican turn translates into your annoying uncle--you know, the one who always said those hair-raising comments around the dinner table--getting his own page on MySpace, broadcasting his thoughts on YouTube, and adding his less than optimal encyclopedic knowledge to the pages of Wikipedia.

The real problem here, and the danger with the “new digital democracy” in general, is that there is no semblance of objectivity involved. The aforementioned claims about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, for instance, do not necessarily—or even generally—go through any process of logical examination, editing, or fact checking. Internet activists, although subject to criticism, only answer to themselves. Consequently, many pages have simply replaced state-sponsored propaganda and mainstream news with bad journalism peppered with narcissistic self-righteousness.

This would not be so vexing except for the fact that people are generally enamored with the published word. Many of us still work under the semiconscious assumption that "if it is published it must be true." We can only hope that the rise of an "Army of Davids" will sharpen our sense  of quality control, and initiate the process in which the published word becomes demystified.

Furthermore, even though the online revolution has created a world without passports or borders, political pages on websites like MySpace foster a type of international tribalism. People naturally seek out information to reinforce their beliefs, and gravitate toward those who share their respective ideologies. When a few dissenting voices on Griffin's page challenged her Dershowitzian idealism, they were verbally attacked and mocked for their beliefs. A cursory glance through other explicitly political MySpace pages proves this type of exclusivism as the rule, rather than the exception.

In the end though, we should marvel at the vast potential of this democratizing phenomenon. Yes, websites like MySpace, YouTube, and Wikipedia give voice and community to many extremist and fringe organizations. But they also help create a space where, at the click of a button, an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Arab can engage each other in dialogue. In a region ruled by millions of technologically savvy “prime ministers”, this might not be a bad thing after all.

Roi Ben-Yehuda is an award-winning freelance writer. He is a graduate of New School University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC.