Palestinian and Jewish communities, almost everywhere, remain deeply divided by competing narratives, opposing views, negatives stereotypes, profound prejudices, and complicated histories. Will this ever change? Historically, the two sides have lived within their own narratives, ones driven by an age-old, bitter conflict over land, identity and the pursuit of self-determination.

These self-imposed bubbles of ideological comfort zones have come with doctrines that left no room for, or the possibility of an alternative narrative.

Yet, there are those who have challenged orthodoxy. Meet Zena and Savyon, two 17-year-old Israeli girls, one Palestinian, the other Jewish. Hear their narratives, before and after they managed to make their way out of their bubbles, thanks to an innovative program called Heart-to-Heart that brought them to summer camp together in Canada.

Zena Abu Zarka is a 17-year-old Palestinian Arab girl who is in her final year of high-school in Kfar Qara, Israel. She is an alumnus of the 2015 Heart-to-Heart program.

Savyon Tzorf is a 17-year-old Jewish girl who lives near Binjamina and is about to finish 12th grade at a kibbutz school. She is an alumnus of the 2015 Heart-to-Heart program.

Mira Sucharov is Associate Professor of Political Science at Carleton University, and is a frequent op-ed writer on the topic of Israel-Palestine.