It comes as no surprise that hearing someone talk bad about their own group creates division and hostility among that group; yet an outsider who overhears someone criticizing their own group may have more interest to tune in – indeed, research carried out by Tamar Saguy, Associate Professor at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology and Head of the MA division in Intergroup Relations (along with her colleagues Eran Halperin and Melissa McDonald), shows that people who expressed criticism towards their group are perceived as taking a significant risk regarding their group, making their message to be perceived as credible and significant by someone outside of that group. The implications of this finding extend to the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. An Israeli who hears a Palestinian criticize Palestinians can make the Israeli perceive Palestinians as more open and flexible, and pave the way for potential dialogue between the two groups. Saguy’s research (2017) revealed that when Israelis were exposed to Palestinians who criticized other Palestinians, they saw more hope in the context of the conflict, perceived the Palestinians as more open, and were themselves willing to open up to the Palestinian narrative. Similar to how making a joke at the expense of those in your own group can relieve tension and spur a friendly atmosphere among strangers, being exposed to out-group members criticizing their own group – whether it is a Palestinian who is exposed to Jews criticizing other Jews or a White American being exposed to an African-American criticizing their own group, can give hope to redeeming conflict and unifying the greatest divides.