ORIGINAL ARTICLE Online Argument Between Israeli Jews and Palestinians Donald G. Ellis 1 & Ifat Maoz 2 1 School of Communication, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT 06119 2 Department of Communication, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel Previous research with face-to-face groups found that majority–minority theory was a better predictor of argument patterns between Israelis and Palestinians than cultural codes theory (D. G. Ellis & I. Maoz, 2002; I. Maoz & D. G. Ellis, 2001). But, because of the difficulties of organizing face-to-face contacts between Israelis and Palestinians (e.g., security, transportation, check points), computer-mediated communication has taken on increased significance. This paper builds on previous research pertaining to argument between Israeli Jews and Palestinians and extends that work by investigating the effects of communication technologies on argument interactions between these two groups. The most notable finding was the absence of complex argumentative structures that are typically associated with conflict resolution. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00300.x Argument is a typical communication means of coping with difficult problems. This is especially true for ethnopolitical groups in severe conflict who seek to avoid violence. But argument can be either an effective method of conflict resolution or a complex confusion of issues that is used as a tool to consolidate and entrench one’s own position. Palestinians and Israeli Jews are one such pair of ethnopolitical groups who are ensnared in difficult arguments about land, rights, and legitimacy. Each side is particularly stubborn with respect to how they argue. Although there is a recog- nized body of research about the nature of conversational and group argument (e.g., Brossmann & Canary, 1990; Canary, Brossmann, & Seibold, 1987; Ellis & Maoz, 2002; Meyers, Brashers, & Hanner, 2000), there is a paucity of empirical research on the characteristic sequences of argument between ethnopolitical groups in con- flict. Understanding typical argument sequences used by conflicting groups assists with the greater goal of discovering argument patterns associated with agreement or the resolution of problems. To date, research has linked certain argument patterns to qualities such as group consensus (Canary et al., 1987), marital satisfaction (Canary, Corresponding author: Donald G. Ellis; e-mail: dellis@hartford.edu This article was accepted under Jim Dillard’s editorship of Human Communication Research. Human Communication Research ISSN 0360-3989 Human Communication Research 33 (2007) 291–309 ª 2007 International Communication Association 291