Ideological orientation and social context as moderators of the effect of terrorism: The case of Israeli‐Jewish public opinion regarding peace

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of severe terror attacks on Israeli-Jewish public opinion regarding peace in a context of progress toward peace (1994)(1995)(1996)(1997) compared to a context of conflict escalation (2001)(2002). We hypothesized that ideological orientations supporting peace (doves) or opposing it (hawks), as well as the social context in which terror occurs, would moderate its effects. We used the database of Peace Index polls, administered monthly to representative samples of Israeli Jews. Polls pose three recurring questions regarding peace. We selected eight polls conducted within a week or less following a severe terror attack, and matched each to a ''control'' poll, taken at the nearest available time and not preceded by terror. Findings showed that during the 1990s, hawks' opinions regarding peace became less favorable following terror, whereas doves exhibited minimal opinion change. During 2001-2002, however, doves' opinions regarding peace became less favorable following terror, whereas hawks' support for peace increased while their belief in peace did not change. This suggests that the effect of terror on opinions regarding peace varies according to ideological orientations and the transitional context in which terror occurs, implying that contextual factors from multiple levels may interact to affect individuals' opinions.

The Role of Inclusive and Exclusive Victim Consciousness in Predicting Intergroup Attitudes: Findings from Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC

“…Some studies show that conflict‐related personal victimization predicts less outgroup tolerance (Canetti‐Nisim, Halperin, Sharvit, & Hobfoll, ), decreased forgiveness (Myers, Hewstone, & Cairns, ), and less support for legal responses to human rights violations (Elcheroth, ). However, these responses depend on other factors such as the level of violence in the community and the individual's ideological orientation (Elcheroth, ; Sharvit, Bar‐Tal, Raviv, Raviv, & Gurevich, ). Moreover, under some circumstances personal victimization may even motivate prosocial attitudes—depending on the specific meaning individuals attach to these experiences (Klar et al., ; Vollhardt, 2009b).…”

“…Burundi is also a postconflict society, but it lacks such reconciliation policies. In contrast to these two postconflict settings, the eastern provinces in the DRC are experiencing ongoing violence and lack of security, which can deteriorate intergroup relations (e.g., Canetti‐Nisim et al., ; Sharvit et al., ). While the conflict in DRC cannot be clearly framed in ethnic terms as in Rwanda and Burundi (in part because there are approximately 250 ethnic groups), manipulation of ethnic tensions by leaders are an essential part of it (Autesserre, ).…”

Three layers of collective victimhood: effects of multileveled victimhood on intergroup conflicts in the Israeli–Arab context

“…Previous studies conducted in the Israeli-Palestinian context have shown that the effect of terror on attitudes regarding peace varies according to ideological orientations and the transitional context in which terror occurs (Sharvit, Bar-Tal, Raviv, Raviv, & Gurevich, 2010). We were able not only to examine the impact of general conflict collective victimhood on people's support for the employment of such means during a real-time large military operation, but also to study how changes in the perception of collective victimhood affected the level of this support.…”

“…We were able not only to examine the impact of general conflict collective victimhood on people's support for the employment of such means during a real-time large military operation, but also to study how changes in the perception of collective victimhood affected the level of this support. Previous studies conducted in the Israeli-Palestinian context have shown that the effect of terror on attitudes regarding peace varies according to ideological orientations and the transitional context in which terror occurs (Sharvit, Bar-Tal, Raviv, Raviv, & Gurevich, 2010). We similarly investigated the effects of context, but focusing on the different layers of collective victimhood.…”

Perceptions of Prolonged Occupation as Barriers to Conflict Resolution

“…Political left or right in the Israeli context mostly refers to the continuum between hawkish and dovish views regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This ideological orientation is associated with differential support for various political and social policies (seeSharvit, Bar-Tal, Raviv, Raviv, & Gurevich, 2010).…”