Support for Self‐Censorship Among Israelis as a Barrier to Resolving the Israeli‐Palestinian Conflict

Abstract

Self‐censorship, defined as an “act of intentionally and voluntarily withholding information from others in the absence of formal obstacles” often serves as a barrier to resolving intractable conflicts. Specifically, in order to protect the group, and in absence of objective constraints such as institutionalized censorship, individuals practice self‐censorship and support its practice by other society members. This prevents free flow and transparency of information, within a society, regarding the conflict and the adversary. In an attempt to investigate the factors that contribute to the functioning of self‐censorship as a sociopsychological barrier to conflict resolution, a longitudinal study was conducted among a large sample of Jews in Israel. The survey was administered in three waves: a few months before, during, and a few months after Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip. The findings showed that armed confrontation can increase support for self‐censorship. In addition, the findings revealed that personal characteristics (e.g., authoritarianism, ethnocentrism, siege mentality) predicted support for self‐censorship, which, in turn, mediated the effect of personal characteristics on support for negotiations and for providing humanitarian aid. The theoretical as well as the applied implications of the findings are discussed.

Evaluating an automated mediator for joint narratives in a conflict situation

“…Consistent with other short-term interventions (see, for example, the discussion by Alvídrez and colleagues, 2015), we did not find a significant effect on the willingness to compromise which is an attitude related to strong and stable political beliefs by people who are involved in violent conflicts and whom have many psychological barriers that impede change (Bar-Tal, 2013;Hameiri et al, 2016), particularly on the basis of a onetime intervention such as (Maoz, 2011) such as used in the current study. Nevertheless, we found positive outcomes for other cognitive and affective measures, which show the potential of our approach.…”

Looking Backward to Move Forward

“…Dependent variables included collective victim identity , measuring five items (α = .82) to which participants indicated level of agreement on a 7-point scale, for example, “The Jewish Holocaust is the most significant event in human history, and no group or people have ever been harmed as we have” (for a similar scale, see Hameiri, Sharvit, Bar-Tal, Shahar, & Halperin, 2016). Need for social acceptance was measured by indicating level of agreement on a 7-point scale on two items ( r = .92, p < .001) adapted from Shnabel and Nadler (2008; that is, “I would like the international community to know that Israel is trying to act morally” and “I would like the international community to understand the reasons for the actions of the State of Israel”).…”

Self-censorship orientation: Scale development, correlates and outcomes

“…The present research focused on the consequences of self-censorship in a context of intergroup conflict, demonstrating that the tendency to self-censor predicts reluctance to expose information that portrays the ingroup's conduct negatively, whereas the tendency to disclose predicts willingness to reveal and disseminate such information. These processes may contribute to the formation and maintenance of a conflict-supporting social narrative, which can become a barrier to peaceful conflict resolution Hameiri, Sharvit, et al, 2017).…”

“…Studies suggest that the context of intractable conflict is especially conducive to self-censorship (Bar-Tal et al, 2017;Hameiri, Sharvit, Bar-Tal, Shahar, & Halperin, 2017). Societies involved in intractable conflict develop conflict-supporting narratives, which serve important functions when facing violence and war.…”

“…In this context, self-censorship is often viewed by authorities and segments of society as necessary in order to protect the ingroup and its interests, leading to the development of norms that encourage self-censorship. Hameiri, Sharvit, et al (2017) conducted a longitudinal study to investigate antecedents and consequences of support for self-censorship during a violent confrontation in the context of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict.…”