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How Oct. 7 Affected Israel's National Consensus

(Washington Free Beacon) Andrew Tobin - A new public opinion survey by pollsters affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has revealed how the Oct. 7 attack on Israel has solidified a national consensus when it comes to the Palestinians. Political psychologist Nimrod Nir, who led the survey, told the Washington Free Beacon, "Until a few years ago, I could find out which political camp you were in by asking you one question: Palestinian state, yes or no? Today, that question doesn't really differentiate the two camps because no one supports the old idea of a Palestinian state....It's just not on the table." Nir's team, Agam Labs, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 4,000 Jewish Israeli adults in August and then, from Oct. 9 through May, checked back in with most of them every 10 days, yielding a comprehensive picture of how Israeli politics have shifted since Oct. 7. Based on political self-identification, the hard right (5.7%), right (36.4%), and moderate right (17.9%) had grown to a collective total of 60%. The center held steady at 26.5%, while the hard left (0.5%), left (4.6%), and moderate left (8.4%) totaled 13.5%. Debbie Sharon, 60, a criminal defense attorney from Yated, near Gaza, recalled that prior to Oct. 7, she subscribed to the prevailing conception that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and subsequent economic support for the strip encouraged quiet and might one day lead to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. "People on the right warned us that the Palestinians don't think the way we think....They only care about eliminating us. But we didn't believe them," she said. Then, several thousand Hamas terrorists and ordinary Palestinians burst through the Gaza border, a few miles from Sharon's house. As she hid in her safe room for more than 30 hours, the terrorists slaughtered dozens of her friends, neighbors, and clients. Earlier this year, Sharon volunteered for Tzav 9, a grassroots movement that sprang up to protest Israel's provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza during the war. "They can have aid in Gaza when they give us back our hostages," she said.
2024-07-04 00:00:00
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