Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T06:05:56.532Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Democratic Like Us? Political Orientation and the Effect of Making Democracy Salient on Anti-Israel Attitude

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 October 2015

Yphtach Lelkes ,
Ariel Malka  and
Penelope Sheets
Yphtach Lelkes
Affiliation:
Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected]
Ariel Malka
Affiliation:
Yeshiva University, New York, New York, US
Penelope Sheets
Affiliation:
Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Israel is viewed unfavorably among wide segments of the public within several European democracies, despite being regarded itself as a Western democracy. Does drawing attention to Israel's democratic attributes improve views toward Israel? In two surveys with Dutch national samples, anti-Semitic affect, low anti-Arab/Muslim affect, and left-wing political orientation independently predicted anti-Israel sentiment. However, in experiments embedded within the surveys, making salient Israel's democratic attributes had opposite effects on Israel attitude across those on the right and the left – slightly decreasing anti-Israel sentiment among those with a right-wing orientation but slightly increasing anti-Israel sentiment among those with a left-wing orientation. We discuss potential explanations grounded in social psychological theory as well as implications for the strategic communication efforts of groups seeking to influence attitudes toward Israel.

Keywords

Ideologyanti-Semitismpolitical attitudesIsraelprejudice
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Experimental Political Science , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , Spring 2016 , pp. 97 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © The Experimental Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anti-Defamation League. 2012. Attitudes Toward Jews in Ten European Countries. (http://archive.adl.org/anti_semitism/adl_anti-semitism_presentation_february_2012.pdf), accessed April 18, 2015.Google Scholar
Berinsky, A. J. 2009. In time of war: Understanding American public opinion from World War II to Iraq. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
BBC. 2012. Views of Europe Slide Sharply in Global Poll, While Views of China Improve. BBC. (http://www.globescan.com/news-and-analysis/press-releases/press-releases-2012/84-press-releases-2012/186-views-of-europe-slide-sharply-in-global-poll-while-views-of-china-improve.html), accessed September 10, 2015.Google Scholar
Chong, D., and Druckman, J. N.. 2007. Framing Public Opinion in Competitive Democracies. American Political Science Review, 101 (04): 637–55.Google Scholar
Cohen, F., Jussim, L., Bhasin, G., and Salib. 2011. The Modern Anti-Semitism Israel Model: An Empirical Relationship between Modern Anti-Semitism and Opposition to Israel. Conflict & Communication Online, 10 (1): 1–16. (http://www.cco.regener-online.de/2011_1/pdf/cohen.pdf), accessed June 25, 2013.Google Scholar
Cohen, F., Jussim, L., Harber, K. D., and Bhasin, G.. 2009. Modern Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israeli Attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82 (2): 290–306. doi: 10.1037/a0015338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, L. 2008. The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World. New York: Times Books.Google Scholar
Feldman, S. 1988. Structure and Consistency in Public Opinion: The Role of Core Beliefs and Values. American Journal of Political Science, 32 (2): 416–440.Google Scholar
Graham, J., Haidt, J., and Nosek, B. A.. 2009. Liberals and Conservatives Rely on Different Sets of Moral Foundations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96 (5): 1029–46. doi: 10.1037/a0015141.Google Scholar
Harrison, B. 2006. The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel, and Liberal Opinion. Chicago: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Huddy, L., and Khatib, N.. 2007. American Patriotism, National Identity, and Political Involvement. American Journal of Political Science, 51 (1): 6377. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00237.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jost, J. T., Nosek, B. A., and Gosling, S. D.. 2008. Ideology: Its Resurgence in Social, Personality, and Political Psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3 (2):126–36. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6916.2008.00070.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaplan, E. H., and Small, C. A.. 2006. Anti-Israel Sentiment Predicts Anti-Semitism in Europe. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50 (4): 548–61. doi: 10.1177/0022002706289184.Google Scholar
Keinon, H. 2013. Netanyahu hails Israel as ‘island of democracy’. Jerusalem Post. Retrieved from http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Peres-lauds-America-as-beacon-of-hope-on-Independence-Day-318790.Google Scholar
Lewis, B. 2006. The New Anti-Semitism. The American Scholar, 75 (1): 25–36.Google Scholar
Marques, J. M., Yzerbyt, V. Y., and Leyens, J. P.. 1988. The “Black Sheep Effect”: Extremity of Judgments towards Ingroup Members as a Function of Group Identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18 (1): 1–16. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2420180102.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2009. “Ideological Gaps Over Israel on Both Sides of Atlantic.” Washington, D.C. http://www.pewglobal.org/2009/01/29/ideology-and-views-toward-the-middle-east-conflict/.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2014. “A Fragile Rebound for EU Image on Eve of European Parliament Elections.” Washington, D.C. http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/05/12/a-fragile-rebound-for-eu-image-on-eve-of-european-parliament-elections/.Google Scholar
Sibley, C. G., Liu, J. H., Duckitt, J., and Khan, S. S.. 2008. Social Representations of History and the Legitimation of Social Inequality: The form and Function of Historical Negation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38 (3): 542–565.Google Scholar
Strabac, Z., and Listhaug, O.. 2008. Anti-Muslim Prejudice in Europe: A Multilevel Analysis of Survey Data from 30 Countries. Social Science Research, 37 (1): 268–86. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.02.004.Google Scholar
Tait, R. 2014. Benjamin Netanyahu Accuses UN of ‘Hypocrisy’ over Human Rights Votes. The Telegraph. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/10732788/Benjamin-Netanyahu-accuses-UN-of-hypocrisy-over-human-rights-votes.html), accessed October 05, 2014.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H., and Turner, J. C.. 1979. An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In Austin, W. G. and Worchel, S. (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations s (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole.Google Scholar
Theil, S. 2011. Far-Right politicians find common cause in Israel. Newsweek. (http://www.newsweek.com/far-right-politicians-find-common-cause-israel-68583), accessed on July 15, 2015.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Lelkes supplementary material

Lelkes supplementary material 1

Download Lelkes supplementary material(File)
File 66.7 KB