Explaining and Predicting Antisemitism
יום רביעי 08.07 10:30 - 11:30
- Behavioral and Management Sciences Seminar
-
Bloomfield 527
ABSTRACT:
Over the past few years, antisemitic hatred in the U.S. has surged. Unlike previous waves of hatred toward Jews, it now comes from the political left as well as the right. Moreover, support for Israel has weakened and become politically polarized. I'll present two studies aimed at better understanding present-day antisemitism, part of a larger initiative I recently launched at Arizona State University. The first tracks hatred toward Jews and Israel using 15 years (2011-25) of nationwide Google search data. I show that hatred does not track the devastation in Gaza brought on by the Israel-Hamas War. Instead, it surges on October 7, 2023—while the Hamas attack against Israel was still unfolding—and again with subsequent military campaigns and escalations against Israel. I interpret this seemingly paradoxical finding—which challenges a prevailing causal narrative about the rise in antisemitism—via the psychology of common knowledge and collective action. The second study investigates how Americans—liberals and conservatives—perceive antisemitism and whether their perceptions depend on how the antisemitism is justified. My colleagues and I find that, absent justifications, antisemitism is generally disliked and more so by liberals than by conservatives. However, when it is justified by violations by Israel of the human rights of Palestinians, it is tolerated more by liberals (but not conservatives). I find support for two group-based explanations for this effect of justifications: ingroup favoritism and alliance politics.
Over the past few years, antisemitic hatred in the U.S. has surged. Unlike previous waves of hatred toward Jews, it now comes from the political left as well as the right. Moreover, support for Israel has weakened and become politically polarized. I'll present two studies aimed at better understanding present-day antisemitism, part of a larger initiative I recently launched at Arizona State University. The first tracks hatred toward Jews and Israel using 15 years (2011-25) of nationwide Google search data. I show that hatred does not track the devastation in Gaza brought on by the Israel-Hamas War. Instead, it surges on October 7, 2023—while the Hamas attack against Israel was still unfolding—and again with subsequent military campaigns and escalations against Israel. I interpret this seemingly paradoxical finding—which challenges a prevailing causal narrative about the rise in antisemitism—via the psychology of common knowledge and collective action. The second study investigates how Americans—liberals and conservatives—perceive antisemitism and whether their perceptions depend on how the antisemitism is justified. My colleagues and I find that, absent justifications, antisemitism is generally disliked and more so by liberals than by conservatives. However, when it is justified by violations by Israel of the human rights of Palestinians, it is tolerated more by liberals (but not conservatives). I find support for two group-based explanations for this effect of justifications: ingroup favoritism and alliance politics.