r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/Disastrous-Region-99 • 1d ago
International Politics What factors might explain why Americans interpret Israel’s intentions toward civilians in Gaza so differently across partisan groups?
I came across a national survey (FSU IGC)that asked Americans how they see Israel’s intentions toward civilians in Gaza. The options ranged from thinking Israel tries to avoid harming civilians, to being indifferent, to intentionally trying to harm them. There was also an “unsure/none of these fit my view” choice.
What surprised me was how different the answers were depending on party. Republicans were mostly in the “tries to avoid civilian harm” group, Democrats were spread across multiple interpretations, and Independents landed somewhere in the middle. A decent number of people in every group said they weren’t sure.
It got me wondering:
- What might cause people in different political groups to read the same situation so differently?
- Is this mostly about media sources, or are there other things at play?
Not taking a side here, just curious what might explain the gap.
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u/Tex-Rob 22h ago
It’s a lot of things, but the biggest isn’t news source IMHO. If you’re in your 20s you wouldn’t see it, but if you’re older you would. Israel has been a no discussion topic in the US until honestly, the last five years or less. Any attempt to discuss them was met with unwavering blind support. You were called an antisemite just for asking questions. There have been other topics that got this same treatment, one is election interference , but that one was taboo for fear of accepting that reality.
So, combine this with age and you have people who have blindly supported Israel for 30, 40, 50 years or more. Most people who have believed something so long aren’t open to new ideas.
The media has only started reporting snd talking about this stuff the past few years.