PUBLIC-OPINION AND POLITICAL-CHANGE - ISRAEL AND THE INTIFADA

This article investigates the relations between public opinion and politics by looking at changes in Israeli public opinion as a result of the intifada, using panel data. It finds that the intifada has had a clear impact on the Israeli public. Three simultaneous processes seem to be operating: a generalized hardening of positions on short-term issues regarding Israeli-Arab relations, a steady and increasing moderation of opinions on certain long-term issues of security policy, and a growing polarization of attitudes and political power between the more conciliatory left and the more hard-line right. It also finds that people's attitudes have tended to change in the same direction in which they were already leaning. After analyzing the empirical findings, the paper shows how changes in public opinion are linked to developments in Israeli politics, government, policy, and party alignments.