Does terrorism work? An expanded look at the impact of terrorism on political attitudes of Jewish Israelis from 1988 to 2015

This project aims to evaluate the continued impact that terrorism has on attitudes of Jewish Israelis towards peace (captured by the Israel National Election Study). This project expanded the timeline from the original study by Gould and Klor (2010) [1988 to 2006] to 2015. This allows us to evaluate the impact of the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and subsequent terror attacks. This project expands on the original study looking for potential Rally Round the Flag effects along with effects on the original attitudinal variables (willingness to establish a Palestinian State and exchange territory for peace). A comprehensive terror attack database was constructed using the Global Terrorism Database, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources, and the Jewish Virtual Library. Terrorism exposure was not found to have significant impacts on attitudes pre-2005, failing to replicate original findings by Gould and Klor (2010). Terror exposure was found to significantly impact political attitudes post-2005.