Shir Etgar, Tal Eilon, Noa Schori & Yechiel Klar Tel Aviv University

1. Empathy for the other side in the conflict under fire: Southern Israelis exposed to rocket threats immediately following the Gaza Operation Ashdod area Gaza strip “Gaza area” Shir Etgar, Tal Eilon, Noa Schori & Yechiel Klar Tel Aviv University Abstract: Feelings for the other side in a conflict is a key factor in conflict resolution and reconciliation (e.g., Halpern, & Weinstein, 2004; Vollhardt, 2008). Yet relatively little is known about the antecedents of these processes; even less is known about the ability to feel empathy for the opponent and the willingness to seek redress when the person is under real threat from the opponent.In this study conducted several weeks following the January 2009 military Gaza Operation we investigated 83 Israelis, residents of communities near the Gaza strip who for more than eight years have been exposed to extensive rocket and mortar (more than 12, 0000) attacks from Gaza, and 73 residents of the Ashdod vicinity who have come under fire since December 2008 (for about a month).In addition to the objective duration of exposure to threat we also measured the subjective perception of suffering (to self and family) and an attitudinal variable, the Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation (PIVO), which its average level was similar in both samples. PIVO (but not objective or subjective exposure to threat) negatively predicted empathy toward the civilian Gaza population, and empathy positively predicted group based guilt and willingness to envisage reparation for the civilian Gaza population.These results suggest that even under direct threat conditions, attitudinal variables such as the PIVO predict reactions to the other party more than a conflict related sense of suffering. Introduction Feelings for the other side in a conflict is a key factor in conflict resolution and reconciliation (e.g., Halpern, & Weinstein, 2004; Vollhardt, 2008). Yet relatively little is known about the antecedents of these processes; even less is known about the ability to feel empathy for the opponent and the willingness to seek redress when the person is under real threat from the opponent. In this study conducted several weeks following the January 2009 military Gaza Operation we investigated 83 Israelis, residents of communities near the Gaza strip who for more than eight years have been exposed to extensive rocket and mortar (more than 12, 0000) attacks from Gaza, and 73 residents of the Ashdod vicinity who have come under fire since December 2008 (for about a month).In addition to the objective duration of exposure to threat we also measured the subjective perception of suffering (to self and family) and an attitudinal variable, the Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation (PIVO), which its average level was similar in both samples. PIVO (but not objective or subjective exposure to threat) negatively predicted empathy toward the civilian Gaza population, and empathy positively predicted group based guilt and willingness to envisage reparation for the civilian Gaza population.These results suggest that even under direct threat conditions, attitudinal variables such as the PIVO predict reactions to the other party more than a conflict related sense of suffering. Participants 159 Jewish Israelis who were exposed to active threat from Gaza. They were composed of 83 participants living in the immediate area around the Gaza strip ("Otef Aza") mainly in kibbutzim, who for more than eight years have been exposed to extensive rocket and mortar attacks including intensive shelling during the Gaza operation, and 76 participants from the Ashdod vicinity who came under long range rocket fire for three weeks during the Gaza operation ("Oferet yetzuka"). The study took place in March 2009, six weeks after the Gaza operation. Results Subjective (or objective) suffering was not correlated significantly with any of the other variables (see Table 1). These correlations remained non-significant even after controlling for political orientation (see Table 2). On the other hand, PIVO was significantly correlated with all the other variables (see Table 1). Our mediational model, presented in Figure 1, shows that PIVO negatively predicted empathy toward the civilian Gaza population and acknowledgment of the other side's suffering. Empathy, in turn, positively predicted group based guilt and willingness to envisage reparation for the civilian Gaza population. Acknowledgment of suffering was related to group based guilt but not to reparation. Differences between the two samples: The two groups we interviewed differed in several ways. First, political orientation was more right wing and PIVO was higher in Ashdod area rather than Gaza area sample. Second, Levels of empathy and acknowledgment of outgroup suffering were higher in the Gaza area rather than the Ashdod area sample. On the other hand, no sample differences were found for subjective suffering (see Table 3). Figure 1 -.440** (-.273**) Empathy .441** Reparation -.373** .162 PIVO .459** -.218** Acknowledgment of Outgroup Suffering Group based guilt .200** -.507** (-.466**) Discussion We found that personal experience of suffering was unrelated to ability and willingness to take the perspective of the civilian Gaza population, feel guilty for their pain and be favorable to reparation. On the other hand, PIVO (Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation) was strongly related to all these variables. These results suggest that people's perceptions regarding the victimization of their ingroup, rather than perceptions regarding personal victimhood, underlies their empathic reactions towards the other side in the conflict. We also found differences between the two groups of participants that may be accounted for by the different social-political orientations of the two groups: members of Kibbutzim in the long- exposure group and a more politically diverse sample in the short exposure group. As indicated in Table 3, PIVO was higher and political orientation was more right -wing in the shorter rather than the long- exposure sample. Levels of empathy and acknowledgment of the sufferings of other side were also higher in the former rather than the latter group. Except for the already mentioned more political left -wing orientation, it is possible that the physical proximity to Gaza in the Gaza Area group fostered greater awareness of the predicament of those on the other side of the fence. Further research with residents of Sderot (an Israeli development town near Gaza with a different political and socioeconomic background than the Kibbutzim, also exposed to rockets and mortars for eight years) will help to address these issues. In summary, consistent with previous research (Halpern, & Weinstein, 2004, Vollhardt, 2008) we found that empathy has a major influence on readiness for reparation and on group based guilt, and PIVO (but not objective or subjective personal suffering) was a strong inhibitor of empathy.