On Oct. 7, Palestinian militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing nearly 900 Israelis and taking 150 more hostage. The hostages include civilians, children, elderly and soldiers. The attack, which many have compared to the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States, took the world and the Israeli military by surprise.
Carly Wayne, an assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been studying strategic dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian violence and its effects on political attitudes and public health for nearly a decade.
Her most recent paper, “The Holocaust, the Socialization of Victimhood and Outgroup Political Attitudes in Israel,” published Sept. 2 in Comparative Political Studies with WashU graduate student Taylor Damann and Israel colleague Shani Fachter, examines how the perceived historical victimization of the Jewish and Israeli people across time is broadly socialized among the Israeli public. Wayne’s research demonstrates how these narratives play a role in shaping political views and foment negative intergroup attitudes.