17% of Italians are \u201ccloser to the Israeli community\u201d, while 14% are \u201ccloser to the Palestinian community.\u201d 34% express closeness to \u201cboth\u201d, while 22% \u201cto neither.\u201d 13% choose not to take a side. These figures, among others, come from the latest survey by the Italian SWG research institute, which for weeks has been monitoring the Italian public perception of the conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
\nEmpathy toward the Jewish state is down compared to an earlier survey, dated October 13, when the figure stood at 25%. Despite the significant \u201cand, in many ways, inevitable decline in consensus after the military response to the Hamas attack,\u201d SWG research director Riccardo Grassi explains to Pagine Ebraiche, \u201cit is nevertheless interesting to take note that public opinion is more in favor of Israel compared to the recent past.\u201d
\nThe diagram above offers an example, titled \u201cPersonalmente, in questo momento lei si sente pi\u00f9 vicino\u2026\u201d (Personally, right now you feel closer to\u2026), referring to the May 2021 crisis that also led to military action in the Strip. \u201cAt the time, 11% of interviewees were in favor of the Israelis, compared with 19% who sided with the Palestinians. The events of October 7 have had a profound emotional impact, changing this balance,\u201d Grassi says. Another interesting fact \u201cis the growth of attention to such issues: in 2021, 24% of people chose not to answer; today, however, it comes down to about half.\u201d
\nIt is very difficult to make any predictions for the future. Much, in fact, \u201cwill depend on what happens in the field,\u201d Grassi states. Although a trend \u201ccan be guessed: as we have already seen with Ukraine, the more events are diluted in time, the more emotional detachment increases.\u201d A central theme in this regard will be \u201cthat of storytelling: it is a crisis, perhaps, that will be resolved through the ability to tell.\u201d In this regard, Grassi says he is \u201cvery impressed that none of the international media has questioned the circumstances of the Gaza hospital bombing as they were presented at first.\u201d
\nMore figures concerning the survey released in the last few hours are important to note. 44% of Italians, SWG informs, consider Israel\u2019s reaction \u201ctoo violent.\u201d In contrast, 21% agree with it, while 6% consider it \u201ctoo mild\u201d and 29% take no stand. For 38% of interviewees, Israel should aim to \u201cmake a deal with Hamas without attacking it militarily\u201d, while 22% think it should destroy it altogether and 19% think it should only aim to weaken it. 21% choose the option \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n39% of Italians, SWG reports, believe that Hamas and Israel are \u201cequally guilty\u201d of starting the conflict. 32% of interviewees explicitly accuse Hamas, while 9% lash out at the \u201cIsraelis.\u201d 5% deem neither side responsible. 15%, on the other hand, \u201cdon\u2019t know.\u201d
\nAnother question concerns the appreciation of the position of some political leaders. The highest score, on a scale from 1 to 10, goes to Giorgia Meloni (4,2), followed by Antonio Guterres (4,1), Emmanuel Macron (4,0), Joe Biden (4,0), Ursula von der Leyen (3,9), Benjamin Netanyahu (3,5), Abu Mazen (3,4), Abdel Fattah Al Sisi (3,3), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2,9), Xi Jinping (2,8) and the leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh (1,9).<\/p>\n