Strategic Assessment

The second intifada was undoubtedly one of the most important security events in the State of Israel in the past decade, and it is reasonable to assume that the intifada had no small influence on Israeli public opinion on national security issues. There are, however, three major questions in this regard. First, is it possible to identify any pattern in the influence of the intifada on public opinion? Second, if the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, what was the direction of the influence and what changes in public opinion occurred in the wake of the intifada? Third, were the changes short lived and reversible, or were they long term changes that have left their mark to this day?