Political arguments over Israel and Palestine can become so heated that they lose touch with the people most directly affected by the war on Gaza: the Palestinian and the Israeli public. What does the public on each side actually think? After two full years, what does survey research tell us about Israeli and Palestinian attitudes before and since the current cycle of violence in the long-running conflict? And how should we understand polls, data, trends and headlines when trying to learn about public opinion?

Dahlia Scheindlin is a public opinion expert and international political and strategic consultant based in Tel Aviv. Over two decades, she has advised on nine national campaigns in Israel and has worked on campaigns in fifteen other countries and regions. She is recognized for her contributions to discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the peace process; and issues of democracy, human rights, and social justice. She conducts public opinion research related to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, including the Palestinian-Israeli Pulse survey, an ongoing project. She is a regular columnist at Haaretz newspaper (English), focusing on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Israeli politics, and foreign affairs; she is a founding member of +972 Magazine, an independent online magazine jointly run by Palestinian and Israeli journalists, and is a fellow at the Century Foundation. Her most recent book, The Crooked Timber of Democracy: Promise Unfulfilled, published in September 2023, critically analyzes Israel’s path to democracy. She is currently a Penn Global Middle East Distinguished Visiting Scholar.

Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center & Penn Global