Surprising potential for non-violent intifada Press release SFCG
August 27, 2002Two years into the Intifada, groundbreaking survey reveals: 1. An overwhelming majority of Palestinians would support a large-scale non-violent protest movement and most would participate in its activities. 2. An overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews believe that the Palestinians have a legitimate right to seek a Palestinian state, provided that they use non-violent means.
The survey was commissioned by Search for Common Ground (SFCG), the world's largest conflict prevention and resolution NGO. This issue has been largely untouched by previous research and responses reflect what pollsters defined as "genuine and unguided thoughts". The survey reveals astonishing support on both sides for non-violent protest, yet underlines the differences in the way that protest is perceived by both societies. While the survey shows both publics are skeptical that non-violent action will be adopted, SFCG believes the survey findings reflect the potential that non-violence could play in ending the cycle of violence.
The survey was by Steve Kull of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. The Israeli survey was conducted by the B.L. & Lucille Cohen Institute for Public Opinion Research at Tel-Aviv University, supervised by Dr. Tamar Herman. The Palestinian survey was conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC), supervised by Khader Abusway.