Ha'Aretz article on opinion survey: "Nearly half of Israelis fear Holocaust could happen again."
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| Jews disembark at Auschwitz |
About 40 percent of all Israelis believe the Holocaust could happen
again, and 43 percent are reportedly concerned the State of Israel is in
danger of being destroyed, according to a poll conducted by Tel-Hai
Academic College [in the Galilee].
.... The poll surveyed adults between 18 and 85, as well as 12th-grade high
school students who had taken school trips to Holocaust sites in Poland.
When respondents were asked to what extent they felt their lives and
the lives of their family members were in danger, 55 percent rated the
risk as low or non-existent. About 12 percent said they thought they
were at great risk, and 31 percent rated the risk as
moderate.The opinion polling of the 12th-grade respondents was completed in
stages, and included a questionnaire distributed to students before
their trips to Poland, and again after their return to Israel. The
results show that the visit to Poland actually improved the students'
sense of Israel's strength. Before the journey, 43 percent of the 130
students surveyed said they did not believe Israel was in danger of
extinction. That figure declined to 37 percent after the trip.
"Exposing young people to the horrors that took place during the
Holocaust and then returning to Israel strengthens the sense among young
people that they have a strong country that can face the lurking
dangers," ....
When it comes to the public at large, however, ... the threats
that Israel faces -- including threats from Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon
and Hamas in the Gaza Strip -- indirectly reinforce a sense of
persecution and preserve the collective trauma of the Holocaust.
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