Social polarization and distress responses to the october 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel

The experience of war is associated with heightened distress symptoms that differentiate the members of various social groups from each other. The Israeli society is characterized by extreme social polarizations. Social polarization divides the population into opposing groups, with opposed beliefs and identities that undermine the pursuit of common goals. It can lead to extreme hostility, conflict, and even violence. Polarization signifies a significant decline in social solidarity across sectors of society and poses a grave threat to democracy. The present study examines the impact of being a part of each of three main polarizations (ethnic origin, supporting the government, and religiosity) on individual distress levels of Israeli Jewry, in response to the trauma of war that followed the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023. A sample of 2002 individuals representing the diverse sections of the Jewish Israeli society, responded to an online questionnaire. The results indicated that, as hypothesized, the distress responses to the trauma of the war were consistently associated with one’s position on each of the three polarizations investigated. It was suggested that the high distress responses of members of the Mizrahi and the ethnically mixed groups represent their collective ethnic trauma. • Mizrahi versus Ashkenazi Jews showed higher distress after the Hamas attack. • Findings suggest that collective trauma can be rooted in historical discrimination. • Ethnicity predicted distress more strongly than income, religiosity, or politics. • Social polarization may shape psychological responses to national crises. • Results stress the need for culturally informed resilience interventions.