UC Santa Cruz

In this dissertation, I test a root narrative approach to conflict to understand the socio-psychological mechanism associated with support for a two state solution among Jewish and Arab Americans. According to the narrative approach to conflict, groups’ stories about a conflict are structured around a more basic narrative schema. When members of groups acknowledge the outgroup root narrative, they are more likely to support a compromise solution to the conflict. Group values and norms will facilitate increased acknowledgment of the narrative of the other. A survey of 172 Arab Americans and 182 Jewish Americans indicates that acknowledging the narrative of the other (i.e., Arab Americans acknowledging that Israelis aim to live in peace but are vulnerable, and Jewish Americans acknowledging that the Palestinians are indigenous to the land but are dispossessed), was correlated with greater endorsement of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. An experiment with an additional sample of Jewish Americans found that priming them to think about the Jewish value of “tikkun olam” (or “mending the world”) or about anti-Semitism did not increase their acceptance of the Palestinian narrative on the conflict, as compared to a control group who was not primed. However, correlational analyses of this sample revealed that greater attachment to Israel, disposition toward system justification, conservative views, and concerns over anti-Semitism predicted rejection of the Palestinian narrative on the conflict. Understanding one’s Jewish identity as based in values of the pursuit of social justice predicted increased acknowledgment of the Palestinian narrative on the conflict. This research makes three key contributions. First, it demonstrates the utility of root narrative as a tool in explaining the continuation of conflict. Second, it shows how narratives traditionally studied using qualitative methodology can be tested using quantitative methodology. Third, on a practical level, this research illuminates the specific narratives that need to be legitimized in order to increase support for a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.