To Persuade Pro-Israel Jews in the US and Israel Requires an Understanding of the Moral Frameworks that Guide Them

Donald Trump’s Gaza “peace plan,” endorsed last week by the UN Security Council, has been met with skepticism from a number of the conflict’s more astute observers. Outlining steps toward ceasefire and rebuilding, the proposal depends on political conditions that seem unlikely to materialize, raising real concerns that Israel may revert to military force if the process stalls or a future Palestinian government doesn’t, in Israel’s estimation, fully comply.

The compromises expected of Israel are fairly mild given that UN agencies, human rights organizations, and legal experts around the world have condemned Israel’s assault on Gaza as genocidal. Yet many, both in Israel and in the US remain unconvinced that Israel should restrain its military aggression. Which raises a pressing question: how can we engage and persuade members of our own communities (particularly within Jewish communities) who continue to support Israel’s actions? Research with Jewish college students suggests that changing minds requires more than presenting facts or issuing moral condemnations; it demands grappling with the fundamentally different moral frameworks through which people interpret this violence.