Polls and press political views regarding the Golan

This paper focuses on comparisons between polls and press attitudes to the debate in Israel (from 1981 to 1995), on readiness to withdraw from the Golan. It explains the relations between the polls and the press and applying the concepts of critical sociology (cultural hegemony), and public opinion and mass media (climate of opinion; spiral of silence). The data presented in the polls covered people who did not want to return any part whatsoever of the Golan heights in exchange for a peace treaty with Syria. Two daily Hebrew newspapers were selected to represent the press: an elitist quality newspaper and popular newspaper. Four different periods were sampled between 1981 and 1995. From the comparison between the press and the polls it is clear that both changed in the same way: more readiness to give up the Golan as part ofa peace treaty with Syria. The change in the Israeli government attitude to this issue was reflected in both the polls and the press. However, the press reacted faster than the polls. Public opinion did not change in the same way, evincing relatively small modification. However, the public seemed to be moving slowly in the same direction as the press