Is the Future Ours to See? Israelis’ Future Perception Following Hamas Massacre

On October 7, 2023, Israel experienced a surprise and devastating attack by Hamas terrorists. This assault resulted in the deaths of 1200 civilians and the kidnapping of 251 individuals, leading to the eruption of a full-scale war between Israel and its neighbors. The failure of the government, the military and the intelligence agencies to protect Israeli civilians and the subsequent multi-front conflict have profoundly shaken citizens’ trust in the State, potentially affecting their national future outlook. This study examined a model exploring the relationships between potency and national future outlook, both directly and indirectly through optimism levels, while assessing whether these correlations were moderated by religiosity. The sample comprised 140 Israeli adults aged 18 and above who completed questionnaires assessing the study’s key variables during a two-month period (March-May 2024). The research model was tested via SPSS’s add-on PROCESS model 5. Findings revealed that potency was positively associated with optimism which, in turn was associated with a more positive national future outlook. Religiosity significantly moderated the relationship between optimism and national future outlook; as levels of religiosity increased, the strength of the link between optimism and positive national future outlook diminished. These results indicate that optimism’s effect on national future outlook varies, with religiosity playing a crucial moderating role. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring interventions to address the diverse needs of Israel’s population, considering both their beliefs and resources, in the context of pervasive collective trauma.