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Speaking Out and Breaking the Silence

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Self-Censorship in Contexts of Conflict

Part of the book series: Peace Psychology Book Series ((PPBS))

Abstract

Even in the extreme context of intractable conflict, individuals sometimes risk sanctions and other negative outcomes when they reveal information. This chapter examines self-censorship as a barrier to conflict resolution in this unique context, focusing on the process involved in breaking the silence as the result of successfully overcoming this barrier. We examine under what circumstances and conditions people decide not to self-censor, instead speaking out when they have information that they believe is important for the group to know, despite possible negative implications for themselves and the group. We discuss different motivations for or against breaking self-censorship and delve into the process involved in the decision not to self-censor. We also review potential interpersonal differences in the likelihood of breaking the silence. These discussions are supported with examples for our claims from the experience of Israeli-Jewish soldiers in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, who either practice self-censorship or broke the silence and gave testimony on their experiences in the military to the organization ‘Breaking the Silence.’

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Many additional parts of the interviews were released only later, delayed by almost 50 years (Loushy, 2015), after the war had already gone down in Israeli consciousness as an un-besmirched national triumph.

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Correspondence to Ruthie Pliskin .

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Pliskin, R., Goldenberg, A., Ambar, E., Bar-Tal, D. (2017). Speaking Out and Breaking the Silence. In: Bar-Tal, D., Nets-Zehngut, R., Sharvit, K. (eds) Self-Censorship in Contexts of Conflict. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63378-7_12

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