This study investigates the dynamics of extreme opinions on social media during the 2023 Israeli–Palestinian conflict, utilising a comprehensive dataset of over 450,000 posts from four Reddit subreddits (r/Palestine, r/Judaism, r/IsraelPalestine, and r/worldnews). A lexicon-based, unsupervised methodology was developed to measure “extreme opinions” by considering factors such as anger, polarity, and subjectivity. The analysis identifies significant peaks in extremism scores that correspond to pivotal real-life events, such as the IDF’s bombings of Al Quds Hospital and the Jabalia Refugee Camp, and the end of a ceasefire following a terrorist attack. Additionally, this study explores the distribution and correlation of these scores across different subreddits and over time, providing insights into the propagation of polarised sentiments in response to conflict events. By examining the quantitative effects of each score on extremism and analysing word cloud similarities through Jaccard indices, the research offers a nuanced understanding of the factors driving extreme online opinions. Our findings show that posts exhibiting extreme sentiment surged up to 80% (an increase of 0.3 in extremism score above the average of 0.405 at the end of October) during key conflict events. Compared to recent studies that have not explicitly quantified extremism in an unsupervised manner, we contribute to the literature by addressing this gap through a novel extremism score, derived from sentiment polarity, anger, and subjectivity, to analyse Reddit discourse surrounding the 2023 Israel–Palestine conflict. This approach captures the complex interplay between real-world events and online reactions, while acknowledging the inherent challenges of measuring extremism in dynamic social media environments. Our approach also enables scalable monitoring of public sentiment extremity, providing valuable insights for policymakers and conflict researchers.
Computational linguistics. Natural language processing
Investigaciones recientes han revelado la historia de la Junta Americana de Comisionados para las Misiones Extranjeras en el Imperio otomano en el s. XIX, escaseando la investigación de sus coetáneos escoceses en estas tierras. Este artículo explora la historia de la misión de la Iglesia Libre de Escocia establecida en Constantinopla tras el famoso cisma Kirk de 1843 con la Iglesia Nacional de Escocia. Este estudio presenta tanto el origen de las dos principales estaciones de esta iglesia, localizadas en Gálata y Hasköy, dedicadas a la conversión de los judíos de Constantinopla, principalmente sefardíes, así como también las estrategias de proselitismo de los misioneros y los resultados de su obra religiosa. Finalmente, este estudio nos presentará el alcance de la misión en cuanto al número de posibles conversiones y su recepción en la comunidad judía.
In the Huguenot refugee community in The Netherlands, known as a hotbed of the early Enlightenment, literary interest in Judaism was ubiquitous, yet actual Dutch Jews were relegated to a marginal position in the exchange of ideas. It is this paradoxical experience of cultural participation and social exclusion that a major unpublished source allows to depict. The ex-converso Abraham Gómez Silveyra (1651–1741), a merchant endowed with rabbinic education and proficiency in French, composed eight manuscript volumes of theological reflections in Spanish literary prose and poetry. This huge clandestine series, which survives in three copies, shows the author’s insatiable curiosity for Christian thought. While rebutting Isaac Jacquelot’s missionary activity, he fraternizes with Pierre Jurieu’s millenarianism, Jacques Basnage’s historiography, and Pierre Bayle’s plea for religious freedom. Gómez Silveyra, however, being painfully aware of his voicelessness in the public sphere, enacts Bayle’s utopian project as a closed performance for a Jewish audience.
The following work shows testimonies of survivors of the Holocaust arrived in Chile and how was their life experience to suffer repression by the military dictatorship. It also describes the functioning of the Jewish community in the country in this period.
Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology, Judaism
Yüzyıllardır Kudüs,
jeopolitik ve jeostratejik konumu açısından ve üç semavi dinin buraya atfettiği
değerden dolayı dünyanın önde gelen ülkelerinin askeri ve siyasi politikalarının
merkezinde önemli bir yer tutmuştur. Bu
sebepler dahilinde Kudüs her zaman Ortadoğu’nun kalbi niteliğinde olmuştur. Bu gerçekliği göz önünde bulundurarak,
çalışma, Yahudi halkının yüzyıllarca süregelen diaspora hayatlarına açıklık
getirerek bu özel durumun Yahudilerin kendi tarihine, Filistin tarihine ve
İsrail Devleti’nin kuruluşuna kadar olan süreci nasıl etkilediğine ve bu etki
ile hiç kuşkusuz Yahudilerin dünya tarihinde neler yapabileceğine açıklık
getirmiştir. Çalışmada “Diaspora” kavramı açıklanmış olup, “Diaspora” gibi
geniş çaplı bir kavram özele indirilerek “Yahudi Diasporası” anlatılmıştır.
Yahudi Diasporası sonrasında Siyonizmin doğuşu, Yahudilerin vaad edildiğine
inandıkları Filistin’e göç etmeleri, , Filistin’in İngiliz Mandasına girmesi,
BM’in Filistin’i Taksim kararı, İsrail Devleti’nin Kuruluş dönemi ve o döneme
kadar yaşanan, gerek Ortadoğu gerekse Avrupa ve diğer kıta ülkelerini derinden
etkileyen olaylar bütünü bu çalışmada açıklanmıştır. Çalışmanın amacı
Arap-İsrail arasındaki çatışmaların sebeplerinin daha iyi anlaşılması ve bu
konuyla ilgili literatüre yeni bir kaynak kazandırılması olmuştur.
Realizamos la edición crítica de la copla sefardí paralitúrgica La santidad de la ley, a partir de una singular publicación de Salónica de 1786. Se consideran además las 4 versiones que conocíamos previamente: la del Séfer Širá veźimrá publicado en Esmirna en 1866, la de la Ketuḅat haTorá de la misma ciudad de 1879, y dos versiones manuscritas, de hacia 1837 y 1910. Comparamos las versiones y analizamos el estilo y el contenido literario de esta copla, cuya función era complementar la celebración de la festividad de Šabu‘ot, rememorando la entrega de la ley. Finalmente, el artículo se completa con la edición crítica de un poema macarrónico que figura también en la publicación de 1786.
This article intends to contribute to the understanding of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The author studies the entry, which is found in all the Gospels, in its Jewish context. The author argues that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on an ass is to be understood as a prophetic sign which was primarily meant to convey a message to the Jews.
The research focuses on confessional tolerance, established on the territory of modern South of the Tyumen region in the XIX – early XX centuries in relation to the Jewish population of the region. The aim of the paper is to examine, basing on modernization theory, the causes, types and manifestations of the religious tolerance of the authorities and society in conditions of continuing elements of anti-Semitism. The paper shows that the origins of tolerance lie in the peculiarities of national, economic and spiritual development of the region that formed the toleration of various degrees: from de facto recognition of the equality of the Jews to a significant reduction in the level of anti-Semitism. The authors focus on the question about the impact of these factors on the weakening of religious and traditional culture of the Jews. The result of the research described in the paper is the rationale for the connection between tolerance and weakening of the national culture of the Jews. In the Jewish Diaspora, on the one hand, continuing anti-Semitism was partiallyobserved, which forced conversion to Orthodoxy; and on the other hand unimpeded contacts with the Orthodox at the household and individual level attracted numerous mixed marriages, which destroyed the traditional culture of the Jews. The authors conclude that the tradition of tolerance that developed in the 19th – early 20th centuries had basic influence on the formation of interethnic peace in the region in subsequent periods.
History of Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics, Psychology
Since the ancient times the belief in the rise of the Reformer has been a fundamental principle. Many of the holy prophets have announced the advent of new prophet. Moreover in the announcements and indications of predecessors there are always allusions to "the Last Promised" and "the Savior of Last Days" under such titles as "Kalki", "Fifth Buddha", "Soshyans", "Messiah", "The Son of Man" and so on and so forth. Of course there are different types of belief in the last reformer in religions. In one place the Savior is merely a social reformer while in another place he is only after the spiritual salvation of people and even sometimes he undertakes both tasks. On the other hand, the Last Promised is once nationalist and once seeks to save the whole world.
This essay seeks to assay the views of pre-Islamic great religions including Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism as to the Promised Savior. This essay is an analytico-descriptive research which has based itself on the first hand works comprising the sacred scriptures of religions and proceeds through the typological analyses of idea of the Promised in religions.
Zoroastrianism: the idea of the Promised has been tied to the notion of Soshyant. Generally speaking, this notion alludes to a group of people who periodically emerge at the end of every millennium of the last three millennia of world's age so as to uproot evil and renew the world, the last one of these reformers is Soshyans. According to the aforementioned typology, Zoroastrian idea of Last Savior is among the Promised who saves the whole world. Moreover Zoroastrian Promised cannot be declared only a social savior as he is not wholly detached from people's spirituality too. From another point of view, Zoroastrian idea of the Promised represents a universal and not nationalist savior who is relatively a human and not divine entity who emerges in the last millennium of world's age.
Judaism: in the Old Testament Mashih (Messiah) means the anointed one by God and is the one who has been exposed to the spirit of Yahweh and this virtue has equipped him with all qualities which are necessary for an ideal king of Israel "the spirit of God will perch on that branch, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and power, the spirit of knowledge of Yahweh and fear of him." (Isaiah, 2: 11). Mashih recalls a Savior of political taste. According to Jews, when Messiah rises the kingdom of heaven becomes established on earth and all nations return to Jerusalem (Isaiah, 14: 45) and the golden age of Jewish rule over the world begins. Thus Jewish taking of the Promised is ethnically motivated whose main concern is reclaiming the dominance and prosperity of Jews and it is less concerned with spiritual salvation. Although this Savior is of a Jewish origin but since his personal qualities are not decided then it is impersonal and void of divinity.
Christianity: the idea of the Promised has revealed itself in Christianity in three forms: first in the form of Jesus of Nazareth who plays the role of Savior and fulfills the expectations; second, in the form of "Judge of worlds" who will reveal himself when Jesus returns to the earth at the Day of Judgment as he once left there (Acts, 1: 11). And third, in the form of a man whose advent is announced by Jesus Christ and is described as the "source of consolation" and "spirit of honesty" who will bless Jesus and approve him (John, 14: 17). Accordingly, Christianity contains three versions of the Promised idea.
According to the previously mentioned typology, the first countenance of the Savior in Christianity, i.e. Jesus as Messiah in the New Testament, not only does not indicate the occurrence of a social uprising for establishing a government or spiritual refinement of people but rather the Savior in this sense undergoes a severe agony to relieve humanity from the burden of original sin (Acts, 8: 32). This Christian taking of the Promised is unique in its kind and has no equivalent in other religions.
But in the second form which promises the return of Jesus to help people to reach their perfection (Mathew, 37: 24-27; Luke, 18: 69 & 22: 18). Then the Promised in this sense aims at universal spiritual flourishing and is a person but a divine person.
The third manifestation of the Promised which has been described as "the spirit of honesty" and the "source of consolation" is the Holy Spirit, according to the Christians, who leads the church in its quest for righteousness in the absence of Christ.
Typologically speaking, Christian taking of the Promised has a spiritual character. It is universal and pro-millennium.
Hinduism: Hindu taking of the Promised is built upon a figure called Kalki who emerges at the Last Day when darkness devours the whole universe and evil minds take the helm. By the end of this dark period the tenth and final incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu which is named Kalki, riding a white horse with a castrated sword and like a falling star rises to uproot the evil and wickedness and establish justice and virtue.
Bhagavata Purana indicates that: "his empire will be universal and his mission will be the resurrection of dharma (law) and justice and truth". Thus the Hindu promised Messiah is personal and divine and actually his mission is social and spiritual, so he is not ethnically motivated but is universal.
Buddhism: Promised Savior in Buddhism is explained by the concept of "Maitreya" which is a Sanskrit word meaning "loving-kindness". In Buddhist theology he is known as the fifth and the last ground Buddha who is yet to come but he will come to save all mankind. In Buddhism symbolism he is in shape of a sitting man who is ready to get up which is the symbol of his preparation to arise. In Mahavastu, a text book of sub sect Hinayana that is about history of Sri Lanka, chronology of events of Maitreya uprising is clearly mentioned. Based on the typology, the promised Buddhist Savior is spiritual saving and he does not have social purposes. He is a personal Savior and with human - divine characteristic. Since the mission of the fifth Buddha is not to rescue a specific nation it could be a universal mission.
The result of this study is that although expressions and typology of belief in Savior in mentioned religions is deferent, however there is an important common belief among all them, which is faith and hope in uprising of Savior in apocalypse.