Data analysis conducted by experts from the Glazer Information Center of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), using advanced AI tools, indicates that public opinion in Saudi Arabia regarding the possibility of normalization with Israel is gradually changing.
The study examined hundreds of opinion columns and articles published in the Saudi English-language press over the past year. These articles appeared in major Saudi media outlets such as Asharq Al-Awsat, Arab News, the Saudi Gazette, and others.
The analysis showed that, as is typical and expected in most of the Arab world, the vast majority of press items examined expressed a negative or very negative tone toward Israel, while there were almost no articles presenting Israel in a positive light.
However, surprisingly, the picture changes completely when the question is refined and the Saudis’ attitude toward the idea of normalization with Israel is examined. In the opinion columns and articles that mentioned the issue of normalization, the computerized analysis revealed that, overall, the process of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia was mentioned in a relatively neutral and balanced manner. The neutral attitude toward normalization appears clearly and distinctly, even though, as noted, the overall tone toward Israel is extremely negative.
The balanced tone toward the idea of normalization in a country like Saudi Arabia, where the media obeys the authority of the royal family, leads the researchers to conclude that this neutral approach in fact reflects a directive coming directly from the Saudi authorities.
The current study uses thousands of press items downloaded from authoritative sources. From these thousands of articles, opinion and commentary pieces were filtered out using features available in the LexisNexis databases as well as with the help of artificial-intelligence tools. After filtering the opinion and commentary columns, the researchers used advanced AI tools to analyze the following questions: What is the tone toward Israel in the article? To what extent does the topic of normalization appear in the article? And if it does appear: what is the attitude toward normalization?
The balanced tone regarding the idea of normalization in a country like Saudi Arabia, where the media obeys the authority of the royal family, leads the researchers to conclude that this neutral approach in fact reflects a directive coming directly from the Saudi authorities, given that the issue of normalizing relations with Israel is currently on the agenda and is expected to advance in the future. Mohammed bin Salman has for a long time been attempting to persuade pockets of opposition within Saudi Arabia to support the idea of formalizing relations with Israel, while at the same time maintaining his image as someone who has not abandoned the Palestinian issue.
