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Dan Henry's avatar

That is why the rule of law is essential, not feelings.

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

Great point, Aster. It's something I have considered a bit since fielding this. I wanted the results to be relevant to (and show public opinion on) Khalil's specific situation, which was the predominant story at the time this project was initiated. Clearly, the same issue applies to a lot more people. In retrospect, it wish I'd included a generic version of Khalil's story as a separate treatment, and may do so in a future study. Thank you for this feedback!

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Aster Taylor's avatar

Hi Karen, OK, good to know! I think that definitely weakens the conclusions, since it will trigger political alignment in a way that an abstract story wouldn't. It'd be good to include that in a future study. I also wonder if some of the effect is people assuming that different things were said. I'd be curious to try to tease some stuff out: ie, what if you had one of the people be, eg, Syrian? If the response is the same as for the Palestinian, then it implies that it's not empathy for the plight of the Palestinians but anti-Israel sentiment. Could be useful!

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

I'm going into the field again with one more iteration doing exactly what you suggested: (a) real Khalil by name, (b) generic Palestinian student, (c) generic Syrian student. This should settle your question one way or another!

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Aster Taylor's avatar

Excellent, I'm looking forward to the results!

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

The new results are posted at the bottom of this piece! And, in a separate post, linked here: https://decyph.substack.com/p/hall-pass-revisited

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Leslie Sherman's avatar

Oh great! This was my exact concern so that is fantastic that you’re going to do that. This is such important work, thank you!

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

The new results are posted at the bottom of this piece! And, in a separate post, linked here: https://decyph.substack.com/p/hall-pass-revisited

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Richard Redstone's avatar

And asshat Judge Fabierz has ruled Khalil can’t be detained or deported. The % of Muslims being deported is minimal because oil money from Qatar and self-hating Jew and Nazi collaborator George Soros is fundings the shit heads. Am Yisrael Chai

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Davi7's avatar

I would also factor in the influence of media, which for decades has been sympathetic to Palestinians in their reportage. The near-propaganda-like levels of support has been present for over 30 years.

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Robert Farrell's avatar

That is just delusional as it pertains to any English-language media.

Israel's apartheid state has been treated with reverent deference by the American media. There are millions of examples. Recently a group of IDF soldiers murdered 15 Palestinian medics and firefighters, and gloated about it to multiple eyewitnesses, and this only got covered by the US media when A PHONE WITH A VIDEO OF THE MURDERS WAS FISHED OUT OF THE MASS GRAVE THE KILLERS DUMPED THEM IN.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/world/middleeast/gaza-medics-autopsies-israel.html

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Richard Redstone's avatar

Oh bullshit Abdul.. eat Shiite

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Davi7's avatar

I tried to access the article but could not unless I opened an account! Is there another place reporting these things that does not require a subscription that you believe has integrity? I am not being facetious, I want to be able to access what you say we are not getting from the US media, which I too believe are propagandists that make Pravda look like pikers.

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Aster Taylor's avatar

I have a question of wording: in Experiment 1, did you specifically say that the Palestinian was Khalil, or just describe his actions in the abstract? The description of the profile is confusing. If the former, it seems likely that this would trigger specific political opinions, which obscures the results.

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Susanna Speier's avatar

This is fascinating. Is there more information about the number of students polled and other elements that might impact how they responded ?

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

Thanks! The sample included more than 2,200 voters — not specifically students, though it’s likely that some students were among them. The experimental design is key here: because the only things that varied between treatment groups were the identity of the aggressor and the identity of the victim, we’re able to isolate the effects of those specific factors.

What the results show is striking: respondents were much more likely to condemn antisemitism when the aggressor was anyone other than a Palestinian — and much more likely to condemn a Palestinian aggressor when the target was anyone other than Jews. That pattern points to a clear double standard in how people interpret and respond to hate.

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Robert Farrell's avatar

Or perhaps it indicates people when judging people who are currently the targets of an active genocide, they tend to cut the victims some slack.

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Robert Farrell's avatar

"Do certain aggressors receive more leniency due to perceived victimhood?"

Ah, the sweetness of unselfconscious irony.

See "History of Zionism, The" for your answer.

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Richard Redstone's avatar

Eat Shiite💩Robert I mean Abdul

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Robert Farrell's avatar

"Prior research – and the dominant message of DEI instruction – suggests that many young, left-leaning Americans have been taught that Jews are white and European (a framing that ignores the rich ethnic diversity within global Jewry – including Black, Hispanic, Mizrahi, Arab, Persian, and other non-European ethnicities);"

This point is ubiquitous and not very sound. It is correct, of course, that Jews belong to many different ethnic groups, just as Christians and Muslims do. Because they are a religion, not an ethnicity. Nevertheless, Zionists have heavily promoted this antisemitic idea of a Jewish race as part of their failed project to justify their invasion and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and the apartheid state they've erected to preserve their rule.

Whiteness is ultimately an abstraction, an intersubjectivity. Zionist Jews are white people who feel oppressed and put-upon when their whiteness is mentioned. The technical term for that, I believe, is a "Karen."

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Yoga Shalom Shanti's avatar

Thank you. We needed some solid data like this

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Barry's avatar

Hi Karen,

Great research.

Were these results tested for statistical significance? If so, at what alpha level? Was the result?

I'd love to be able to share this research with colleagues, but know that will be the first question.

Thanks!

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

Hi Barry,

I just updated ‘Hall Pass for Hate’ with a new experiment – showcases double standards for punishment if the perpetrator of campus harassment is Jewish. This may be the most telling experiment yet. Scroll to the bottom to find it!

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

hi Barry,

Yes, all differences between treatment groups, both in aggregate and within demographic subgroups such as age or political party, were tested for statistical significance at the 95% confidence level (α = 0.05).

In Experiment 1: Most of the observed differences between treatment groups are statistically significant. Specifically:

• Suspension/expulsion: All differences are significant, except among Republicans.

• Enforcement of hate speech rules: Same as above, though significance reaches only the 90% confidence level among those age 45+.

• Revoking a green card: All differences are significant, except among Republicans, where the comparison between the Euro x Black student and the Palestinian x Jewish students is significant only at the 90% level.

• Pulling funding from a university: All differences are significant, except among those age 45+, where the comparison between the Euro x Black student and any of the Palestinian x Jewish students is significant only at the 90% level.

Experiment 2: Differences are statistically significant in the aggregate for all outcomes except for the question about pulling federal funding from a university.

Experiment 3: None of the differences between treatment groups reached statistical significance. This allows us to reject the hypothesis that the effects observed in Experiments 1 and 2 were simply due to the use of Khalil’s real-life identity, rather than the fictionalized profiles.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

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Robert Farrell's avatar

What was the primary outcome being studied, and (bonus points) was this registered anywhere prior to collecting the data?

As I'm sure you're well aware, post hoc analyses of subgroups and secondary outcomes render p-values less than reliable, "p-hacking" as it's sometimes called.

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Barry's avatar

Thanks!

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Ruth King's avatar

It appears that the comparisons were well substantiate. This was not presented (nor conclusions made) based on opinion or politics.

Perhaps the persons who became emotional were not looking at statistics, nor even suggesting a method to present the factors more accurately. It appears that prejudiced "opinion" was predetermined....without ANY statistical information gathered.

Perhaps they should return to social media exclusively ?

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RAO's avatar

Fascinating, thank you!

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Rajal Cohen's avatar

This is a very interesting study. I know you are not claiming to replicate reality exactly, but you did say you made your "Palestinian" as much like MK as possible, but then you had him "intimidating Jewish students," which I don't think he has been credibly accused of doing.... I worry about how this could inadvertently sway public opinion. Note that Jewish students at Columbia are standing up for MK. https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/04/02/jewish-pro-palestinian-protesters-chain-themselves-to-st-pauls-chapel-campus-gates/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CA%20Jewish%2Dled%20group%20of,Palestinian%20students%2C%20with%20one%20demand%3A

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Richard Redstone's avatar

Fucking bullshit.. eat Shiite 💩 Abdul

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ForeignLocal 🇺🇸's avatar

What are we waiting for? Globalize the end of the Intifada!!! Fight fire with fire! We are superior, we are more moral, truth is on our side! Common sense too. Enough of their violence, oppression and bullshit! Leaves our countries already!

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publius_x's avatar

Missed opportunity: what if a Palestinian was harassing blacks or gays?

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Karen Cyphers's avatar

That’s actually in there! That’s “Experiment 2” … let me know what you think …

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publius_x's avatar

In the words of Emily Litella… “never mind”

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Jared Ross's avatar

Really? Try a google search sometime. There's no lies being told here.

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Jared Ross's avatar

First of all, I am not a provocateur, I am an attorney who lives in Florida. You are nothing more than a conspiracy nut job who masquerades as a former Jew now following Jesus. While I am not a believer in Christ as the Messiah, I am a believer that Jesus was a good man who would be embarrassed to have a "follower" like you. While we offer you facts, you throw out names and cuss words. Enjoy your tin foil hat, "Rabbi!"

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Leslie Deak's avatar

Unfortunately, this is a "pig in mud" situation. I went down this rabbit hole once, but these antisemites are blind, deaf, and dumb to anything but their poisonous rhetoric. That dude is just proving the antisemitic bias shown in the surveys.

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Jared Ross's avatar

No one called me a scheister lawyer but you, which again, is you resorting to name calling. Good job!

Also, why don't you lay off the crime dramas. You cannot suborn perjury when no oath was given and last I checked there is no oath here on this substack. Further, what manufactured facts are you speaking of? All of Karen's data is gathered through scientific data collection. You are the only one who is making false claims.

Lastly, I do not need you. You are of no significance to me. You are but a fly on the internet wall, a keyboard warrior with no value to me whatsoever. I hope you find the circus you are looking for, clown! And yes, I called you a name - a clown - because you are one!

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Richard Redstone's avatar

Eat Shiite Abdul uh I mean Edward💩

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