Studies of terrorist attacks in Israel have yielded inconclusive results. Using data from telephone surveys, one group of researchers found that Israelis who had been exposed to terrorist attacks were more likely to agree with statements such as “Arabs should not be allowed equal social rights as Jews.”

On the other hand, two economists studied the question by comparing the locations of attacks with the results of election surveys. They concluded that terrorist attacks made Jewish Israelis more willing to make diplomatic and territorial concessions to the Palestinians.

The simplest explanation, Legewie suggests, is that the emotions terrorism produces depend on circumstances and can sometimes be contradictory.

He speculated that the attack might have a more pronounced effect on French politics, because the given the continual influx of refugees from the Syrian war, the issue is likely to remain on voters’ minds.