On Mako, roughly half of the top-level comments praised or justified Nevo’s actions, accounting for around 70 percent of the total likes. The most popular suggested that he should be honored at Israel’s annual Independence Day ceremony, attracting more than 5,000 likes.

On N12, outright praise was less common, but comments questioning the allegations, attacking the Israeli media for reporting the story, or accusing authorities of treating Jewish suspects more harshly than Palestinian attackers attracted far more support than those condemning the plot.

Two Instagram comments sections, albeit under posts by mainstream outlets, are hardly a representative sample of Israeli public opinion. But it is difficult to dismiss the dominant reactions to Nevo’s plot as a fringe phenomenon, particularly in a country where calls for the expulsion and killing of Palestinians have become commonplace among politicians, media personalities, and, increasingly, the broader public. And while the two comments sections certainly differed in tone, both revealed how readily the prospect of mass violence against Palestinians could be celebrated or simply brushed aside.

Perhaps most striking, though, is the apparent absence of any fear of consequences. Thousands of Israelis openly endorsed a plan to massacre Palestinian civilians, even as Palestinian citizens of Israel have faced arrest and prosecution for social media posts expressing solidarity with Gaza or merely displaying a Palestinian flag. It is hard to imagine a more clear-cut illustration of apartheid.

...

The contrast between the two comments sections is important to note. If, on Mako, many commenters wanted Nevo honored or lamented that his plan was thwarted, on N12, the general response was to question why his case deserved attention at all. But both conversations failed to appreciate the horror that could have been visited on the professor’s intended Palestinian victims.