One of the most powerful and profound essays I've read in my lifetime. To ignore the wisdom shared in this post is to condemn humankind to a trail of cruelty and suffering which will stretch out until the end of time.
Thank you. Very insightful and accurate. If I may share my perspective (which is of course only partial and limited, as all perspectives are) as someome who was given at birth the label 'Jewish' & 'Israeli', in my view the path forward out of this horror is not strictly in political arrangemnts (that's also important but secondary) but rather it lies in the heart of people, in the ability/capacity to see the humanity of another before viewing them as a label (palestinian, israeli, muslim, jew), as well as in coming to terms with and acknowledging the IMMENSE AND PROFOUND TRAUMA that each "side" has caused the other and in finding ways to heal together.
(and before I proceed I'd just like to say that unlike most Jews, I'm fully aware and acknowledge that the trauma that supremacist zionists caused the local people over the last century - in their brutal ruthless cruel project of dispossesion, annihilation, dehumanization and ERASURE of the local people in Palestine - is many many orders of magnitude greater than the other way around. Some of it is detailed in this shocking documentary https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3psMGQE0iW4
which i can confirm is 100% true based on my own personal experience)
This capacity mentioned above, to step out of one's bubble and hear/see the humanity of another before seeing a label (and the stories attached to the label), requires having CONTACT between the "sides" so that they may hear each other's stories and each other's pain, but this contact is prevented and denied becasue of the incredible dominance of the sectarian nationalist divisive ideology in both sides.
As someone who was given at birth the label 'Jewish' and 'Israeli' (but have already long ago seen through their inaccurate, distorting, corrupting, limiting, imprisoning, divisive, sectarian and God-denying nature, and so have shed these labels) I notice that what allows this ongoing horror to happen (not only today but for more than a century now) is that there is such a total SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION between the "sides" (this is one of the greatest successes of nationalism, to separate people) so that people from both "sides" have no full understanding of the life experience & trauma experience of those on the "other side".
From what I see, this total DISCONNECTION is exactly what allows people to cheer when "our hero fighters" (whom the other side calls terrorists or invaders/dispossesors) murder, torture, oppress, abuse, slaughter and bomb "them", because each side says "they are evil people who only want to harm us, take our land and kill us/kick us out", and each side has countless examples of actions by the other side that are supposed to "prove" the supposed rightness of their claim.
Each "side" is enclosed and contained within its own SECTARIAN BUBBLE and tells itself its own story, about its trauma and difficulties, and is completely unaware of the life experience and trauma of the "other side".
And so, when the other side reacts (in what it calls self-defense) then the first side interprets it as an attack (becasue of its DISCONNECTION from the stories and sense-making of the other side) and tells a story that "those people on the other side" are evil monsters who only want to harm our side for no reason
It's quite amazing how similar the story that each side tells itself to the story that the other side tells itself, it is practically the SAME STORY - we are the victims here who are only protecting ourselves from the aggression of those evil people over there who only want to harm us and hate us for no reason. We have no one to talk to and negotiate with, they are not human beings, they are sons of Satan who hate us from birth, who only want to destroy us and take our land and kick us out - each side speaks the exact same stories!!
And all this lack of understanding happens simply because there is NO CONTACT between the "sides". This is the tremendous success of nationalism/tribalism, there is a complete disconnection, so that I don't hear the story that the other side tells itself and how they make sense of things, I don't experience their life experience, I don't know anything about their pain, I don't realize how much the story they tell themselves is the same as the story I tell myself, and therefore there is no possibility of experiencing the HUMANITY (the fear, the search for security) that motivates the other, just as it motivates me, and therefore also indifference to the trauma that the other goes through at the hands of "our heroic fighters"
It seems to me that the main engine that drives all of this is that almost all people of the region undergo a very deep conditioning/indoctrination from a very young age into a separative and SECTARIAN RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY and learn to believe (contrary to what reality shows) that this separate and divisive identity is what will provide them with protection and security, even though it does THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
This indoctrination into the separative exclucivist religious-nationalist identity is much more than just mental brainwashing, but it is mainly the conditioning the of the nervous system and emotional system into IDENTIFICATION with a nationalist-religious label (this label equals me. This is me, This label is where my safety & security is to be found), which causes the emotions and the body to react very strongly to anything that they teach me is at odds with this identity/label.
Strong reaction that comes from the fact that the body/brain/nervous system has been conditioned to learn - through constant repetition in the first years of life (when the personality is formed), again and again and again, and without questioning - this is who I am, that I am this national-religious identity, therefore anything that questions or does not align with or appears to be at odds with this national-religious system of ideas is immediately perceived as a threat to my very existence, because I am this identity/the nationalist-religious label, this is me, and the people over there who do not carry this sacred label are my enemies, a threat to my existence..
It seems to me that those who have fallen into the abyss of sectarianism/tribalism/nationalism (and especially those whose tribalism also involves divisive, excluding, supremacist and God-denying sectarian religious beliefs) have been conditioned to believe that their saftey & security will be found through group separation and exclusion and a sense of uniqueness from the rest of humanity (a feeling that is so deeply imprinted in those who believe that the label of "Jewish" is who they actually are), that security will be found through an attempt to ensure the safety of ONLY one group of people, only those who were born into the "correct" religious-national label (and anyone who was not born into the correct national-religious label can go to hell. She matters a little but not nearly as much as the Chosen People, the most valuable and important people in the universe). It sounds ridiculous, but this is a VERY common & mainstream worldview in the extremely nationalist, ethnocentric, fascistic & exclucivist Israeli society, and it plays a huge part in what brought about this conflict in the first place, since the very early days of sectarian exclucivist zionist nationalism, and its arrival in the middle east from (mostly) eastern Europe.
To me, this is precisely the blindness of the sectarian nationalist-religious identity: trying to create security ONLY for one group, only for a part of the whole (through division, exclusion, separation from the whole and working to secure the narrow interests of only one nationalist-religious identity), such an attempt - of trying to create security ONLY for the part and ignore what this does to the whole - such an attempt can NEVER ever lead to real security but exactly the opposite - this is the number one factor that creates constant conflict and INSECURITY!!!
TRYING TO CREATE SECTARIAN SECURITY (SECURITY ONLY FOR THE PART AND NOT THE WHOLE, ONLY FOR ME AND MY GROUP) IS THE VERY CAUSE OF INSECURITY!!!
In my understanding, tribalism/nationalism and sectarian divisive exoteric religion (which is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what God actually is) is the great disease and blindness of humanity. Is the most destructive and deadly invention that humans have ever invented (not because we are bad, but because we have not psychologically matured yet, and are still blind, and in our naiveté we believed that this is how we will find safety & security, without understanding what we are doing, without realizing that we are actually creating constant INSECURITY when we search for security through the sectarian divisive nationalist-religious identity, when we seek security only for the part and not for the whole).
To me it is absolutely clear that it is the number one cause of human division, separation, antagonism, hatred, conflict, violence, murder and war..
IMHO, the bloodshed can never stop and there will never be security for anyone unless we have the courage to step out of our sectarian bubble and actually listen and truly understand the profound trauma we inflict (this is true for both sides but especially so for Israelis who are incredibly brainwashed and ignorant of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR CRUELTY INHUMANITY AND TRAUMA that supremacist right-wing zionist immigrants inflicted and inflict on the local people.
Without feeling the pain endured and understanding what palestinians are actually reacting to, indoctrinated supremacist zionists will just continue with the dispossession, cruelty, pushing out and erasure of the local people, and keep telling themselves 'they are hostile to us for no reason, simply becasue they are evil antisemite monsters by nature..'
Ethical weakness, psychopathy, bigotry... The root problem is enforced ECONOMIC inequality and its guaranteed outcome of poverty and oppression. As long as we must depend upon luck of birth, and are massively reduced to scrambling to avoid destitution and to enjoy plentitude, nationalism, war and bigotry will be written into the DNA of human society. In bygone days, global proletarian communism at least pointed to a reasonable path, but today, there is no massively-acknowledged humanitarian solution in sight. Personal kindness, charity, prayer, pronoun reform, social media chatter, etc. will at best allow a transient glimpse at what could be, but will not be allowed. The solution must be global and institutionalized, but also warm and liberating. It falls upon newer generations to excise the recrudescent cancer of irrational economics. It will never come from the billionaire puppet-masters and WEF sycophants, with their barely-disguised institutionalization of elite power and omni-surveilled slavery for whatever masses are allowed to survive. Bailing out the water without plugging the leak is a fool's errand!
I agree this is an other lens through which we can view the source of violence historically. I have a sense that Max Weber wrote about this, though I can't remember details (last time I read Weber was 1968).
It's not clear to me how to combine these two perspectives on the source of violence, though both are compelling. A third perspective was suggested on this page by glissmeister, who reminded us that sociopathic leaders use PR and mind manipulation to create wars for their own benefit. A fourth perspective is articulated in a book by Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying, who argue that violence and other problems of the modern world arise from a mismatch between the world for which humans were evolved and the world in which we presently live.
Josh again and again I am filled with such deep gratitude for your contributions here. Could you post a bit more information about that 8 week co counseling program?
re: "After the Second War, Jews who survived the Final Solution were so traumatized that they were ready to steal land and livelihood from the Palestinian people." You can't make up history. It has been jewish land for 2500 years. My grandfather was born there. Even the arabs, who accept the entore Jewish bible as fact, know it always been jewish land.
I appreciate that there are different stories people tell about the history of this ancient land. According to the BIble, Jews conquered the land from Canaaniites and Philistines. For many centuries the land was home to different peoples living in peace. It was conquered by Turks, colonized by Britain. Parts were given as a Jewish homeland by Britain, who some say had no authority to give. Other parts were conquered by Israel during the 6 Day War and gradually colonized, pushing Palestinian farmers out to make room. Israel was attacked by Palestinians and claimed the right to "defend itself" by occupying the Eastern provinces, but occupation predictably increased the tensions and worsened the attacks. I agree it's a tangled history.
Hmmm. My bible says that Semites lived there. We are ALL Semites genetically. It's the greed, the wars, the evil that grew in and around us over millennia that created the belief that we are different.
It's also the mythology of the Jewish people that they are the "Favored by God" or His special people.
Most groups self-identify as THE People. It is probably just a human trait. But it is long past time that humanity "grew up" and got over this "me, me, me" attitude and comes to realize that no group is better or more "special" than any other group, even though some cultures are inherently "better" than others: those that abuse, traumatize and subjugate anyone.
But it sure upsets the hard core Christians. Still, I go with "the preponderance of evidence", and they have virtually none at all. That is why the Christian church has always emphasized "belief". But one can believe anything they want. That doesn’t turn it into reality. And much of the Bible, that the Christians treat like a history book, is historically flat out wrong— some just made up. Places wrong. The timing or order of events wrong. Some Biblical characters even seem to be composits of several people, or are just fictional. And the Christian don't even believe their own book! It says in John 1 that "the Word was God". Where does it say "the Bible was God"? But they insist that that book, much of it compiled from passed-down oral stories, is "right from the horse's mouth" inspired by God, if not written by him (it), and therefore every word has to be true! Even dreams like Revelation, with all its incomprehensible symbolism! They are CONVINCED that events will play out exactly as written, even though nobody understands it! Why? Because that is what they have been told, and if they don't Believe, they might end up in hell forever (another myth!). Their cognitive dissonance is a serious problem.
Yeah, after they killed and smote the original inhabitants and then abandoned the land for thousands of years. No one is buying this ziocrap any longer.
That part went in the agenda direction which surprised me to suddenly bear off the railroad track to one side of history. For such a wise piece of writing to become, frankly, judgmental and over simplified and uninformed.
I recommend the novels of Susan Abulhawa as a way for Jews like me to understand what life has been like for Palestinians of four generations since the establishment of Israel. She has a big heart, a deep understanding of human nature, and an appreciation of the forces that lead good people on both sides of the conflict to do horrible things. She's also a terrific story-teller.
I have not been moved by the Israeli propaganda, or the ubiquitous meme that "Israel has a right to defend itself." Retaliation isn't defense, and killing civilians is no deterrent to others who are killing civilians -- quite the contrary.
However, here is an interview with Shiva Ayyadurai that reached me where I live, told me some things that I didn't know. This is the best case for the Israeli side of the war that I have seen. Kevin Barrett's substack. https://kevinbarrett.substack.com/p/dr-shiva-ayyadurai-on-booby-fing . Search for the phrase "We talked a lot about the history of Palestine" and begin reading there. Let me know what you think.
You hint at a narrative that is alien and unfamiliar to me. Is there anything besides Jewish virtual library that you can suggest I might read for background?
That’s all well and good for some people primarily in the initial stages of real trauma, not the made up kind folks claim on the internet. My dad was “traumatized” first growing up dirt poor in the dustbowl and then getting shipped off to the bankster’s party known as WWII. It was a strong sense of duty to his kids, with moderate use of alcohol, that kept him going, not coddling from do-gooders, which he would not have accepted anyway. Yes everyone has demons, but validating personal chimeras is not the way. People who haven’t learned to take responsibility for their own reactions to events will never be free.
Nobody needs to recover from (mental/emotional) trauma. People need to understand, once the outside "cause" is removed, that they themselves created their trauma and only they themselves can free themselves from it. Using language indicating there is anything to "recover" from, that you must "recover" from it, or that there is some permanent mental state that is ideal to return to misses the mark entirely. Adapt and move on is a sensible goal. Even simply Ignoring one's trauma and focusing ahead works over time. Now would be a good time to remember your buddhist training, which doesn't teach that its message is only for some people, not others.
Thank you, Robert. There's a lot here, and I will try to take it in. It is my practice to read partisans on both sides of controversial issues, but to pay more attention to the side I tend to disagree with.
Josh, Thank you. Your sensitive and engaging essay has stirred up some important comments which are much appreciated. glissmeister and HeadAndHeart especially provide two points: the deep psychosis/mass formation of most of humanity, and how growing up with a superior belief of being one of the chosen ones brings separation..
This conflict comes across from different historical causes, but the original one is, a fight over two religious identities with contrasting proclivities, with the land of Palestine as the ancient focal epicenter.
Jews and Muslims each have a monopoly on God. Zionism has only been around since 1846 or so, it never took the place of the Jewish psyche from 4,000 years ago., which if it was the dominant movement which brought Jews to Palestine, might have created a more empathetic migration and more friendly integration with the Palestinians. Unfortunately, Zionism brutal invasion brought about the need for Muslim terrorist groups, such as Hamas, and ISIS, which as I have recently learned, if destroyed, could very likely reincarnate/reemerge as some other group.
As an American Jew who took years to understand the Jewish psyche, beyond the painful reality that innocent civilians have been and are being killed by psychopathic egotistical players, especially children, taking the needed distance from all of the facts over the last 80 years (I am not that old), isn't enough, to really "understand".
You and your precious readers might be interested in watching this compelling seminar discussion:
Israel and the Civilized World of War from JihadWatch
I would love to receive comments regarding this video, if any of you watch it. I am not a know it all and would like to know what others think, to broaden my understanding.
I agree that psychopathic leadership is another dimension to the simple description that I have written here. Their actions are so perverse that I can't rationalize their motives.
One of the most powerful and profound essays I've read in my lifetime. To ignore the wisdom shared in this post is to condemn humankind to a trail of cruelty and suffering which will stretch out until the end of time.
Thank you. Very insightful and accurate. If I may share my perspective (which is of course only partial and limited, as all perspectives are) as someome who was given at birth the label 'Jewish' & 'Israeli', in my view the path forward out of this horror is not strictly in political arrangemnts (that's also important but secondary) but rather it lies in the heart of people, in the ability/capacity to see the humanity of another before viewing them as a label (palestinian, israeli, muslim, jew), as well as in coming to terms with and acknowledging the IMMENSE AND PROFOUND TRAUMA that each "side" has caused the other and in finding ways to heal together.
(and before I proceed I'd just like to say that unlike most Jews, I'm fully aware and acknowledge that the trauma that supremacist zionists caused the local people over the last century - in their brutal ruthless cruel project of dispossesion, annihilation, dehumanization and ERASURE of the local people in Palestine - is many many orders of magnitude greater than the other way around. Some of it is detailed in this shocking documentary https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3psMGQE0iW4
which i can confirm is 100% true based on my own personal experience)
This capacity mentioned above, to step out of one's bubble and hear/see the humanity of another before seeing a label (and the stories attached to the label), requires having CONTACT between the "sides" so that they may hear each other's stories and each other's pain, but this contact is prevented and denied becasue of the incredible dominance of the sectarian nationalist divisive ideology in both sides.
As someone who was given at birth the label 'Jewish' and 'Israeli' (but have already long ago seen through their inaccurate, distorting, corrupting, limiting, imprisoning, divisive, sectarian and God-denying nature, and so have shed these labels) I notice that what allows this ongoing horror to happen (not only today but for more than a century now) is that there is such a total SEPARATION AND DISCONNECTION between the "sides" (this is one of the greatest successes of nationalism, to separate people) so that people from both "sides" have no full understanding of the life experience & trauma experience of those on the "other side".
From what I see, this total DISCONNECTION is exactly what allows people to cheer when "our hero fighters" (whom the other side calls terrorists or invaders/dispossesors) murder, torture, oppress, abuse, slaughter and bomb "them", because each side says "they are evil people who only want to harm us, take our land and kill us/kick us out", and each side has countless examples of actions by the other side that are supposed to "prove" the supposed rightness of their claim.
Each "side" is enclosed and contained within its own SECTARIAN BUBBLE and tells itself its own story, about its trauma and difficulties, and is completely unaware of the life experience and trauma of the "other side".
And so, when the other side reacts (in what it calls self-defense) then the first side interprets it as an attack (becasue of its DISCONNECTION from the stories and sense-making of the other side) and tells a story that "those people on the other side" are evil monsters who only want to harm our side for no reason
It's quite amazing how similar the story that each side tells itself to the story that the other side tells itself, it is practically the SAME STORY - we are the victims here who are only protecting ourselves from the aggression of those evil people over there who only want to harm us and hate us for no reason. We have no one to talk to and negotiate with, they are not human beings, they are sons of Satan who hate us from birth, who only want to destroy us and take our land and kick us out - each side speaks the exact same stories!!
And all this lack of understanding happens simply because there is NO CONTACT between the "sides". This is the tremendous success of nationalism/tribalism, there is a complete disconnection, so that I don't hear the story that the other side tells itself and how they make sense of things, I don't experience their life experience, I don't know anything about their pain, I don't realize how much the story they tell themselves is the same as the story I tell myself, and therefore there is no possibility of experiencing the HUMANITY (the fear, the search for security) that motivates the other, just as it motivates me, and therefore also indifference to the trauma that the other goes through at the hands of "our heroic fighters"
It seems to me that the main engine that drives all of this is that almost all people of the region undergo a very deep conditioning/indoctrination from a very young age into a separative and SECTARIAN RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY and learn to believe (contrary to what reality shows) that this separate and divisive identity is what will provide them with protection and security, even though it does THE EXACT OPPOSITE!!
This indoctrination into the separative exclucivist religious-nationalist identity is much more than just mental brainwashing, but it is mainly the conditioning the of the nervous system and emotional system into IDENTIFICATION with a nationalist-religious label (this label equals me. This is me, This label is where my safety & security is to be found), which causes the emotions and the body to react very strongly to anything that they teach me is at odds with this identity/label.
Strong reaction that comes from the fact that the body/brain/nervous system has been conditioned to learn - through constant repetition in the first years of life (when the personality is formed), again and again and again, and without questioning - this is who I am, that I am this national-religious identity, therefore anything that questions or does not align with or appears to be at odds with this national-religious system of ideas is immediately perceived as a threat to my very existence, because I am this identity/the nationalist-religious label, this is me, and the people over there who do not carry this sacred label are my enemies, a threat to my existence..
It seems to me that those who have fallen into the abyss of sectarianism/tribalism/nationalism (and especially those whose tribalism also involves divisive, excluding, supremacist and God-denying sectarian religious beliefs) have been conditioned to believe that their saftey & security will be found through group separation and exclusion and a sense of uniqueness from the rest of humanity (a feeling that is so deeply imprinted in those who believe that the label of "Jewish" is who they actually are), that security will be found through an attempt to ensure the safety of ONLY one group of people, only those who were born into the "correct" religious-national label (and anyone who was not born into the correct national-religious label can go to hell. She matters a little but not nearly as much as the Chosen People, the most valuable and important people in the universe). It sounds ridiculous, but this is a VERY common & mainstream worldview in the extremely nationalist, ethnocentric, fascistic & exclucivist Israeli society, and it plays a huge part in what brought about this conflict in the first place, since the very early days of sectarian exclucivist zionist nationalism, and its arrival in the middle east from (mostly) eastern Europe.
To me, this is precisely the blindness of the sectarian nationalist-religious identity: trying to create security ONLY for one group, only for a part of the whole (through division, exclusion, separation from the whole and working to secure the narrow interests of only one nationalist-religious identity), such an attempt - of trying to create security ONLY for the part and ignore what this does to the whole - such an attempt can NEVER ever lead to real security but exactly the opposite - this is the number one factor that creates constant conflict and INSECURITY!!!
TRYING TO CREATE SECTARIAN SECURITY (SECURITY ONLY FOR THE PART AND NOT THE WHOLE, ONLY FOR ME AND MY GROUP) IS THE VERY CAUSE OF INSECURITY!!!
In my understanding, tribalism/nationalism and sectarian divisive exoteric religion (which is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what God actually is) is the great disease and blindness of humanity. Is the most destructive and deadly invention that humans have ever invented (not because we are bad, but because we have not psychologically matured yet, and are still blind, and in our naiveté we believed that this is how we will find safety & security, without understanding what we are doing, without realizing that we are actually creating constant INSECURITY when we search for security through the sectarian divisive nationalist-religious identity, when we seek security only for the part and not for the whole).
To me it is absolutely clear that it is the number one cause of human division, separation, antagonism, hatred, conflict, violence, murder and war..
IMHO, the bloodshed can never stop and there will never be security for anyone unless we have the courage to step out of our sectarian bubble and actually listen and truly understand the profound trauma we inflict (this is true for both sides but especially so for Israelis who are incredibly brainwashed and ignorant of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR CRUELTY INHUMANITY AND TRAUMA that supremacist right-wing zionist immigrants inflicted and inflict on the local people.
Without feeling the pain endured and understanding what palestinians are actually reacting to, indoctrinated supremacist zionists will just continue with the dispossession, cruelty, pushing out and erasure of the local people, and keep telling themselves 'they are hostile to us for no reason, simply becasue they are evil antisemite monsters by nature..'
https://oneworldrenaissance.com/2021/01/23/holism-fragmentation-and-our-endangered-future-a-new-vision-and-a-new-hope/
Now this is well thought out and inclusive of all humanity and the root of the problem. Disconnection. Othering. Fear. Both sides. All sides.
Ethical weakness, psychopathy, bigotry... The root problem is enforced ECONOMIC inequality and its guaranteed outcome of poverty and oppression. As long as we must depend upon luck of birth, and are massively reduced to scrambling to avoid destitution and to enjoy plentitude, nationalism, war and bigotry will be written into the DNA of human society. In bygone days, global proletarian communism at least pointed to a reasonable path, but today, there is no massively-acknowledged humanitarian solution in sight. Personal kindness, charity, prayer, pronoun reform, social media chatter, etc. will at best allow a transient glimpse at what could be, but will not be allowed. The solution must be global and institutionalized, but also warm and liberating. It falls upon newer generations to excise the recrudescent cancer of irrational economics. It will never come from the billionaire puppet-masters and WEF sycophants, with their barely-disguised institutionalization of elite power and omni-surveilled slavery for whatever masses are allowed to survive. Bailing out the water without plugging the leak is a fool's errand!
I agree this is an other lens through which we can view the source of violence historically. I have a sense that Max Weber wrote about this, though I can't remember details (last time I read Weber was 1968).
I found articles in The Economist and the Brookings Institute correlating Gini coefficient with violent crime. These are pretty pro-capitalist organs, and you'd expect that if anything they would be underplaying the relationship. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/is-the-risk-of-crime-against-businesses-greater-in-more-unequal-countries/
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/06/07/the-stark-relationship-between-income-inequality-and-crime
Here's a study that found a much smaller correlation: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/06/07/the-stark-relationship-between-income-inequality-and-crime
It's not clear to me how to combine these two perspectives on the source of violence, though both are compelling. A third perspective was suggested on this page by glissmeister, who reminded us that sociopathic leaders use PR and mind manipulation to create wars for their own benefit. A fourth perspective is articulated in a book by Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying, who argue that violence and other problems of the modern world arise from a mismatch between the world for which humans were evolved and the world in which we presently live.
Thank you for writing this essay.
Josh again and again I am filled with such deep gratitude for your contributions here. Could you post a bit more information about that 8 week co counseling program?
Sure -- I just wrote up an introduction to co-counseling on my other blog.
https://joshmitteldorf.substack.com/p/ill-be-your-shrink-if-youll-be-mine
Pfizer turned this into a slogan:
"Hurt people! Hurt people!"
You left out the:
"Kill people! Kill people!
Beautiful, insightful, and brilliant. Thankyou.
re: "After the Second War, Jews who survived the Final Solution were so traumatized that they were ready to steal land and livelihood from the Palestinian people." You can't make up history. It has been jewish land for 2500 years. My grandfather was born there. Even the arabs, who accept the entore Jewish bible as fact, know it always been jewish land.
I appreciate that there are different stories people tell about the history of this ancient land. According to the BIble, Jews conquered the land from Canaaniites and Philistines. For many centuries the land was home to different peoples living in peace. It was conquered by Turks, colonized by Britain. Parts were given as a Jewish homeland by Britain, who some say had no authority to give. Other parts were conquered by Israel during the 6 Day War and gradually colonized, pushing Palestinian farmers out to make room. Israel was attacked by Palestinians and claimed the right to "defend itself" by occupying the Eastern provinces, but occupation predictably increased the tensions and worsened the attacks. I agree it's a tangled history.
On the other side, I'd ask you to listen to Ralph Nader's podcast on genocide and war crimes. https://www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/p/a-genocide-tax
Hmmm. My bible says that Semites lived there. We are ALL Semites genetically. It's the greed, the wars, the evil that grew in and around us over millennia that created the belief that we are different.
It's also the mythology of the Jewish people that they are the "Favored by God" or His special people.
Most groups self-identify as THE People. It is probably just a human trait. But it is long past time that humanity "grew up" and got over this "me, me, me" attitude and comes to realize that no group is better or more "special" than any other group, even though some cultures are inherently "better" than others: those that abuse, traumatize and subjugate anyone.
Thank you for rightly referring to the bible as mythology.
But it sure upsets the hard core Christians. Still, I go with "the preponderance of evidence", and they have virtually none at all. That is why the Christian church has always emphasized "belief". But one can believe anything they want. That doesn’t turn it into reality. And much of the Bible, that the Christians treat like a history book, is historically flat out wrong— some just made up. Places wrong. The timing or order of events wrong. Some Biblical characters even seem to be composits of several people, or are just fictional. And the Christian don't even believe their own book! It says in John 1 that "the Word was God". Where does it say "the Bible was God"? But they insist that that book, much of it compiled from passed-down oral stories, is "right from the horse's mouth" inspired by God, if not written by him (it), and therefore every word has to be true! Even dreams like Revelation, with all its incomprehensible symbolism! They are CONVINCED that events will play out exactly as written, even though nobody understands it! Why? Because that is what they have been told, and if they don't Believe, they might end up in hell forever (another myth!). Their cognitive dissonance is a serious problem.
Yeah, after they killed and smote the original inhabitants and then abandoned the land for thousands of years. No one is buying this ziocrap any longer.
That part went in the agenda direction which surprised me to suddenly bear off the railroad track to one side of history. For such a wise piece of writing to become, frankly, judgmental and over simplified and uninformed.
I recommend the novels of Susan Abulhawa as a way for Jews like me to understand what life has been like for Palestinians of four generations since the establishment of Israel. She has a big heart, a deep understanding of human nature, and an appreciation of the forces that lead good people on both sides of the conflict to do horrible things. She's also a terrific story-teller.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=abulhawa&crid=3TIDTNT5LZZIS&sprefix=abulhaw
I have not been moved by the Israeli propaganda, or the ubiquitous meme that "Israel has a right to defend itself." Retaliation isn't defense, and killing civilians is no deterrent to others who are killing civilians -- quite the contrary.
However, here is an interview with Shiva Ayyadurai that reached me where I live, told me some things that I didn't know. This is the best case for the Israeli side of the war that I have seen. Kevin Barrett's substack. https://kevinbarrett.substack.com/p/dr-shiva-ayyadurai-on-booby-fing . Search for the phrase "We talked a lot about the history of Palestine" and begin reading there. Let me know what you think.
You hint at a narrative that is alien and unfamiliar to me. Is there anything besides Jewish virtual library that you can suggest I might read for background?
More foggy history from rabid zionists who deflect from the terror that birthed the jewish state and is on vivid display as we speak.
If people could use their battle with trauma as a vehicle to help others, rather than a weapon to attack others, that would break this vicious cycle.
That’s all well and good for some people primarily in the initial stages of real trauma, not the made up kind folks claim on the internet. My dad was “traumatized” first growing up dirt poor in the dustbowl and then getting shipped off to the bankster’s party known as WWII. It was a strong sense of duty to his kids, with moderate use of alcohol, that kept him going, not coddling from do-gooders, which he would not have accepted anyway. Yes everyone has demons, but validating personal chimeras is not the way. People who haven’t learned to take responsibility for their own reactions to events will never be free.
Different people are able to recover from trauma in different ways. Most never recover fully.
Nobody needs to recover from (mental/emotional) trauma. People need to understand, once the outside "cause" is removed, that they themselves created their trauma and only they themselves can free themselves from it. Using language indicating there is anything to "recover" from, that you must "recover" from it, or that there is some permanent mental state that is ideal to return to misses the mark entirely. Adapt and move on is a sensible goal. Even simply Ignoring one's trauma and focusing ahead works over time. Now would be a good time to remember your buddhist training, which doesn't teach that its message is only for some people, not others.
Counter the anti-Israel propaganda
The world is being flooded with anti-semitic propaganda from left wing activists, Islamic fundamentalists, Russia,
China, Iran, the NY Times etc.
Here's some factual links to counter the propaganda:
Did Israel Steal Palestinian Land?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btVFgqkgkzw
A detailed explanation of how the world has been lied to about Israel and the Palestinians
HISTORY of Israel: Timeline
https://www.ducksters.com/geography/country/israel_history_timeline.php
https://jcpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TimeLine.pdf
https://embassies.gov.il/UnGeneva/AboutIsrael/history/Pages/History-Israel-Timeline.aspx
The Untold Story Of Gazans
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-untold-stories-of-gazans
Palestinian on Hamas
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CycC3rFPpcd/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Hamas leader shows why no cease-fire is possible if Israel is to survive
https://nypost.com/2023/11/01/opinion/ghazi-hamad-interview-proves-israel-must-destroy-hamas-2/
speech by Noa Tishby
Former Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism. Author of the NYT best selling book: “Israel A Simple Guide” link below
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyrHWQ5vO18/
Thank you, Robert. There's a lot here, and I will try to take it in. It is my practice to read partisans on both sides of controversial issues, but to pay more attention to the side I tend to disagree with.
See above, where I linked to Kevin Barrett:
https://kevinbarrett.substack.com/p/dr-shiva-ayyadurai-on-booby-fing
This is the strongest case I've seen for the Israeli side of the war.
Josh, Thank you. Your sensitive and engaging essay has stirred up some important comments which are much appreciated. glissmeister and HeadAndHeart especially provide two points: the deep psychosis/mass formation of most of humanity, and how growing up with a superior belief of being one of the chosen ones brings separation..
This conflict comes across from different historical causes, but the original one is, a fight over two religious identities with contrasting proclivities, with the land of Palestine as the ancient focal epicenter.
Jews and Muslims each have a monopoly on God. Zionism has only been around since 1846 or so, it never took the place of the Jewish psyche from 4,000 years ago., which if it was the dominant movement which brought Jews to Palestine, might have created a more empathetic migration and more friendly integration with the Palestinians. Unfortunately, Zionism brutal invasion brought about the need for Muslim terrorist groups, such as Hamas, and ISIS, which as I have recently learned, if destroyed, could very likely reincarnate/reemerge as some other group.
As an American Jew who took years to understand the Jewish psyche, beyond the painful reality that innocent civilians have been and are being killed by psychopathic egotistical players, especially children, taking the needed distance from all of the facts over the last 80 years (I am not that old), isn't enough, to really "understand".
You and your precious readers might be interested in watching this compelling seminar discussion:
Israel and the Civilized World of War from JihadWatch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJB3miYj_fs
I would love to receive comments regarding this video, if any of you watch it. I am not a know it all and would like to know what others think, to broaden my understanding.
Thank you and Blessings to All
I agree that psychopathic leadership is another dimension to the simple description that I have written here. Their actions are so perverse that I can't rationalize their motives.
In the words of my Gen x self, Word!