The Palestinian/Israeli Conflict: A Geopolitical Identity Disorder

Abstract

In this paper, the author considers that the large-group dynamics in certain war-torn, hot spots throughout the world are symptoms of a "geopolitical identity disorder." He extrapolates from the model of the severely traumatized psyche in dissociative identity disorder in which there is so much intolerable emotion, destructive aggression and conflict that different selves with different identities develop which are unable to recognize how interdependent and related they actually are. In the most extreme cases, one dissociated self tries to kill off "the other" in order to gain exclusive control of the body and make it comply with his or her wishes and vision. In actuality, however, such an attempt is a dissociated suicide plan with lethal implications. This model is applied to the Palestinian/Israeli situation where there is a deadly battle over the land. A clinical vignette is offered to illustrate these ideas and offer possibilities for help.

Israeli‐Palestinian conflict: The archaic fraternal complex

“…For example, in the 1915 McMahon–Hussein Agreement, Britain pledged to recognize Arab independence after the war, promising much of the land to the Arabs in return for their support in the rebellion against the Ottoman Empire and assistance in expelling the Turks. However, the 1916 Sykes‐Picot Agreement demarcated the Middle East post‐World War I borders, putting the empire's Arab provinces under British or French tutelage, and with the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the British government supported “a Jewish national home in Palestine” (Brenner, 2009, p. 64).…”

“…Thus, traumatized Israelis and Palestinians reenacted the archaic fraternal complex . The Arab–Israeli conflict can be interpreted as a struggle between distinct communities over the Holy Land, where Abraham's wife, Sarah, is buried, and Isaac and Ishmael eventually buried their father (Brenner, 2009). Both Arabs and Jews aspire to retrieve their lost paradise, and both fight over the Holy City of Jerusalem, which is likened, in the Old Testament, to a beautiful woman whose breasts of consolation may be suckled (Isaiah, lxvi, 10–11, as cited in Falk (1974)).…”

“…On the one hand, traumatized by centuries of persecution, Jews longed to return to their promised land (Brenner, 2009). However, the idea of the Holy Land emerged after the European state's rivalry to partition the Ottoman Empire, making Palestine “a chosen land, and no longer only promised to a chosen people” (Stora & Meddeb, 2013, p. 293).…”

“…Meanwhile, to gain the support of the different groups in the Middle East, Britain concluded several conflicting and overlapping treaties with both Arabs and Jews over land ownership. These agreements created confusion over proprietorship and, consequently, national identity, setting the stage for the 20th-century issues (Brenner, 2009). For example, in the 1915 McMahon-Hussein Agreement, Britain pledged to recognize Arab independence after the war, promising much of the land to the Arabs in return for their support in the rebellion against the Ottoman Empire and assistance in expelling the Turks.…”

A letter to George Awad, MD*

“…With this in mind, George, I'm eager to hear your reaction to my notion of a "geopolitical identity disorder", which was recently published (Brenner, 2009). Your feedback would be especially meaningful in light of your knowledge of both dissociation and the Palestinian-Israeli confl ict.…”