Psychoanalytic Perspectives on the Israel-Gaza Conflict

This book creates a vital space for psychoanalytic thought on the Israel-Palestine conflict, one of the most polarizing and emotionally charged geopolitical struggles of our time. In the wake of the horrific events of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, marked by death, famine, and destruction, the global community has been deeply divided. These divisions have also reverberated within the psychoanalytic profession, straining relationships between patients and clinicians, colleagues, and professional organizations. Unlike other conflicts, this struggle often leads to such extreme polarization that thought and speech are shut down by accusations of hatred or prejudice, making meaningful dialogue nearly impossible.

Refusing the collusion of silence in the face of alleged war crimes and genocide, this book offers a thoughtful exploration of the psychological mechanisms underlying the conflict and our responses to it. It traces the historical contexts of the conflict, from its origins in 1948 and earlier, while examining contemporary manifestations of trauma, identity, and collective psychology. The chapters are carefully sequenced to move through themes of context, applied psychoanalytic theory, considerations of therapeutic and community interventions, personal narratives, and creative approaches to healing and reconciliation.

This book is intended for a wide audience, including psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, scholars of peace and conflict studies, Middle Eastern politics and history, trauma studies, social psychology, and international relations.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.