Fratricide in the Holy Land: A Psychoanalytic View of the Arab-Israeli Conflict [Hardcover]

Avner Falk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2004

    This is the first English-language book ever to apply psychoanalytic knowledge to the understanding of the most intractable international struggle in our world today—the Arab-Israeli conflict. Two ethnic groups fight over a single territory that both consider to be theirs by historical right—essentially a rational matter. But close historical examination shows that the two parties to this tragic conflict have missed innumerable opportunities for a rational partition of the territory between them and for a permanent state of peace and prosperity rather than perennial bloodshed and misery.
    Falk suggests that a way to understand and explain such irrational matters is to examine the unconscious aspects of the conflict. He examines large-group psychology, nationalism, group narcissism, psychogeography, the Arab and Israeli minds, and suicidal terrorism, and he offers psychobiographical studies of Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat, two key players in this tragic conflict today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Falk's command of many literatures and disciplines is at once awesome and necessary for the task of psychoanalytic interpretation he assigns himself."—Howard F. Stein, Ph.D., professor of family and preventive medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

"I believe it is important that attempts be made to apply psychoanalytic ideas to public events. Dr. Falk is to be commended for the courage to do so."—David A. Rothstein, M.D

From the Publisher

Terrace Books

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (December 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029920250X
• ISBN-13: 978-0299202507
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,237,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Avner Falk is an internationally-known Israeli scholar in the interdisciplinary fields of psychohistory and political psychology. He has published dozens of articles and ten books in these fields, as well as in psychobiography, psychogeography, the psychoanalysis of literature, and other areas of applied psychoanalysis. He has also had a long career as a psychotherapist. He was born in Palestine in 1943, graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, in 1966 and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1970. He lives in Jerusalem. His latest books are "Franks and Saracens," a psychohistory of the Crusades, published by Karnac Books, and "The Riddle of Barack Obama," a psychobiography, published by Praeger.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Israel - Palestine Conflict Psychology (2000), October 6, 2009

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fratricide in the Holy Land: A Psychoanalytic View of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Hardcover)

This Israeli author gives a very balanced overview of the Palestine/Arab-Israel dispute as interpreted by various psychological theories. He presents the conflicting ideas from Arab, Israeli and other psychologists, whether they be pro- or anti-Israel, or pro- or anti-Arab. He even offers the opinions of those who argue that there are no sound psychological theories for the dispute. Along with the other views, he offers his own: that both sides cannot find peace with one another until both acknowledge that they suffer from failing in getting over their grieving for past losses (while he makes the assertion, he offers few concrete `findings' for his contention). The author also reviews different theories as to how the suicide-bombers justify their actions. Despite his extensive review of many psychological issues, and even if all antagonists were to acknowledge his theory, the author does not present anything like a "12-step program" as to how the antagonists can achieve "peace." The author offers no `solutions' as to who is going to `own' the Temple Mount, where Jerusalem's city borders are to be drawn, or where the `Barrier Wall' is to be finalized. Nonetheless, this book makes for an informative read, but leaves the reader still searching for a book/study that seems "convincing" that psychoanalysis has something to offer in resolving this dispute. Also see: "Counseling and Psychotherapy with Arabs and Muslims" by Marwan Dwairy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deeper understanding of Arab-Israeli struggle, March 28, 2005

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fratricide in the Holy Land: A Psychoanalytic View of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Paperback)

Falk opens by surveying the "large body of scholarly literature on the Arab-Israeli conflict." The bulk of this scholarship is contained in the bibliography of about 50 pages. Yet the psychology of either side as accounting for the origins of the conflict or as a basic factor in sustaining it is not dealt with as a particular subject in any book; and is rarely even referred to in the volumes literature. Falk is an Israeli psychologist concentrating in political psychology and psychohistory who goes into this ignored psychological factor in depth. The psychology of the opposing sides as formed by their histories, ethnicity, and ties to the land is analyzed, as well as the psychology of leaders of each side, particularly Ariel Sharon and Yassir Arafat. "Psychogeography" is used to clarify the fierce competing visions for the same relatively small area of the Middle East the Palestinians and Israelis have been fighting over for decades. Falk's chapter on "The Psychology of Suicide Bombers" is especially timely and informative considering 9/11 and current events in Iraq.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last... an Explanation of the Israeli Jews' Behavior, August 12, 2006

By 

T. Hopkins "Aussie1945" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fratricide in the Holy Land: A Psychoanalytic View of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Hardcover)

I give this book five stars because it is a fabulous book. It solved for me one of the great mysteries of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: the behavior of the Israeli Jews.

I have been researching this conflict for several years. It is easy to understand the behavior of the Palestinians - we would all behave like them if our land had been taken and we were being viciously oppressed. No need for any fancy psychological explanations. But the Jews?... their behavior seemed inexplicable. I could not understand how the victims could become the victimizers, and of a people who had nothing to do with the horrors that had befallen them.

Avner Falk provides the answer: group narcissism. I experienced an epiphany... of course... that's it! Group narcissism is the result of injury and the Jews certainly were injured with the centuries of anti-Semitism culminating in the Holocaust. Group narcissism manifests itself in grandiosity, arrogance, self-absorption, and a complete lack of respect, empathy and compassion for others. Group narcissism describes the Israel Jews' behavior perfectly. And Avner Falk is an Israeli psychologist... so the book is even more remarkable. How honest and courageous can a man get?

Thought about the morality of Israel's destroying Lebanon? It's the morality of narcissism. It's the morality of a damaged people. It's utter immorality. But I was not surprised by Israel's actions in Lebanon as now I understand the Israeli Jews.

I do have several disagreements with the author though. This whole book, chapter after chapter, suggests equivalence... that the Jews and Palestinians are equally at fault. Not even close. The essential nature of this conflict is asymmetry. The picture on the front cover sets the tone - it shows two equally armed men wacking away at each other. It should show a giant hammering a dwarf. If we are talking military, the Israelis are the giant. If we are talking morality, the Israelis are the dwarf.

Avner Falk suggests that the Palestinians also suffer group narcissism. I've been there often and do not agree. There is widespread depression and many suffer post traumatic stress disdorder (PTSD). Is that any surprise? But I have detected very little grandiosity or arrogance, in fact, the Palestinians seem surprisingly psychologically healthy considering the horrors they have been subjected to. I suspect that Avner Falk has not been to the West Bank or to Gaza in recent times, nor do I think he has ever treated a Palestinian... or he'd know better. I think his view of the Palestinians must come from Israeli newspapers, i.e., propaganda.

Despite these objections, this book is a must-read for anybody who wants to really understand the conflict. No peacemaker, no journalist, no historian, and no policy-maker should miss it... all should read it. Thank you Avner Falk for such enlightenment.