DEMONIZING THE ENEMY:  Israel and the manipulation of shadow projections

Adapted from an article by Anne Baring^[1]

“Projection is one of the commonest psychic phenomena…Everything that is unconscious in ourselves we discover in our neighbour, and we treat him accordingly.” (Carl Jung)

This simple analysis by Carl Jung sheds some light on current events in the Middle East.  Israel and her Western allies accuse Hamas and Hezbollah of evil, deeds of terror and a threat to civilization.  What they have identified in Hamas, however, has triggered an equal, if not more, evil response.  Consider that those killed by Israel compared to those who died at the hands of Hamas on 7 October 2023 now equal a ratio of more than 50 to 1.  Even more damning are the lives of the innocent: for every 1 child killed on 7 October, more than 500 children have now been killed by Israel in Gaza alone.  Common sense alone should make us ask the question: who are the real terrorists?

But the global West has pre-decided who is evil and who is the victim.  And this happened through the brilliant manipulation of Shadow Projections

Mark Gerzon, in a brilliantly argued book, Leading Through Conflict, shows that the demonizing of the ‘other’ is one of the main roots of evil:

Holocaust and Genocide never, repeat never happen without lies about an evil “Other.” A single human being may hurt, or even kill, another human being. But in order to kill a hundred, a thousand, and certainly hundreds of thousands, the victims must be turned into something sub-or nonhuman. Demagogues are often twisted geniuses when it comes to the brutal craft of dehumanisation. They are brilliant at portraying those who fall outside the boundaries of “us” as less than human. The demagogue never simply leads group A without systematically demonizing and often destroying group B. He justifies his fixation on “the enemy” with all sorts of sophisticated rationales, including self-defense. But what marks the Demagogue is that his leadership actually depends on, and is energized by, the existence of a hated Other.

These are powerful thoughts considering the conflict in the Middle East:  What marks Mr. Netanyahu is that his leadership actually depends on, and is energized by, the existence of a hated “other”

Anne Baring, a Jungian Analyst, proposes that, in any conflict, an essential aspect of mobilizing collective opinion to justify aggression, retribution or pathological behaviour is the demonizing or dehumanizing of the enemy and the presentation of the conflict as a simplistic one between victory and defeat, good and evil, right and wrong, thereby effectively polarizing two groups or nations and transforming them into enemies.

Take Lebanon as a case in study.  Israel often refers to Lebanon as the “Home of Hezbollah”.  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields and therefore justified Israel’s attacks in civilian areas.  As of late September, more than 630 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 50 children and 94 women, with more than 1,700 injured, and 1 out of every 5 people being displaced.

This is the manipulation of shadow projection in the strongest terms.

Lebanon is NOT the “home of Hezbollah”.  Lebanese civilians are not hiding weapons.  On the contrary, Lebanon, per capita, is the biggest Christian nation in the Arab World with more than 32% of the population being Christian.  Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East with a Christian president, a Sunni Prime minister and a Shia Speaker of the house.  It boasts a wider democracy than Israel.  The Gospel can still be shared freely – even more so than in Israel – and Hezbollah enjoys very little support from the majority of people.

To equate Lebanon with terrorism is an act of terrorism in itself.  Lebanese people are some of the most beautiful and gentle people on earth.  The attack against Lebanon is not against Hezbollah but designed by “a twisted genius” when it comes to the brutal craft of dehumanising a whole nation

Mr. Netanyahu however understands that strategic lying in order to promote national interests is part and parcel of warfare.

But it is precisely in these situations that we risk falling under the polarizing spell of viewing one group as ‘good’ and the other as ‘evil’. The ‘good’ group may be trying to hold down another within a nation, as in Lebanon, or it may be trying to control another nation that presents a threat to it, as in Gaza, or it may be reacting against a future imagined threat, as with Iran.

Then the belief is promoted: if our group or nation is to win, the other must be defeated, banished, eliminated. If our cause is identified with good, the other must be evil and is, therefore, deserving of defeat, however great the sacrifice—ours and theirs. There is no third way. Barbaric acts are justified on both sides as a necessary means to victory. Few governments mention or mourn the loss of life on the enemy side, only those lost on ‘our’ side. In four thousand years little has changed. In a situation of conflict where survival instincts are aroused, the leader of a nation or primal male is expected to don the garb of the warrior and win the battle for supremacy.

Barring comments as follows:

For those who are not familiar with Jung’s ideas and the implications of ignoring the shadow, we can nevertheless see that his words are as relevant today as they were when the Berlin Wall which divided Germany was built, or when the Iron Curtain was drawn between the Soviet Union and the West during the Cold War. Today we have the ongoing “War on Terror”, the concrete wall built to separate Israel from the Palestinian Territories and the wall, bristling with armed men, between North and South Korea. We have the interminable lethal hatred and struggle for power between the Sunni and Shi’a tribal divisions in Islam and the attempts of Islamists to destroy the cultural and artistic heritage of tribal groups in Africa (Mali). We imagine that if only ‘they’ can be eliminated the world will be a better and safer place, yet when that particular hydra head is cut off, two more appear in its place; the problem of evil is an ongoing and cumulative one.

A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

For those willing to seek an alternative response, Rom 12:21  provides an answer:  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Of this Adam Clarke comments as follows:

Be not overcome of evil – Do not, by giving place to evil, become precisely the same character which thou condemnest in another. Overcome evil with good – however frequently he may grieve and injure thee, always repay him with kindness; thy good-will, in the end, may overcome his evil.

Let us therefore focus on our mandate:  REDEMPTION.  Let’s pray for the salvation of ALL, ANYONE, EVERYONE AND WHOEVER

You might not agree with this principle, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Let’s hear the heart of God, expressed through scripture, as the only answer to hatred, war and animosity:

• 1 Timothy 2:3-4  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants ALL people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
• 2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance.
• John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• Ezekiel 18:32  For I take no pleasure in the death of ANYONE, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
• 1 Timothy 4:10  That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of ALL people, and especially of those who believe.
• Romans 10:13 … for, “EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
• Titus 2:11  For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to ALL people.
• Revelation 3:20  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If ANYONE hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

ALL, ANYONE, EVERYONE, WHOEVER… no one is excluded from the cross of salvation. Not the Roman soldier who executed Jesus, not the criminal who was crucified with Jesus, not the IDF soldier who bombed a Palestinian village and not the Hamas terrorist who abducted an Israeli girl.

 

[1] https://www.annebaring.com/demonizing-the-enemy/