Given the cynical manipulation of the media and the distortions of reality and dehumanization of Palestinians in particular I have found the certain pages written psychologists in recent months address issues involved in the Middle east conflict in a sensible manner uncharacteristic of the twisted versions of reality of this so called 'war on terrorism', the simplistic portrayal of human beings as 'pure evil' (the Palestinians in this case) while callously ignoring the human element in the conflict (the better to bomb people by the way, exactly the motivation behind this simplistic and dehumanizing propaganda). These pages by psychologists introduce this much needed extra dimension into the discussion, bringing some responsible leadership into a void left by the simplified jingoistic not to mention one sided propaganda so adamantly and perpetually propagated by political and military leaders, for military reasons, not human ones, which should be self evident if you consider what these psychologists have to say. These pages do not directly address the legal issues and the moral quagmire surrounding the state of Israel (this whole issue of others living in this land for thousands of years, something that cannot be dismissed by religious propaganda, for example, which constantly parades fossilized artifacts in an attempt to cloud the issues surrounding the fact that this land was in fact occupied for thousands of years and not simply sitting desolate and empty waiting for the Jewish people to come home to their dusty abadoned homes.) These psychologists do not address the political and legal issues, but the human issues, and this is badly needed at this time since I know I am tired of jingoistic, not to mention inhumane propaganda, the only purpose of which is to serve a political cause and a military agenda, not to mention the whole economic agenda surrounding concerns about oil and the middle east. People and their humanity are sacrificed on the altar of powser politics, and this considered okay, let's just say its done often enough, whether it is the house Republican leader, callously repeating the old religious right line verbatim by the way, and demanding the expulsion of the Palestiians and doing so for clear political reasons by the way, given that the Jewish and Christian right lobby is real powerful and strong, and also required if a Republican wants to get elected, which explains why he just basically parroted the same old line dished out by the Christian and Jewish right for years (let the Palestinians get kicked out and move in with some Arabs somewhere.) We have also had to endure the House voting, once again for the same political reasons, and not because it was morally right, to back Israel's war on the Palestinians, buttressing this one sided demonization of Palestinians in the process. Let's just say that people are much easier to bomb if they are portrayed as horned devils, which is why they are portrayed as horned devils in the first place. These psychologists fill the void in responsible leadership in this place, saying things that need to be said, but are of course, terribly unpopular, given that it leads us to that taboo discussion about 'the root causes of violence' which no one wants to hear, because people are much easier to bomb if they are portrayed like simplistic cartoon characters, and besides, talking about the 'root causes' brings responsibility home, and also makes past leadership look inhumane and irresponsible, and that is also real unpopular. These psychologists do not offer a political solution but rather they humanize people whom have been badly dehumanized both by irresponsible, cruel and reckless religious and political leadership, in support of their own agendas, greatly advanced by the way, through this 'war on terrorism' during which many people will be brutally dehumanized and bombed to kingdom come in the process. As far as political solutions go one suggests the creation of a truly multicultural modern state rather than a 'Jewish state' but this seems less likely to be a viable solution to me, and I have always favored heavily fining the United Nations who did after all artificially create this state, dispossessing others in the process, and thus should be sued, and if there is any justice in the world , be forced to pay a hefty fine to finance the creation of an equally viable Palestinian state not just some second class slum sitting next to the Israeli state, financed by the U.S. to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars already by the way. There is an element of guiltiness that is also denied by jingoistic propaganda about 'bringing the barren empty desert to life' and the restless search for fossils which is directly linked to this issue and is the direct responsibility of the United Nations who caused it happen in the first place, and then it seems, promptly washed their hands of the whole business, leaving us with this constantly festering wound, which is so deftly exploited by the right both in Israel and in the West ... Links to these pages by psychologists follow ...

On Fear and Honor in the Conflict by Dr. Marwan Dwairy, Psychologist
A few quotes :
Among Israelis and Palestinians, there is a broad public articulating positions that are anti-human. Jews call for “Death to the Arabs!” and Palestinians celebrate suicide attacks on Israeli civilians. Beyond the condemnation of these phenomena and the legal action that may be taken to address them, an effort to understand the psychological dynamics behind such attitudes is also important ... On the Jewish side, there is a public that fears for its very existence; on the Palestinian side, there is a public whose freedom, honor and dignity have been trampled on ... They must understand that the anxiety is real and that providing security for Jews in Israel is a Palestinian interest ... a space which is promptly seized by the ideological right wing on the Jewish side, who proceed to fill that vacuum with assessments of hostile Palestinian intentions that are threatening to the Jews – in order to recruit support among a broader segment of the fearful Jewish public ... this mindset that enables the Israeli occupation to be ignored rather than recognized as the central factor in the continuation of the conflict ... The right wing is interested in avoiding the negotiating table in order to continue with the occupation and the settlements. It makes cynical use of suicide attacks to justify its goals and proceed with their implementation. Otherwise, what explanation is there for a siege on Arafat but not on Sheikh Yassin, for instance, who has announced unequivocally that he is responsible for suicide attacks? The ideological right under Sharon’s leadership has not been able to bring security but has certainly managed to distance itself from any negotiation that would compel a withdrawal and the dismantling of the settlements ... There are a great many words in Arabic that mean “honor,” depending on the context (sharaf, karaameh, a’ardh). Honor, in Arab culture, is linked to (among other things) two principal subjects: the land, and the honor of the family. In Arabic, we say “Al ardh hiye al a’ardh” (land is honor). When land is taken away, honor is trampled underfoot and there is a greater willingness to die in order that honor be restored. In recent years, we have seen an increasing severity of humiliation. Israel’s consistent opposition to a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, comprising only 22% of Mandatory Palestine, followed by long-term closure and starvation, the siege on the elected president of the Palestinian people, and attacks with tanks and aircraft on Palestinian cities and villages – all these and a great many more Israeli actions have completely crushed Palestinian honor, and it is this which underlies the willingness of so many to sacrifice themselves."


Psychologists on the psychology of suicide bombings The authors ask the questions - Are Palestinians not human? Is this why rather than trying to understand the mind of someone who commits suicide after all, they are instead brutally demonized and simplified into cartoon characters? This same horned devil portrayal is then generalized and applied to entire Arab nations, who do understand what is going through the mind of the suicide bomber, and thus feel some empathy for them, and thus must terrible people (the other night on some so called religious talk show, they were once again compared to Hitler, with lots of mindless dehumanizing blather about how Arabs 'support and encourage suicide bombings' thus proving how devil inspired and evil they really are. Instead of having the cruelly insensitive religious leadership and jingoistic propaganda constantly put out during this 'war on terrorism' (not to mention Israel's 'war on terrorism' just roundly supported by congress, the Arabs made the terrible mistake of attempting to understand and humanize a suicide bomber, thus no doubt, making them pure evil and just like Hitler, and thus a lot easier to bomb, no doubt, which really makes no sense whatsoever by the way, but then such one sided propaganda never does, doesn't even attempt to make sense, but is only their to serve the selfish interests of the very few who have the most to gain, and would like to make things easier on themselves. And bombing red horned devils is much easier than killing another human being which really goes a long way towards explaining this one sided propaganda of this 'war on terrorism' ...