Hamas exemplified such a strategy when it attacked Israel on October 7, which triggered in many Israelis an intergenerational memory of trauma from pogroms, the Holocaust, and expulsions from European countries, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen.
Terrorists try to provoke a disproportionate response, hoping to win sympathy and radicalize a new generation of victimized youth. They must understand that a legacy of trauma makes Israeli Jews and Palestinians vulnerable to reactive violence, leading to a seemingly endless cycle of bloodshed.Īlthough terrorists rarely achieve their political aims, they often succeed at one goal: forcing the enemy to overreact. But doing so requires leaders who can reach across divided communities and provide hope in a seemingly hopeless time to override the all-too-human drive to retaliate. Just as individuals can relinquish their righteous rage and compulsion to punish indiscriminately, so, too, can groups and nations. Hamas, for instance, calls Israelis “infidels,” while the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has referred to members of Hamas as “human animals,” and both sides have called the other “Nazis.” Such dehumanizing language makes it easier to overcome inhibitions against committing atrocities. People who live in a state of existential anxiety are prone to dehumanizing others. Those who study trauma know that “hurt people hurt people,” and the adage holds true for terrorists. Terrorism is psychological warfare, and so it requires a psychologically informed response. Such is the case not only with individual terrorists, who often compete with their enemies over who is more victimized, but also with terrorist groups and nation-states. Every perpetrator of terrorism sees themself as a victim.