Antisemitism is rarely about Jews themselves. More often, it’s about the emotional and psychological needs of those expressing it.
As a trauma therapist, I’ve come to recognize a disturbing pattern: antisemitism frequently functions as a form of projection, a psychological defense mechanism in which a person displaces painful, disowned parts of themselves onto another group. But projection doesn’t appear in isolation. It emerges from unprocessed pain of wounds that have festered, calcified, and in many cases, morphed into resentment.
In today’s cultural climate, this projection wears a more “respectable” mask. It shows up in academic discourse, activist language, and performative allyship. But the underlying psychology is the same: unresolved trauma, fused identity, and a desperate need for moral clarity in a chaotic world.
People carrying pain, especially inherited or communal trauma, often seek narratives that simplify their distress. They want to know who to blame. They want to feel morally clean. And when a society lacks the tools to metabolize its suffering, scapegoating becomes a seductive option. Jews bearing a long-standing visibility, perceived privilege, historical continuity, and a legacy of values like justice, responsibility, and ethical accountability have always been a convenient target.
But this form of scapegoating carries a bitter irony: the very values that are now being weaponized against Jews, like human rights, justice, and equality, are deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and thought. The projection, then, becomes even more distorted: it targets the group that helped bring these ideals into the world, now falsely recast as enemies of them.
And there’s another layer beneath the surface, the dopamine effect of moral superiority. When people publicly shame or denounce others in the name of a cause, they often experience a neurological reward. The brain’s dopamine system reinforces the behavior, creating a sense of well-being and euphoria. Moral outrage becomes addictive, and nuance becomes irrelevant.
This helps explain why projection fused with resentment becomes so sticky. It doesn’t just relieve internal tension—it feels good. The target becomes a container for collective discomfort, while the accuser feels momentarily powerful, pure, and justified.
When this is left unchecked, it creates the perfect psychological storm:
- Projection offloads pain
- Resentment turns that pain into justification
- Dopamine rewards the entire cycle
These psychological dynamics don’t operate in isolation; they’re reinforced and normalized by the process of moral disengagement.
Moral disengagement allows individuals to override their internal ethical compass in order to justify behaviors they would otherwise recognize as wrong. It operates through mechanisms like dehumanization (“they’re not victims”), blame-shifting (“it’s the administration’s fault”), euphemistic labeling (“resistance” instead of harassment), and minimizing harm (“no one was really hurt”). This mental reframing numbs empathy, encourages group conformity, and suppresses self-reflection. The result is a culture where harm can be inflicted without guilt—and where moral conviction is used not to protect others, but to shield oneself from accountability.
And layered over all of this is the influence of propaganda and ideological indoctrination, which offer pre-packaged narratives that validate this psychological process and suppress independent thought. These systems don’t just inform—they shape identity, reward outrage, and harden projections into belief.
The result? A society increasingly unable to recognize when it’s doing harm—especially when the harm is cloaked in the language of justice.
None of this excuses antisemitism. But it does help explain why it adapts, why it persists, and why so many otherwise thoughtful people fall into its trap.
Understanding these psychological underpinnings is crucial. By recognizing how unprocessed trauma and projection contribute to antisemitism, we can begin to address the root causes of this prejudice. This awareness is the first step toward fostering empathy, promoting healing, and building a more inclusive society.
The work ahead is not just political or educational. It’s emotional. It’s clinical. And it’s moral.
We must build spaces for reflection over reaction, for integration over projection, and for true healing over performative harm.
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