Anti Semitism And Psychiatry

Following World War II and the exposure of the concentration camps, psychiatry turned its attention to a vast range of cultural concerns with results that seemed to indicate a decline of stigma over time. However, it is now clear that whatever drives prejudices, especially in the case of anti-Semitism, was just dormant and perhaps not fully understood. Hate crimes and anti-Semitism broad recently re-emerged in Europe, and the United States followed shortly thereafter. The US Federal Bureau of investigation reports that New York City, which is still considered the most Jewish-friendly region in the US, experienced a 22% spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2018 alone, with more extremes in other regions of the country. Neo-Nazi groups have grown stronger in the United States and abroad, often resulting in organized acts of violence. The recent Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, PA demonstrated that these acts are not limited to one-on-one interactions, but sometimes as prolific, large-scale act. The medical community is not immune from biases either. The Cleveland Clinic recently fired a young doctor after she publicly declared her wishes to inject Jewish patients with lethal substances, which is only one of many hateful comments she made on social media over the course of several years. Psychiatrists in particular grapple with this as they try to serve patients of both Jewish and non-Jewish descent who struggle to process these acts of hate. Despite all of this, there is no training and no resource to guide medical professionals through these challenges. The editors of the recent Springer book, Islamophobia and Psychiatry, recognize this gap in the literature and seek to develop another high-quality text to meet this need. Written by expert clinicians in global regions where these incidents are most prevalent, the book seeks to be neither political nor opinion-based; instead, the text takes an innovative cross-cultural psychiatric interaction, similar to what was done with Springer’s new Islamophobia book. Coverage will range from foci on the social psychiatric aspects of anti-Semitism to how it may in turn infuse clinical encounters between patients and clinicians. Written by experts in this area, the insight and expertise of psychiatrists from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds will focus on what psychiatrists need to know to combat the negative mental health impact that increasingly rise out of this particular phenomenon. Such a multi-cultural psychiatric approach has never been taken before for this topic. This discourse is the foundation for the primary goal of this book: to develop the tools needed to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Hence, this book aims to present an updated, comprehensive bio-psychosocial perspective on anti-Semitism at the interface of clinical psychiatry.

A groundbreaking work on the psychodynamics of bigotry and anti-Semitism. As a child, Ted Rubin could not understand why some people hated him and his family only because they were Jews. He soon discovered that other groups were hated and that bigotry was a dangerous disease that destroys its hosts as well as its victims. As a psychiatrist, Dr. Rubin learned that anti-Semitism and other deep-seated prejudices are non-organic diseases of the mind: malignant emotional illnesses that can be treated only by first understanding the unique psychodynamics involved. Little has been written about this aspect of bigotry. Anti-Semitism is a bold endeavor to shed light on one of humankind's most destructive and contagious illnesses, and offers hope and healing for the future. In Anti-Semitism, Rubin lays the groundwork for a person to successfully overcome hatred, to understand where it comes from and why, and to recognize that anti-Semitism devastates people, cripples self-esteem, and is capable of “engendering great suffering, horror and murder.” Anyone who has wrestled with hatred or bigotry, either as the victim or the host, will find clarity and direction in Dr. Rubin’s eloquent analysis.

A bold and original endeavor to shed light on one of humankind's most destructive and contagious illnesses: bigotry.

This volume provides a compendium of the history of and discourse about antisemitism - both as a unique cultural and religious category. Antisemitic stereotypes function as religious symbols that express and transmit a belief system of Jew-hatred, which are stored in the cultural and religious memories of the Western and Muslim worlds, migrating freely between Christian, Muslim and other religious symbolic systems.

The persistence of anti-Semitism and its current resurgence after a brief post-Holocaust suppression, challenge those who study human behavior to locate the causal bases of anti-Semitism and find approaches to combat it. This is an astonishing report of a nine-year study of the psychodynamics of anti-Semitism. Undertaken by Dr. Mortimer Ostow on behalf of the Psychoanalytic Research and Development Fund, it puts flesh and bones on the discussion of antisemitism in Sigmund Freud's 1939 classic theoretical study Moses and Monotheism. Its close adherence to case material, and application of psychoanalytic theory to historical data and cultural products, yields new insights into bigotry and equity alike. By examining prejudiced patients and their myths, Dr. Ostow shows the common threads of anti-Semitism in a variety of national and cultural settings, even under supposed optimal conditions when antisemitism is stringently controlled. The work uses the psychiatric approach, and can be read as a study of how this area of behavioral science reveals the interplay of the individual and the group, cultural background and material opportunities. The book is divided into five major segments: Psychoanalytic interpretation of anti-Semitism in the past; clinical data on anti-Semitic sentiments in a variety of personal and national settings; mythological dimensions of anti-Semitism and apocalyptic doctrines; specific anti-Semitic myths including pre-Christian early and medieval Christian, "racial" and post-modern Muslim anti-Semitism. The final segment focuses on the pogrom mentality, including the Nazi phenomenon, antisemitic fundamentalism, and black anti-Semitism. Myth and Madness is informed by an amazing breadth of learning: from biblical exegesis to modern sociology, from close attention to mundane patients to evaluating mythic claims of the loftiest, and at times most dangerous sort. This is a landmark effort—one that will be the touchstone for theoretical and clinical works to come.

The book begins by covering the general and clinical challenges that are unique to Muslims, drawing from an internationally, ethnically, and intergenerationally diverse pool of experts. The text covers not only how psychiatrists and other clinicians can intervene successfully with patients, but how we as clinicians can have a role in addressing other societally connected mental health challenges arising from Islamophobia. The text addresses three related but distinct areas of interest: Islamophobia as a destructive force, Islam as a religion that is threatened by stigma and misinformation, and the novel intersection of these forces with the field of psychiatry. Islamophobia and Psychiatry is a vital resource for all clinicians and clinicians in training who may encounter patients struggling with these issues, including adult and child psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care physicians, counselors, social workers, and others.

The Therapized Antisemite determines the failure of psychology in the understanding and punishment of antisemitism. For over a hundred years, psychology’s vision – understanding the mind and conquering feelings with thoughts – has remained a myth in much of Western societies. Despite its theories and concepts being widely criticized and often proven wrong, it remains part of our culture, academia, and legal systems. Instead of hoping for the field of psychology to one day solve the problem of antisemitism and how to punish it, we must ask ourselves how much it has not helped but rather harmed the fight against it. Through exploring social, clinical, and forensic psychology, as well as psychohistory and the intrusion of psychology into criminal law and policymaking, The Therapized Antisemite argues that we don’t yet understand what causes antisemitism in psychological terms, let alone how to go about solving the problem. The Holocaust, the Nuremberg Trials, Hitler biographies, the Halimi murder, Hate Crime, Mental Illness, False Memory, and Criminal Profiling are all discussed within the book. The Therapized Antisemite looks to change the way readers think about antisemitism, psychology and law, and will be of interest to legal and social science academics and students researching and practicing within the fields of criminal law, criminology, antisemitism studies, Jewish studies, and psychology.

Ultra-orthodox Jews in Jerusalem are isolated from the secular community that surrounds them not only physically but by their dress, behaviors, and beliefs. Their relationship with secular society is characterized by social, religious, and political tensions. The differences between the ultra-orthodox and secular often pose special difficulties for psychiatrists who attempt to deal with their needs. In this book, two Western-trained psychiatrists discuss their mental health work with this community over the past two decades. With humor and affection they elaborate on some of the factors that make it difficult to treat or even to diagnose the ultra-orthodox, present fascinating case studies, and relate their observations of this religious community to the management of mental health services for other fundamentalist, anti-secular groups.