Daily Alert Archives

How Hamas Exploits Psychology to Harm Israel from Within and Abroad

(Jerusalem Post) Dr. Irwin J. Mansdorf - People are wired to respond to immediate rewards even if those carry long-term consequences. If the reward feels good enough and the threat seems distant enough, we take the risk. This is a weapon that Hamas has used masterfully in its psychological war against Israel and the West over the past 18 months. Hamas has turned hostage diplomacy into a psychological trap. The emotional appeal of bringing hostages home - a deeply human desire - has become the bait. The cost? A stronger, bolder, more dangerous Hamas, just as ideologically committed to Israel's destruction as ever. Public discourse is dominated by the plight of the hostages. Families appear on TV daily. Emotional appeals grip the nation and Hamas knows this. That's why, every few weeks, another hostage video surfaces, precisely timed to stoke hope, pain, and division. All the while, Hamas plays the victim: children under rubble, hospitals without power, shelters destroyed. The images are tragic - but they also serve a purpose, suggesting that the responsibility lies not with Hamas but with Israel. Headlines rarely acknowledge Hamas's role in initiating the conflict or continuing to hold innocent Israelis captive. The moral burden shifts to Israel, while the terrorists evade accountability. The moral imperative to rescue living hostages is real - but so is the government's duty to protect its citizens from future atrocities. We must recognize that Hamas is playing us. It continues to manipulate public opinion, both in Israel and in the West. In the West, those who value freedom, justice, and moral clarity must understand that the same tactics Hamas uses against Israel can - and will - be used against them too. Psychological warfare is still warfare. If we want to win, we must start by understanding the battlefield we're actually on. The writer is a clinical psychologist and a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs specializing in political psychology.
2025-05-13 00:00:00
Full Article