The Strategy of Perpetual Fear ... Between Reality and Fabrication
The mental terrorism of humans, individuals and groups, through planting a feeling of fear in their consciousness of something or an imminent danger, has been since ancient times one of the most important elements in creating the 'we' consciousness from the womb of the 'us'... This strategy has been used in all civilizations and throughout all historical periods to lead large masses behind a leader or ruler or to establish tyrannical rule over a people or nation... Fear was used as a unifying tool linking the fate of the individual to the group.
The Zionist movement realized from its beginnings the importance of this strategy and the necessity of using it to control the groups of Jewish settlers who came from different civilizations and descended from peoples and societies varied in culture, knowledge, and development... Zionist leaders understood that these diverse groups of Jews were connected only by religious myths, false divine promises, and fabricated ideological deception... Therefore, it was necessary to create a strategy to melt the incoming Zionist settlers to Palestine, individuals and groups, in a new crucible to forge the 'new Jew' as early Zionist ideologists envisioned.
From the beginning, fear was discovered as a magnetic force that unites all... It soon became clear that fear guarantees the creation of the 'we' and fosters a sense of belonging and cohesion through a shared fate... a fate based on fear of the other... the other Arab, the original inhabitants of the land... All Jews were tamed to fear everything and to trust no one... The history of Jews and their persecution in Europe over decades, culminating in the brutal Nazi crimes against them, facilitated the Zionist ideologists' task in formulating the strategy of fear to build the 'new Jew'.
Today, the observer in Israel watches the manifestations of this strategy, the strategy of fear, everywhere and with an intentionally exaggerated inflation not seen in any other country in the world... It is seen and monitored in soldiers carrying weapons in streets, public places, and public transportation, and in settlers carrying weapons in the style of American cowboys... It is also seen and monitored in superficial inspections in front of public places, shops, government offices, etc.
The strategy of planting fear in individuals' souls to force them to dissolve into the larger whole and create the 'we' from the womb of the 'us' has become a large economic branch in Israel employing tens of thousands of young men and women... Here I do not mean the state's security agencies... Today, the possibility of abandoning the strategy of fear in Israel is very difficult and linked directly to abandoning tens of thousands of workers in the field of 'maintaining security' or in other words; those who work to keep fear present everywhere.
Taming the citizen through fear by linking it to the group (the collective) and reducing the possibility of adapting to their environment and the possibility of viewing an event pragmatically, minimizing the likelihood of starting to think realistically about their place, existence, future, and fate, reaching in Israel the limits of personal schizophrenia.
This 'personal schizophrenia' is clearly observed when visiting Jewish villages and residential complexes in the Galilee and other places in Israel… as these residential complexes are surrounded by high fences and can only be entered through a specific gate!
After more than seventy years, the rapist still does not feel safe, even in his 'state' armed to the teeth with weapons and militants… and he still uses the strategy of fear as a magnet so that society does not fall apart and start asking questions about its reality and future… The phenomenon of the fence and gate is not seen anywhere else in the world or in any country… You see something similar in some Latin American countries that separate wealthy neighborhoods from poor neighborhoods… but the motive there is class and moral, whereas in Israel the character is colonial, settler, and rapacious… as was the case in South Africa.
In monitoring the premonitions of the strategy of fear in Israel in its multiple aspects and various forms, one recalls the saying of the great writer Ahmed Matar: Two in our homelands tremble in fear of the awakening of the sleeper: the thief and the ruler.
Another paradox that caught my attention in this context is that the vast majority of the Palestinian minority inside Palestine call these villages and residential complexes, especially those built after the Land Day revolution, settlements… This happens unconsciously… and this term, settlements, is used by young and old, worker and educated, man and woman, rich and poor, city dweller and villager… A paradox that should not be underestimated, especially if we consider that the unconscious often expresses the truth of perception and evaluation more than consciousness… The Palestinian minority deals with this reality according to the original rural proverb: The enemy’s age never becomes beloved.
