Monsters in the matrix: Pathological social-psychic-retreats, the Foundational Myth of Zionism and the haunted struggle for peace in Palestine

This paper critically examines Israeli narratives concerning Israel’s foundational matrix and social unconscious within the group analytic community. The author argues that Israel functions as a pathologically narcissistic social-psychic-retreat, sustained by discourses of denial and projective processes. Drawing on object relations theory, the paper explores vertical parent-child and horizontal sibling dynamics to offer a preliminary hypothesis on the aetiology of this retreat. It argues that, although social-psychic retreats are typically understood as defensive responses to trauma, the Israeli structure is primarily underpinned by a perpetrator mentality, rooted in narcissistic envy, shame and guilt linked to its deceptive origins and violent treatment of Palestinians. The author concludes with reflections on affectivism as a means of challenging the Israeli social-psychic retreat and working towards its dismantlement.