“In psychology, psychological projection (or projection bias) is a defense mechanism in which one attributes (“projects”) to others, one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts or/and emotions.” — Wikipedia, Psychological Projection
We have projection in politics, too, although maybe it’s sometimes used as much for attack as for defense. Look at some of these examples:
The Palestinians constantly claim that Israel is ‘humiliating’ them (indeed, ‘humiliation’ is often given as a justification for murder). But Palestinian actions, such as the assault on Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, the kidnapping of soldiers and the demands for outrageous ransoms are precisely intended to be humiliating to Israel.
The Palestinians and friends claim that Israel is racist. But blatant official racism characterizes Palestinian (indeed Arab and Muslim) media, education, and politics, and is almost unknown in the corresponding Israeli spheres.
The Palestinians and friends claim that Israel is an ‘apartheid state’. They claim that Israel is engaging in ‘ethnic cleansing’. But the Palestinians require that their state be completely free of Jews. They have done their best to ethnically cleanse areas in their control, such as Hebron in 1929 and Jerusalem in 1948.
The Palestinians claim that Israel wants to take their holy places away from them. But when Arabs controlled Jerusalem, Jews were not permitted to worship at their own sites. When Palestinians got control of Joseph’s tomb, they desecrated it. Israel has allowed all faiths free access to their holy sites — even to the point of allowing Jewish sites to be damaged, such as by the Waqf’s digging in and on the Temple Mount.
The Palestinians claim that the IDF tries to kill Palestinian children. But the Palestinians have deliberately and consistently targeted schools, school buses, kindergartens, kibbutz children’s houses, and even babes in arms for decades. The Palestinians send teenagers to blow themselves up, and small children to climb on Israeli positions during ‘disturbances’ (I have firsthand testimony to this). I don’t need to say that the IDF does its best to avoid harming civilians, especially children. This is perhaps the most false and horrible projection of all.
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