The Treachery Trope: Anti-Semitism as Indicative of a Psycho-Spiritual Disease Associated with the Betrayal of Cultural Ideals and of the Self

The study seeks to place anti-semitism in a wider context by exploring the dynamics of betrayal—a designation often attributed to Jews, but also attributed to many victimized groups who are also deemed to be treacherous. The study argues that what lies at the heart of this practice is the betrayal (on the part of the victimizers) of ideological or personal principles that have not been realized. Instead of taking responsibility for this painful failure, those who have betrayed their principles project their treachery onto a set of victims who are accordingly punished as the ‘true’ embodiments of treachery. In view of this, cultural and personal health can only be improved if there is a greater consciousness of this psycho-spiritual dynamic; and, as the study suggests, principles associated with enlightenment may be brought to bear against this harmful affliction, which I have named the treachery rope.