As Jewish as a Ham Sandwich
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Great intellect doesn’t ensure moral clarity. History reveals how brilliance can blind and why ignoring reality endangers Jews and truth alike.
Another darling of academia has thrown his lot in with the Jew-haters. But this one hit closer to home.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, the preeminent scholar on trauma and best-selling author of The Body Keeps the Score, revolutionized the understanding of hidden emotional wounds. After October 7, he even facilitated webinars on trauma for Jewish communities worldwide.
What could drive such a nonsensical statement from so bright a thinker?
But at a recent trauma-healing conference at New York’s Omega Institute, he shocked his audience by saying that Israelis “are worse than Nazis.” What could drive such a nonsensical statement from so bright a thinker? How could intellectuals side with those who oppose the Jewish nation?
This question deeply troubled me as a university student. In college, I spent hours—publicly and privately—debating Israel-haters. To better grasp the psychology of our opponents, I studied under notoriously vocal anti-Israel professors and frequently engaged with anti-Jewish and anti-American perspectives on campus.
One professor, Dr. Charles Butterworth, seemed an exception. An elderly, refined scholar of medieval Arabic and Islamic political philosophy, he taught me to dissect texts from Islamic thinkers like Averroes and Alfarabi. He even introduced me to philosophical writings of Maimonides, which he had personally translated from Arabic. I was drawn to his brilliance and assumed that someone so learned would surely recognize the barbarity of today’s Islamic extremists, and see the obvious difference between a beleaguered Jewish people and those who promote genocide against it.
Imagine my shock when he casually compared the Israeli flag to the Nazi swastika. As a young man, I was confused and disturbed. How could my teacher be so intelligent yet so wrong? He also insisted that the 1967 war was provoked by imperialist Israel. I argued that the Jews’ courageous strike was a preemptive move to survive a war of annihilation, but my efforts were in vain. We parted ways at an impasse. While I didn’t join the anti-Israel chorus (as he hoped), I remain grateful for the texts and ideas he exposed me to.
Still, the question haunted me: how could a scholar of such brilliance err so profoundly?
I found the answer after graduation, while studying Talmud in yeshiva. I realized that my question was never really a question at all.
A core element of Talmudic study is the recognition that every argument rests on a premise—or several premises. If the premise is faulty, the conclusion collapses. In the case of Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Butterworth, and so many others, I had started from the wrong premises:
My university experience showed both to be false.
The truth is that highly intelligent people can defame Israel or hate Jews without substantive reason. Their hostility is driven by emotion, not intellect. The “reasons” they offer are rationalizations, and their arguments collapse under scrutiny.
Hate is only one of many forces that cloud objectivity. Love and pain can do the same. We all know of people who blind themselves to reality out of misplaced affection. Likewise, physical or emotional pain makes clear thought nearly impossible. And when the world relentlessly demonizes your character, you may even begin to believe the lies—a phenomenon akin to gaslighting. Feelings of inferiority, too, can blind a person or nation, pushing them toward irrational and self-destructive behavior.
The belief that intellect naturally leads to moral clarity is a fallacy. The Torah proves this in its account of Bilaam, a prophet of immense brilliance in the time of Moses who nevertheless strayed from truth and righteousness.
The sages teach that Bilaam was in a spiritual league of his own, even possessing a certain advantage over Moses himself. He could “access” God in ways no one else could. Yet these extraordinary gifts did not lead him to integrity. Instead, he followed the pull of his own desires, willfully ignoring the evidence before him. Such a person—no matter how brilliant—cannot lead, for he lacks intellectual honesty. Without self-awareness or an appreciation for objectivity, leadership cannot be trusted. True spiritual exemplars, by contrast, strive to examine themselves and their motives with honesty and clarity.
One of the easiest mistakes in life is to construct an artificial reality of how the world ought to be, while ignoring how it actually is. This common tendency, often found among well-intentioned people, is what it means to live in a dream. But no amount of wishful thinking can erase the reality of evil. History—both Jewish and global—has tragically proven this again and again.
Today, many pretend that Israel is not locked in a zero-sum struggle for survival. For some, it is simply too painful to admit that our enemies are implacable, despite a century of bloodshed and trauma. Instead, they cling to the illusion that those who began, incite, and proudly celebrate genocide will somehow stop. Yet such fantasies inevitably collapse under the weight of their own corrupt ideology. And tragically, these delusions wreak havoc not only on their adherents but also on countless innocents.
This pattern spares no one—not even professors or prophets—whether named Bessel, Butterworth, or Bilaam.
We live in a different time. Of course, there is rampant anti-semitism; that’s nothing new. But Netanyahu and his cronies are taking advantage of that to justify horrible treatment of the Gazan civilians (especially children). The terrible deeds of Oct. 7 don’t make what Israel is doing okay. We need a two-state solution, not the destruction of an entire group of people. Call me a self-hating Jew if you like, but the principles I was brought up with teach that we Jews need to have rachmones for others.
You are a self hating Jew, to feel sorry for children that will murder, in a a minute because they learn since a baby to hzte Jews and Israel, the Muslim Arab terrorists don't want Israel and/ or Jews to exist, the Muslims dream is like the Nazis( Y"S) to make the world and Israel " Judenrein " ( free of Jews), it is sickening when Jews don't believe in self preservation and side with our worst enemies, I guess you would of sided with the Nazis ( Y"S) to, that wanted all Jews dead too
Just because someone has a reputation for being "smart" or "intelligent" does not in anyway mean they cannot be prejudiced against Jews or any other ethnic and/or religious group. Prejudice is NOT logical, it is purely emotional and smart and/or intelligent are just as vulnerable to reach "easy" conclusions without much thought which are prejudiced as easily as someone who is not an "intellectual".
Thank you for this fine article. Recently, I had posted a comment similar to what you say: "One of the easiest mistakes in life is to construct an artificial reality of how the world ought to be, while ignoring how it actually is" and "Their hostility is driven by emotion, not intellect." I had written that in reality we are all driven as much by emotions as by intellect and that it is a mistake to think that we can always overcome our emotions and act as our intellect tells us we ought to.
"This pattern spares no one." Yes, this is the most important conclusion. However, the question becomes "what can we do about it?"
The point I was making in my earlier post was that it is foolish to provoke others into a strong emotional response against oneself.
This article reminds me of the phrase we learned - that American Indians coined - "He speaks with FORKED TONGUE"! Given today's instant access - through the internet - & media sources - to so much information/misinformation - insinuations/innuendos - double meanings of intentions - or - alleged wrong doing etc,. Whether it's true or not - by various individuals/groups - especially those with supposed highly regarded credentials - & who operate on the principle that - "It's easier to get forgiveness - than to get permission". . We need to be far more vigilant - in accepting at face value - what we're being told - & pray & ask G-D - to give us the wisdom - to know the difference - & clearly expose the truth to us.
Great article, but Bessel Van der Kolk is hardly a "great mind". He was among those behind the "repressed memories" craze in the 1990's that destroyed families and sent innocent people to jail. Now he's promoting his latest thing. No, the body does not keep score, at least not in the way he describes. The research he cites to support his claims is poor. He is not well regarded by many researchers.
Can I ask you where I can find these sources please? I am reading his book and am curious about balance
The reason why people hate Israel is not that hard to figure out. They hate that there is a country in the middle east that is run by Jews, it is as simple as that. Hatred of Jews has been going on for centuries by both Christians and followers of Islam. I must say that now there are Christians who are supporting the Jewish state because of the danger they see in the followers of Islam who constantly remind us that they hate Christians as well as Jews. Notwithstanding this, not all followers of Islam hate Jews. In Asia there is a huge conflict between followers of Islam and followers of Siddharta aka the Buddha. I am not going to take side on that conflict, it just does not get the attention it deserves in Western countries.
There's a huge difference betwen intelligence and wisdom. University teaches "facts" (though often not always). Torah teaches wisdom. I'd rather marry a garbage man with solid common sense, than someone with 5 PhD's with no common sense.
Absolutely 👍🏻 💯
I agree with you 100 %
Excellent article, Rabbi! Thank you! Indeed, it begins with false premises. And while you were talking about your own false premises regarding those with great intellect...the false premises regarding Israel/Jews/our history itself provides the rationalization many need in order to justify their hatred of us. When people "rationalize" they tell themselves "rational lies" and we've seen this continually from the pro-"Palestinian" side. (And, of course, the term, "Palestinian" itself is a false-premise that has cost Israel hugely in the P.R. War since the "Palestinian ethnicity" was *invented* by Arafat in 1964.)
You forgot Gabor Mate.
There is nothing I detest more than an "intellectual" who is also a self-hating Jew. Sadly, I have encountered such people in my life.
I agree, the worst thing is a self-hating Jew, so how can this person be intelligent if he is a self-- hating Jew, a Jew that hates himself and Israel is worst than a non Jew that hates Jews and Israel, it is like the curse that I think came from the Jewish bible the worst enemy will come from yourself, unfortunately it is the truth sadly
Excellent article, thanks. I would add that another reason is "envy". Intellectuals in particular, consciously or unconsciously envy us for our undoutful results in science, business, literature etc. But, as Rav Sacks Z.L. taught us "gentiles respect the Jews that respect themselves" and today is more important than ever. We must be firm and strong in our Judaism and in our love for Erez Israel, which are undetachable. And BH we will win!
Excellent article. Reminds me of the great book by historian Paul Johnson, The Intellectuals. He showed how a dozen celebrated intellectuals actually led shoddy lives and were morally corrupt. I learned from that book that intellect does not correlate with morality.
Unfortunately, we can also learn that precept from experience!