A recent and timely article from Steve Maltz, October 2025. Section headers added by Christian Comment.
In their right minds?
Have we entered the ‘Twilight Zone?” A Labour politician in tears at the ‘images’ he has seen coming out of Gaza. Doesn’t he know they are fakes? A female ‘influencer’ chants ‘From the River to the Sea’, adding that the Jews can go to hell. A young boy interviewed in the streets declares that “Israel shouldn’t even exist!” A TikTok post consists of a young man screaming continuously, “I hate Israel!” Shouldn’t these be classified as hate crimes and the people prosecuted? More importantly … where do these thoughts and declarations come from?
Well, I thought I would investigate. When a country is demonised and judged by standards not applied to any other country, we acknowledge that there is something very wrong here. Israel Derangement Syndrome is that sickness, and it has conquered the West. Derangement? That’s serious. How can this be? Are we talking of mental illness here?
Eminent neuroscientist and author Iain McGilchrist believes that it is the fault of brain chemistry, that the world is becoming increasingly ‘left brained’, stoking up the culture wars and leading to a deluded world. This is a massive subject, but when we observe that overtly ‘left brained’ people can be pedantic, uncompromising, intolerant and generally deluded we get an insight into the forces that drive those ‘pro Palestinians’ into such hateful positions.
But it goes further than that , and I have identified three attempts at analysing these people, each giving a unique set of insights.
Moral Foundations Theory
This has been popularised by Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Righteous Mind. Wikipedia describes it as “a social psychological theory intended to explain the origins of and variations in human moral reasoning on the basis of innate modular foundations.” In short, it states that morality comprises of six foundations. These are: care, liberty, justice, loyalty, respect and sanctity. These can be sub-divided. The first three are concerned with individual well-being and rights and the last three with group cohesion and social stability.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. Those in our culture who identify as ‘progressives’ (the kind of people I spoke of earlier who would take an exclusively pro-Palestinian position) would identify with the first group, of individual well-being and rights. This means that they are strong on care, liberty and justice, but tend to neglect loyalty, respect and sanctity. A more balanced individual (hopefully you and me) would identify with all six moral foundations, with a healthy balance of care, liberty, justice, loyalty, respect and sanctity.
Progressives and progression
For the ‘progressives’ we can end up with an anti-Israel Moral Matrix. (I am indebted to Ruben Gomez of King’s Evangelical Divinity School for this analysis), where they are strong on ‘compassion for the victims’ (care), ‘freedom for the oppressed’ (liberty) and ‘Justice and rights for all’ (justice) but weak on ‘loyalty to the group’, ‘respect for history and tradition’ , and ‘sanctity of life and land’.
Perhaps you can see how this is reflected in their actions, with their disregard for history, traditions and the elements that are important to our Christian faith. All that matters to them is ’compassion, freedom and justice’ for Palestinians, without a single crumb of concern for the Israelis. There is a connection here with the left-right brain theories of Dr McGilchrist, where the left brain cannot cope with criticism or any other realities, everything is very ‘black or white’. A more balanced individual, living in the reality of all six moral foundations, would have equal concern for both Israel and Palestine. Let us now move on to a different set of insights.
‘Radical Conformity’
This refers to an extreme or uncompromising adherence to rules or expectations, often at the expense of individual identity, critical thinking, or moral judgment. Its key characteristics are: unquestioning obedience to authority, the suppression of individuality to fit in with an ideology, fear of dissent and over-identification with a particular social, political, or religious system. I can hear warning bells here.
Hold on, I thought. Isn’t this what we see with these endless pro-Palestinian marches and disruptions? Lack of ethical reasoning, or any sort of reasoning and also, did these people have any personal freedom or were they just following the crowd? Over-identification? The Palestinian cause! Fear of exclusion? Blind loyalty? We took this further and my friend asked an A.I. app, I want to understand it in the context of antisemitism at pro-Palestine marches. And here’s what it said:
“When we talk about radical conformity in this context, we’re referring to how groups, events, or movements may enforce strict ideological alignment, and in doing so, can foster or tolerate extreme expressions like antisemitic rhetoric without challenge”.
So, what is the significance of this? Well, it is evidently highlighting behaviour that is not normal, that can be described by a clever term, radical conformity. In other words, this is abhorrent behaviour, it is a form of madness. And it is this radical conformity that is the current prominent manifestation of antisemitism. I will finish my analysis. The following was taken from an anonymous social media post sent to me:
Cluster B personality disorders
Traits typically recognised as disordered are now celebrated as moral virtues in activist culture, with ‘Palestine’ as their perfect stage. Behaviours that are considered toxic in personal relationships are now paraded as virtues in today’s activist culture, traits such as manipulation, black-and-white thinking, hysteria, gaslighting and violent outbursts. Psychologists group these under the Cluster B personality disorders; borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial. Here’s how they pan out.
Borderline Personality Disorder is characterised by an unstable self-image, frantic attempts to avoid abandonment, dramatic mood swings and a chronic emptiness. At its heart is splitting, the inability to recognise complexity in people or groups, reducing them instead to all good or all bad. Nowhere is it more obvious than in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, where Palestinians are cast as wholly innocent and Israelis as wholly evil. Any attempt at complexity — acknowledging Hamas atrocities, recognising Palestinian agency in their own political choices, or noting the ingenuity of the Jewish People — is condemned as betrayal.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is defined by inflated self-importance, a constant need for admiration, and hypersensitivity to criticism. The narcissist lives for attention, so their worth depends on endless validation, and the absence of praise feels like attack. The pro-Palestinian movement, again, offers the clearest example. It has inflated itself into the moral centre of the universe, despite Palestinians making up less than 1 per cent of those facing humanitarian crises worldwide. Headlines, marches, hashtags, and UN resolutions make it the main cause dominating global conversation. Yet activists still insist it is being “ignored.” In what parallel universe is “Palestine” being ignored? The endless hunger for validation, paired with fury at the faintest pushback, is collective narcissism on display.
Antisocial Personality Disorder is marked by disregard for the rights of others, lack of empathy, and a readiness to violate norms, where cruelty is rationalised as necessary or even virtuous. Calls for intifada, chants celebrating massacres, or mobs chasing Jewish students into libraries all unfold in a culture where slogans like “if you aren’t angry, you aren’t paying attention” serve as moral licence. When ideology collides, compassion collapses. What would get you shunned in ordinary life is celebrated on the activist stage. Tearing down posters of kidnapped children, trampling a memorial, or applauding terrorism are suddenly framed as moral acts. This is antisocial behaviour posing as political principle.
Histrionic Personality Disorder is characterised by excessive emotionality, constant attention-seeking, dramatic behaviour, and a tendency to turn even ordinary events into spectacle. People with Histrionic Personality Disorder thrive on being seen and will often exaggerate or dramatise to hold the spotlight.
Our Christian response
So, there we are. We can now be clear that we have become a society where all the above can flourish and be accepted by those who lead us, whether academics, politicians or whatever. As Christians there is little we can do about this, but there is much we can do to make sure that none of this disrupts our witness for Jesus Christ, in a world that has gone mad.
It is clear that we are not going to be able to ‘reason’ these poor people out of their delusions. So the first thing we do is to pray for them, particularly individuals we can identify. More so because all have bought in to the resurgence of anti-Semitism that never ever went away and has adapted itself in our generation to appeal to a whole swathe of people from different backgrounds. If they are Christians (sadly some are), then Galatians 5:1 will be useful, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Perhaps Isaiah 61:1 can be useful for the unbelievers caught up in the madness.” The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
But the key for us is our response to this all, how we conduct ourselves when confronted by others, how we deal with comments and questions spoken with anger by immoveable hearts.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. (Titus 2:11-15)
Use your authority, but do so with wisdom and gentleness. If you can do this without being despised, then you have made progress. The mission field is now actually a minefield. Tread carefully.
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