The Israeli Forum recently held two unique events that might be of interest.

Once a year, in addition to IARPP’s two international English-speaking colloquia, we hold a Hebrew-speaking colloquium headed by Micha Weiss. This year we discussed a paper by an Israeli Arab clinician, Roney Srour, entitled “Transference and Countertransference Issues During Times of Violent Political Conflict: The Arab Therapist–Jewish Patient Dyad.” With respect for the sensitivity of this topic area, we structured commentator and moderator dyads each consisting of an Israeli Jewish practitioner and an Israeli Arab practitioner. Tony Haddad and Noga Ariel Galor were our commentators; Mishael Chirurg and Ibrahim Agrabieh moderated. The colloquium was fascinating, allowing a complex ‘meeting of minds,’ Jewish and Palestinian-Arabic, with much of its convolutions.

It began with gentle probing, as Jewish and Arab practitioners attempted to meet one another, while gradually heating up — as Middle Eastern inhabitants sometimes do 😊, but also as group processes usually develop. Eventually a clash evolved, partly centered around the language of the event being Hebrew, symbolizing for part of the Arab participants a patronizing stance from the start. In a fascinating creative move, Arab participants began to write partly in Arabic, inviting those who don’t understand (regretfully, most of the Israeli Jewish participants) to use Google Translate. The group managed to survive these and other moments of freighted communicative encounters, enabling the creation of a sense of sincere curiosity and interest in one another. It was an intense yet invigorating experience.

Another initiative that was directed much more to the outside, to our international colleagues, was an idea of Ilana Laor, the Forum’s head, that was implemented by Oren Sol, Noga Ariel Galor and myself to intellectually revive our Interpersonal ancestors.

The decision of how to name the series began with an intercultural-psychoanalytic debating with Donnel Stern and Tony Bass (both USA) whether our title, “The Interpersonal Tradition: The Missing Link” was representative. We experienced the Interpersonalists somewhat as ‘ghosts’ whom we wanted to mold into ‘ancestors,’ whereas for Donnel and Tony they were already solid ancestors. Holding in mind what we understood to be differing American perspectives on the issue, we made an addition to the title: “The Interpersonal Tradition: The Missing Link – in the ‘I’ of the Beholder.” More than a hundred participants enrolled, many from the US but also from Europe and of course Israel.

We designed a six-session series that met monthly, taught by a rotating roster of American Interpersonalists. Donnel Stern initiated the series, contextualizing for us the psychoanalytic scene of the mid-20th Century, with its various subcultures, both sociologically and politically, and its theoretical ramifications. Ira Moses (USA) spoke to us about Sullivan, a figure who forcefully entered the idea of interpersonal relations being the arena for inquiry.

We then read, with the help of Ann D’Ercole (USA), about the unique person of Clara Thompson and her avant-garde mind and lifestyle, adding her impetus to the Interpersonal tradition. Our third Interpersonalist was Erich Fromm, whom Roger Frie (Canada) helped us to know as a humanistic philosopher as well as clinically influential practitioner.

Our fifth Interpersonal meeting was a special occasion in which we met, almost in flesh and blood (i.e. through the screen), Ed Levenson (USA), now 98 years old. With Jack Foehl’s (USA) aid, Ed, sharp and reflective, offered us his perspective of the immense force of ‘the cultural waters’ in which one swims, describing psychoanalytic politics in his prime times. Meeting Edgar Levenson, who doesn’t often involve himself in such forums these days, was for many a truly unique experience.

Tony Bass led our final session in a conversational mode, enabling the participants in the series to digest together the various thoughts and insights about the Interpersonalists and their impact on psychoanalysis, on relational thought, and on each one of us.

Written by Micha Weiss

Ilana Laor, Chapter President

Ilana Laor, Ph.D.
Tel Aviv, Israel
Email Ilana Laor

Micha Weiss, Ph.D.
Givatayim, Israel
Email Micha Weiss