cognitive dissonance

Throughout my life, I learned that “never again” was a phrase that must always be kept in mind. Carrying a past marked by genocide shaped me (I´m jewish). I learned that “never again” meant “never again for anyone.” Today, I know that in order to heal, we must begin by naming what is uncomfortable—letting go, acknowledging, and relearning.

The imprint left by past trauma distorts one’s perception of external reality and creates difficulties in knowing how to feel safe. Naming the trauma over and over, in an effort to engrave it so it never happens again, often results in more pain—embedding the trauma even deeper in the body. It generates distance, distortion, silence, dissonance, hypervigilance, isolation, and fear.

The instrumentalization of trauma refers to the use and misuse of trauma (revictimization), which leads to its repetition and intensification. This is often accompanied by the deployment of defense mechanisms such as denial, sarcasm, projection, aggression, among others.

Experiencing a process of Cognitive Dissonance two years ago fundamentally changed how I see the world. Overnight, I realized that what I had always believed to be true—was not. I felt collapse, fear—the veil was lifted—and I saw a tremendous truth. I was confused. The new truth was so vast, evident, and overwhelming that it completely contradicted everything I had believed. I had to dismantle the foundations of my values and beliefs. This process involved—and continues to involve—a deep reconstruction. I experienced a profound sense of loss, not just of my beliefs, but of everything that had been built around them.

Cognitive dissonance is not simply about being misinformed; it is a complex psychological process. It involves breaking away from an old reality and confronting it with a new one. It means constantly re-evaluating why I chose to step away from that old order—because moving forward requires deconstruction. It means admitting that everything I had been told about a country and an ideology was morally wrong. It demands doing the painful work of mourning and loss—individually and collectively. It means confronting hard truths, and reevaluating beliefs and values. It means acknowledging the existence of a state of Apartheid, Occupation, Ethnic Cleansing, and the history of the Palestinian people, as well as the existence of an ongoing Genocide.

Cognitive Dissonance challenges your identity—your sense of belonging. But having the capacity to question, dismantle my beliefs and values, and stand on the side of truth and humanity, is priceless. This work is an attempt to heal—and to honor, by relearning history.