Avigail Abarbanel was born in Israel in 1964 and served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). She is a senior psychotherapist and clinical supervisor currently residing in Scotland. As a Jewish intellectual, her life trajectory represents a radical shift from being a “fervent Jewish nationalist” to a “steadfast anti-Zionist.” Her dual expertise—deep clinical psychology training paired with firsthand experience in Israeli society—allows her to analyze the Middle East conflict through the lenses of collective trauma and ideological addiction.
Professionally, Abarbanel is renowned for her unique insights into individual and collective trauma. She is the editor and a primary contributor to the acclaimed book Beyond Tribal Loyalty: The Case for One Democratic State in Palestine. She has successfully applied psychological theory to political analysis, exploring how identity is weaponized by power structures. In addition to running a successful private practice in Scotland, she is a regular contributor to outlets like CounterPunch and Middle East Monitor, establishing herself as a pioneer in merging “psychotherapy” with “political liberation.”
Abarbanel’s most striking act of protest occurred in 2001. Amid the eruption of the Second Intifada, she witnessed the Israeli military’s violent suppression of Palestinian civilians. Driven by a profound moral awakening, she made a decision that was exceptionally rare at the time: she formally renounced her Israeli citizenship. She maintained that she could no longer belong to an “oppressor state” and viewed her passport as a symbol of silent complicity in the suffering of others.
She poignantly wrote, “Renouncing my citizenship was my only moral exit; I refuse to have my name associated with a regime that destroys the future of another people.” In a 2025 anti-war address, she further noted, “True Jewish revival is not found in the occupation of land, but in liberation from fear-driven ‘tribalism.’ Supporting Palestine is not just for them; it is to rescue the Jewish soul from the shackles of injustice.“