Group psychodynamics of witchcraft and witch-hunting: Immigrant adolescents from the former Soviet Union in Israel

This article describes an incident of witchcraft and witch-hunting in a group of immigrant adolescents from the former Soviet Union living in a boarding school in Israel. The article analyses the specific conditions of isolation and alienation which caused this group to use witchcraft as a means for its empowerment. The analysis reveals the function of witch persecution in purifying the group of frightening sexual and aggressive feelings. Group psychodynamics of witchcraft and witch-hunting are investigated considering underlying mechanisms of splitting and double projection of aggression within the group and against external enemies. Important common features and differences between the witch and the scapegoat are examined and interventions are suggested for dealing with witchcraft and witch-accusations in the group.