The Last Two Jews of Mogadishu: Living Under Al Shabaab's Fire

By Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin, Ph.D.   January 10, 2018

The Maternal Drama of the Chechen Jihadi

In The MATERNAL DRAMA of the CHECHEN JIHADI, Dr. Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin sheds light on the volcanic iceberg mentality of the Jihadi is a psychotic adaptation, a result of children having been treated as objects when they were infants. Underneath the frozen, cold image lies a seething cauldron of rage ready to explode. In this type of society children learn to repress their feelings. As a consequence, internal rage boils within the personality. On one hand, the mother is idealized as a powerful object. On the other hand, her power is perceived as toxic and must be destroyed.

The MATERNAL DRAMA of the CHECHEN JIHADI is the first book to examine the impact of shaming practices on the crippling development of a personality, causing it to become radicalized later on to engage in jihad. The terrorist attacks carried out by Shamil Basayev are examined under a psychoanalytic lens shedding new light. The author proposes a unique way to decode his terrifying graphic attacks on a maternity hospital the Moscow Theatre and the Beslan school. The Chechen jihadi has become a brand into its own. These terrorists do not develop empathy due to the position of the devalued female in these shame honor cultures, (specifically Chechen culture and its warrior tradition.) The book also looks at the dysfunctional family dynamics of the Tsarnaev Brothers who carried out the triple Waltham Homicides at the Boston Marathon. A special chapter analyzes the crossover effect of jihadism's political violence jumps categories and ignites and fuels mass murder shooters and domestic violence's murder-suicide. The author also draws parallels to Somali jihadis such as Al Shabaab. ♦

The Jihadi Dictionary: The Essential Intel Tool for Military, Law Enforcement, Government and the Concerned Public

By Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin, Ph.D. 
May 9, 2016

The Essential Intel Tool for Military, Law Enforcement, Government and The Concerned Public – What makes the jihadis enact such vicious crimes not only against humanity but also their own people? The Jihadi Dictionary holds the key to getting at the root cause of their confusing, terrifying behavior as it defines and demystifies the unconscious motivations behind their unspeakable actions. ♦

Banned: How Facebook Enables Militant Islamic Jihad

By Adina Kutnicki and Joe Newby August 31, 2016

While militant jihad is exploding throughout the Islamic world, westerners are increasingly subjected to gravely perilous circumstances. Americans, Israelis, and Europeans are in their direct crosshairs.

Jihadists congregate on social media, "friend" like-minded Islamists, and plot global jihad. With over 1.6 billion users worldwide, Facebook is the world's largest social media site. It has become the de facto Internet since nearly every site connects to it. With that size comes great power--the power to lift up and the power to destroy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to stifle negative stories of "migrants" and assured Muslims he would make his site a welcoming place for them. Banned explains how social media in general and Facebook in particular seems to operate with a double standard that ultimately enables militant Islamic jihad. ♦

Penetrating The Terrorist Psyche

By Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin, Ph.D.             November 13, 2013

This groundbreaking book takes the reader to a different level of understanding the terrorist psyche as it explores the darkness of Islamic suicide terrorism and its global implications through the first-person lens of a psychoanalyst turned counter-terrorist expert. What informs this innovative psychological anthropologic study is the author’s deepening awareness that within the highly popular field of terrorism studies, as well as journalistic writings on the subject, there has been little serious discussion concerning early childhood development and the terrors of the terrorist. Nor has there been much discussion of how terrorists infiltrate, interact, and engage their global targets, be they professional or lay. This book maps out the interlocking links that extend from domestic violence and intimate terrorism to domestic and global terrorism, including jihad. In this pioneering work, Dr. Kobrin distills her years of living in environments of domestic and intimate terror and her psychoanalytical and anti-terrorist expertise as she explores the interacting dynamics underlying the sadomasochistic/masochistic seduction of suicide bombings. ♦

By Our Contributors

Women and Jihad: Debating Palestinian Female Suicide Bombings in the American, Israeli and Arab Media

By Rachel Avraham | October 31, 2016

Rachel Avraham’s book explores the ways in which Palestinian female terrorists have injected their narrative into the Arab, American and even Israeli media. The publicity objectives of Palestinian terrorists are examined in order to better understand how they hope to realize them. An analysis of media materials demonstrates the means by which Palestinian female suicide bombers, whose motives differ from male suicide bombers in many key regards, have had their depressing life stories exploited for the benefit of the Palestinian terrorist organizations. Avraham examines media coverage of Palestinian terror attacks in Israel through the lens of the terrorists’ agendas and the extent to which those agendas have infiltrated the media. The book explains how journalists can cover terror attacks without giving in to the publicity objectives of the terror organizations.

The book has been endorsed by Israeli Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, former Israel Consul General Yitzchak Ben Gad, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Dr. Nancy Kobrin, David Bedein, Lebanese writer Fred Maroun, Iranian political dissident Shabnam Assadollahi, Iranian political theorist Reza Parchizadeh, Palestinian dissident Mudar Zahran and other prominent individuals. ♦

Terrorist Suicide Bombings: Attack Interdiction, Mitigation, and Response

By Mordecai Dzikansky, Gil Kleiman and Robert Slater 
October 10, 2011/2012

Urban environments are prime targets for suicide bombings over the next decade. While the threat may be ever-present, measures are available that can empower law enforcement personnel to thwart attacks, or at least mitigate the effects by reducing casualties. Written by professionals with first-hand experience, Terrorist Suicide Bombings: Attack Interdiction, Mitigation, and Response helps first responders, law enforcement, and homeland security professionals grapple with this increasing threat, offering best practices in the field and lessons learned.

Advance preparation: The authors provide specific instructions on how to fortify possible suicide bombing targets, suggesting measures that―if implemented―will reduce casualties. They explain how suicide bombers operate and what weapons they are likely to employ. They also debunk common myths about suicide bombers that jeopardize successful interdiction.

Actual case studies: Including graphic photos depicting the aftermath of actual bombing scenes, the book projects the reader into the chaos of a bomb scene. Chapters describe what one encounters at a site immediately after a bombing and explain what each first responder should and should not do. Case studies throughout enhance the text, explaining why certain suicide bombings succeed while others fail.

Psychological effects: The book also explores how terrorists seek to exploit the media and describes government and media efforts to diffuse the bombers’ self-promotion. A full chapter is devoted to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that commonly affects many first responders. Finally, the book closes with recommendations aimed at helping law enforcement defend against suicide bombers. ♦

Terrorist Cop: The NYPD Jewish Cop Who Traveled the World to Stop Terrorists

By Mordecai Dzikansky and Robert Slater | October 16, 2010

Terrorist Cop is a colorful, haunting, and highly graphic tale of New York City homicide detective Morty Dzikansky. Dzikansky's career began with a yarmulke on his head, patrolling Brooklyn's streets, and going undercover to catch a band of Torah thieves. Post 9/11, the NYPD sent Dzikansky to Israel to monitor suicide bombings as part of Commissioner Ray Kelly's plan to protect New York from further terror which led to him becoming an expert on suicide bombings. The result also led to Dzikansky's own private descent into hell as a post-traumatic stress disorder victim.

Publishers Weekly (Jan)—A policeman from 1982, a time when "only two Orthodox Jews were members of the NYPD," until 2008, Dzikansky, in his first book, outlines his 25 years on the force. Despite wearing a yarmulke on the job and not being able to work from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, Dzikansky never let his religion hamper his position on the force. Instead, thanks to his knowledge of Hebrew and dedicated work on the well-publicized Torah theft cases in the early '90s, Dzikansky quickly moved up the NYPD's ranks and earned the complimentary nickname the "Jewish Detective" from his peers. It isn't till almost 100 pages into the book that readers get a true glimpse at the officer as he describes his reaction to 9/11 as a cop. And it is this tragic event that leads to Dzikansky's most dramatic role, learning firsthand about terror attacks and how to prevent them as an NYPD operative working and living in Israel. While Dzikansky's storytelling skills don't live up to the danger and importance of his mission, his time abroad, which included trips to investigate terror attacks in Spain, Egypt, Russia, and Turkey, certainly paid dues for New York City. The last two chapters--in which Dzikansky outlines lessons he hopes will "help curb terror," explaining how to identify and handle a terrorist attack--are compelling reading and a testament to Dzikansky's skill as a terrorist cop. ♦