Ayahuasca ceremonies involving Palestinians and Israelis can foster peacebuilding through intersubjective and intercultural relational processes. Analysis of 31 in-depth interviews identified three types of shared experiences: unity-based connection, where participants felt a sense of shared humanity that dissolved national and religious identities; recognition and difference-based connection, where awe and reverence arose from encountering the other culture's music or prayers; and conflict-related revelations, where personal or historical traumatic elements of the conflict emerged in visions triggered by the presence of the other. These findings suggest that psychedelic ceremonies may contribute to peacebuilding not only by dissolving identities but also by enabling shared spiritual experiences and revealing links between personal psychological states and the broader sociopolitical context.
Ayahuasca rituals involving both Israelis and Palestinians can produce feelings of unity, but these feelings may mask a political status quo that marginalizes Palestinians. Interviews and observations of 31 participants revealed that the ritual structure avoided recognizing Palestinian national identity or acknowledging Israeli injustice. However, ayahuasca occasionally triggered revelatory events where individuals confronted the oppressive reality between the groups. These events evoked pain, anger, and guilt, leading to resistance against the hegemonic ritual structure and a desire to deliver an emancipatory message, often through song. This fidelity to the revealed truth sometimes expanded ayahuasca practices to other Palestinians and politicized the practice, illustrating the egalitarian revolutionary potential of psychedelics as analyzed through Badiou's theory.