The Torah says that the Amaleik came and battled Israel at Refidim. I read in a book called, "Up, Up, and Oy Vey by Simcha Weinstein, page 65, that according to the sages, the Jews were actually attacked because they lacked unity. This is alluded to in the very same name of the location where the battle occurred - Refidim - a name that is etymologically related to the Hebrew word pirud, meaning "disunity." Only through teamwork are battles won.
Is there a source for this?
The Kli Yakar on Shemot 17:8 says this:
"כך עמלק כל זמן שהיו ישראל שלמים עם ה', והיה גם שלום ביניהם אז לא יכול להם כלל, וכאשר ראה אותם במסה ומריבה על ריב בני ישראל שהיה מריבה ביניהם, כי כל החניות שקודם מ"ת כולם היו בתרעומות ובמחלוקות...אז מצא לו עמלק פתח פתוח ומקור נפתח לחטאת ולנדה, ויבא עמלק...ומיד ויבא עמלק וילחם עם ישראל ברפידים, כי רפידים אותיות פרידים, ואותיות רף ידים, והא בהא תליא כי ע"י שני מיני פרידים אלו שנפרדו מאת ה' ופירוד לבבות שביניהם באו לידי רפיון ידים"
Translation: "So was with Amalek, as long as Yisrael were whole with Hashem, and they were also at peace with one another, then Amalek could not hope to defeat them, and when he saw them in Massah and Meriva with the quarrel of Bnei Yisrael when they quarreled amongst themselves, for all of the stops before the giving of the Torah were with complaints and quarreling...it was then that Amalek found an opening and an entrance opened up for sin, "and Amalek came"...immediately following was "Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim" for Refidim (רפידים) is made up of the letters Peridim (פרידים), and the letters of raf yadayim (רף ידים - hands hung nerveless) and these two are intertwined, out of their splitting away from Hashem and the separation of their hearts [from one another] they came to a point where their hands hung nerveless [i.e., they weren't able to overcome the challenge]..."
In English:
Politics generally does not exist between people in a natural state.
Politics is normally a function of description. E.g. if I describe your human validity as Jewish and someone else's human validity as Arab and then I explain to you that Jews and Arabs are incompatible then you will become upset with each other.
However if I organise Jewish-Arab soccer matches this is less likely to occur.
Amalek defines everything by its functional purpose, the Jew defines everything by its inner nature.
The Jew is an alien in the world of Amalek and must be destroyed, Amalek is alien in the world of the Jew and must be destroyed.
When Jews fight with each other and perceive each other's validity as the product of a function they disagree with, this allows Amalek to have dominion over them as they have entered Amalek's domain.
Amalek is a malchus of pirud ha'penimiyos and yichud ha'chitzoniyos.
The Torah is a malchus of yichud ha'penimiyos and thereby yichud ha'chitzoniyos.
Amalek is sholet on the benei yisroel when their kesher to Torah is not be'derech bitul to the tenuah penimis ha'meyachedes of the Torah - al shelo barchu ba'Torah bitechilah.
