American Psychological Association rejects House report on antisemitism

The American Psychological Association rejected the findings of a House report on Jew-hatred within the association. In a message to colleagues on Thursday, the association’s leadership said the APA has “held listening sessions” with Jewish psychologists. The report, released that day, found that anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activists had “successfully co-opted” the association.

According to the report, internal emails showed that association leaders removed references to terrorism from the APA’s Oct. 7 statement after objections from an affiliated group. Telling the full account of that day, including the terrorism it involved, is a matter of plain honesty (Ephesians 4:15).

The report also documented opposition to recognizing a Jewish ethnic psychological association. Critics, the report stated, argued that Jews benefited from “white privilege.”

A spokesperson for the House Committee on Education and Workforce told JNS that the association’s actions “not only create a harmful environment for Jewish members but also raise broader concerns about the profession.” The spokesperson said that when an organization responsible for accrediting psychology programs and shaping professional standards “allows ideology to overshadow scholarship, it risks undermining the credibility of the entire field.” The committee, the spokesperson said, “will not only continue to stand up for Jewish psychologists but will work to expose antisemitism wherever it occurs.”

Following the report’s release, APA president Wendi S. Williams and CEO Arthur C. Evans, Jr., sent an email to colleagues, which JNS has viewed. “We don’t agree with this report,” they wrote, adding that “the American Psychological Association unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms.” The association said it had “held listening sessions with more than 120 Jewish psychologists and stakeholders to better understand concerns” and had “established a Collaborative of Jewish Psychologists to support continued engagement.” Williams and Evans wrote that “this work requires continued attention and action.”

On Friday, the Anti-Defamation League issued a public statement, sent to JNS, thanking the House committee for the report. “Antisemitism at the American Psychological Association is not isolated,” the organization stated. “It is embedded in its ranks and in its leadership.” The ADL said that it and other Jewish organizations “publicly and privately told APA leadership exactly what needed to change, and it failed to act” for more than a year. “When a healing profession treats one group’s pain with such indifference, Jewish patients are right to wonder whether they will be met with compassion or with contempt,” the ADL stated.

Source: Read the original report