American Psychological Association rejects House report on antisemitism findings

The president and chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association has rejected the findings of a US House report regarding antisemitism within the organization, according to the New York Post. The House report, which was released on Thursday, concluded that anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activists had successfully co-opted the professional group. The Times of Israel and JNS.org both report that the House report focused on complaints of antisemitism and Jew-hatred within the organization that had reportedly been brushed off. [1][2][3]

The chief executive officer of the association told colleagues on Thursday that the group has held listening sessions with Jewish psychologists, the New York Post reported. However, a spokesperson for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce told JNS that the actions of the association create a harmful environment for Jewish members and raise broader concerns about the profession. The spokesperson added that allowing ideology to overshadow scholarship risks undermining the credibility of the entire field. [1]

The American Psychological Association is a professional organization of psychologists based in the United States, and is the largest psychological association in the world. It maintains over 190,000 members, which include scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students, and contains 54 subspecialty interest group divisions. [4]

The organization has previously faced major internal controversies. In 2015, the Hoffman Report found that officials within the association colluded with the United States Department of Defense to enable the involvement of psychologists in abusive interrogation techniques following the September 11 attacks, which compromised ethical standards. [6]