The Education and Workforce Committee launched an investigation into "rampant antisemitism" within the American Psychological Association (APA), the committee announced in a Friday letter.
The committee outlines a wide range of anti-Semitic incidents at the APA, which has received over $11 million in federal grants since 2020.
"Jewish APA members have reported being harassed and ostracized by their colleagues within the APA and at APA events because of their Jewish identity, their efforts to speak out against antisemitism, and their Zionist beliefs," Education and Workforce Committee chairman Tim Walberg (R., Mich.) wrote in his letter to APA president Dr. Debra Kawahara. "Members have also stated that their complaints to the association have gone unanswered, raising significant concerns about the APA's commitment to addressing harassment."
The committee cites Washington Free Beacon reports on a former APA division president, Lara Sheehi, who taught that Zionism is a mental illness. She called to "destroy Zionism," referred to Israelis as "genocidal fucks," and wrote "how dare you slander the names of our martyrs as terrorists." The APA "allegedly failed to take meaningful action" against her, according to the committee.
The APA, the nation's leading accreditor for psychological training, has faced mounting concerns over anti-Semitism in recent months. In November, the Anti-Defamation League said anti-Semitic incidents at the organization—and its response to them—raised "major concerns," requiring "substantial action."
The Education and Workforce Committee flagged an open letter sent to APA leadership and signed by over 3,500 mental health professionals. It highlighted statements on APA listservs such as "Hamas fighters in Gaza … are just protecting civilians," "Kudos to Hamas' and calls for 'Intifada, Intifada.'"
"Of additional concern, the letter states that the APA has offered educational credits for members to attend conferences where speakers endorsed 'violence against Jews and Israelis; antisemitic tropes; Holocaust distortion; minimization of Jewish victimization, fear, and grief; and pathologizing of Jewish people's connection to their indigenous homeland,'" the committee wrote.
The APA is also considering repealing its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, according to the congressional committee's letter. The group's effort "makes light of antisemitism experienced by the association's Jewish members by pointing to 'weaponized antisemitism,' which it defines as 'the strategic and bad faith use of accusations of antisemitism, […] that […] has been used in particular to silence and punish people of color,'" the letter states.
Walberg wrote that his "Committee is gravely concerned about antisemitism at the APA." In a statement to the Free Beacon, he added, "APA leadership has stood by for years while its members have harassed and endorsed violence against Jews. This vile hatred has no place in an organization that represents America's psychologists across the country and purports to advocate for mental health."
The Education and Workforce Committee demanded that the APA turn over a host of documents, including communications between the group's leadership as well as materials surrounding anti-Semitism complaints filed by its members. The APA has until Jan. 2 to comply.
APA spokeswoman Sophie Bethune pointed the Free Beacon to her organization's resolution on Anti-Semitic and Anti-Jewish Prejudice, which was last updated in August 2007.
"The APA unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms," she said in a statement. "We are committed to fostering an environment where all members can participate without experiencing discrimination."
