The Anti-Defamation League denounced a statement by the Coalition of National Racial and Ethnic Psychological Associations (CONREPA) that opposes recognition of the Association of Jewish Psychologists as an ethnic psychological association within the American Psychological Association.
CONREPA’s statement, backed by five member associations representing roughly 2,000 psychologists, outlined what it described as “several considerations” against recognizing Jewish psychologists as an ethnic caucus within the APA.
Among them were assertions that “the majority of Jewish Americans in the United States identify as white” and that “Jewish psychologists are not underrepresented within APA.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, national director and CEO of the ADL, rebuked such a position, emphasizing that “this statement is not just troubling; it is indefensible. It reflects a profound and dangerous distortion of Jewish identity and a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of antisemitism.”
He stated that “Jewish identity encompasses religion, ethnicity and culture—a complexity that CONREPA’s statement dismisses entirely. To suggest that Jewish psychologists do not face discrimination or deserve representation within this group is both factually wrong and harmful.”
The dispute comes amid “growing concerns about antisemitism within the APA,” writes the ADL, which has previously cited what it described as a hostile climate for Jewish psychologists, including repeated advocacy for the anti-Israel BDS movement; internal emails containing phrases such as “Kudos to Hamas” and “intifada, intifada”; and conference speakers who justified violence against Jews and Israelis.
The statement also comes amid an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce into claims of Jew-hatred within the APA.
