A congressional investigation by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce concluded that the American Psychological Association (APA) has been co-opted by radical activists who promoted ideology demonizing Israel and allowed systemic antisemitism to spread within the organization, according to a recent report.
The APA leadership rejected the report’s conclusions, stating that the association unequivocally condemns antisemitism and has taken concrete steps to address concerns raised by Jewish mental health professionals.
The congressional inquiry was officially launched in December 2025 under Chairman Tim Walberg, following mounting complaints from Jewish members who alleged that antisemitic rhetoric and discrimination were being permitted across the association’s governance, publications, listservs, and annual conventions. The committee examined thousands of internal emails, drafts, and administrative records to evaluate how the nation’s leading professional organization for psychologists handled anti-Jewish bias.
The report, titled “Antisemitism at the American Psychological Association,” says that APA leadership systematically appeased anti-Israel affiliate groups while ignoring, dismissing, or mocking Jewish members who raised concerns.
The findings highlight internal deliberations surrounding the APA’s public statement following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. According to internal communications, APA leaders consulted with an affiliate group, the American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Psychological Association (AMENA-Psy), whose leaders urged the association to remove references to terrorism. Incoming AMENA-Psy leadership argued that “terrorist attacks need to change” and claimed the term was “one-sided and overused with Arabs,” while an internal APA draft attempted to equate Hamas attacks with Israeli military responses.
The final public statement released by the APA omitted any mention of terrorism.
Concerns from Jewish members were dismissed
The report also detailed internal emails written by senior APA figures in the weeks after the attack. Internal messages revealed that 2024 APA President Cynthia de las Fuentes compared Hamas’s attack on Israelis to the murder of George Floyd, writing that police officers are equivalent to “believers of ‘by any means necessary’ in achieving the goals of Zionism, similar to other terrorist groups’ missions,” while claiming “George Floyd is representative of Gazans.”
Further internal records documented leadership’s handling of complaints. When Jewish psychologists wrote to the association expressing distress over rising antisemitism, the APA’s chief diversity officer internally responded, “Sigh!” while another senior official complained about “the Jews who are so angry at us,” accusing them of “feeding hatred” by raising concerns publicly. The report noted that the APA declined to complete an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) survey regarding antisemitism, with staff claiming the questionnaire was “clearly aimed at finding fault” with the association.
Across governance and professional standards, the committee found that anti-Zionist members successfully altered the APA’s resolution on antisemitism in February 2026. The Council of Representatives voted 127-37 to adopt a revised resolution that introduced clauses regarding the “weaponization of antisemitism” and relied on the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism over the objections of an internal Jewish advisory group.
Additionally, ethnic minority psychological associations within the APA mobilized against a resolution to recognize a Jewish ethnic psychological association, with opponents arguing that Jews benefit from “white privilege” and do not face the same structural oppression as non-white minorities.
The investigation also highlighted how division listservs, newsletters, and academic publications were used to circulate extreme rhetoric. Listserv posts by members defended Hamas’s actions as “resistance,” described Israel as a “terrorist” state, and dismissed concerns that Hamas sought to exterminate Jews as “quite hilarious”. In 2025, the flagship journal American Psychologist published an article referencing “Palestinian freedom fighters” and pathologizing “Zionist psychologies,” leading an editor of a planned special issue on antisemitism to resign over what he called “incendiary, politicized” content lacking scholarly rigor.
In its conclusion, the committee warned that the politicization of the APA threatens the credibility of the entire mental health field and noted that the Department of Education’s accreditation advisory panel recently recommended a one-year suspension of the APA’s accrediting commission. The report stated that the committee’s findings will inform upcoming legislative efforts targeting discrimination by accrediting bodies to ensure equal treatment and professional integrity.
Senior APA officials claimed report was inaccurate
In an internal email to colleagues obtained and reported by the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), APA President Wendi S. Williams and CEO Arthur C. Evans, Jr. reportedly rejected the committee’s findings.
“We don’t agree with this report,” Williams and Evans wrote, stating that “the American Psychological Association unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms.”
APA leadership maintained in the message that the organization has actively worked to address internal concerns, including holding listening sessions with Jewish psychologists.
“We recognize that this work requires continued attention and action, and we remain committed to advancing APA’s mission to promote well-being and respect for all,” Williams and Evans added.
ADL condemns APA's response to the report
Following the report’s release, the ADL issued a statement commending the House committee’s investigation and criticizing the APA’s response.
“Antisemitism at the American Psychological Association is not isolated,” the ADL stated. “It is embedded in its ranks and in its leadership.”
The ADL noted that Jewish groups had repeatedly warned APA leadership about escalating bias over the past year without seeing adequate institutional action.
“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 added, calling on the APA to conduct an independent investigation, strengthen accountability measures, and mandate antisemitism training for its leadership.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the American Psychological Association for comment on Sunday, but did not receive a response prior to publication.