More than 80 Jewish, civil rights, mental health, medical and community organizations and over 2,800 individuals urge the American Psychological Association to address a coordinated political campaign they say is creating fear, ideological pressure and exclusion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 10, 2026 – Gesher Community Care, StandWithUs, Center for Combating Antisemitism, American Jewish Medication Association, The Jewish Federations of North America, Anti-Defamation League and more than 80 Jewish, civil rights, mental health, medical and community organizations and 2,800 supporting individuals are calling on the American Psychological Association (APA) to take immediate steps to protect the safety, dignity and full participation of Jewish and Israeli psychologists at its 2026 Annual Convention in Washington, D.C.
In an open letter to APA leadership, the coalition raises concerns about a coordinated political advocacy campaign that circulated through an APA-affiliated Division 17 listserv ahead of the convention. According to the letter, a July 31 communication from Psychologists for Justice in Palestine encouraged convention attendees to wear Palestinian political symbols, deliver a scripted “Land and Genocide Acknowledgment” before professional presentations, mobilize attendance at sessions supporting Palestinian liberation and participate in activities organized by a newly formed Psychology Coalition for Justice in Palestine (including Jewish Psychologists for Justice, APA Divisions 35, 44, 45, 48, 39-section 9, and the Asian American Psychological Association).
Gesher’s letter stresses that its concern is not with individual political expression or criticism of Israeli government policy, but with what it describes as the organized use of professional channels and convention spaces to create ideological pressure within the nation’s largest professional association for psychologists.
The letter warns that some Jewish and Israeli psychologists have expressed fear about speaking openly at the convention, identifying their connection to Israel or even attending.
“Professional belonging cannot depend on ideological conformity,” the Gesher-led coalition states in its letter.
The Gesher-led organizations argue that disputed political and legal claims should not be presented as professional consensus within unrelated psychology sessions, particularly in ways that they say exclude or minimize the trauma experienced by Jewish communities since the October 7 attacks, hostage-taking and subsequent war.
The Gesher-led petition calls on APA leadership to:
- Publicly affirm the full inclusion and physical and psychological safety of Jewish and Israeli psychologists at all APA events.
- Establish and clearly communicate safeguards against harassment, intimidation, exclusion, retaliation and physical confrontation, including accessible reporting procedures and clearly identified points of contact for reporting incidents, raising concerns and seeking assistance.
- Review whether APA divisions, listservs or organizational resources are being improperly used to coordinate political advocacy activities and take action if organizational policies were violated.
- Clarify that unrelated political declarations should not be introduced into approved professional sessions without disclosure and agreement among presenters.
- Ensure that programming addressing Israel, Palestinians, Jewish identity and antisemitism meets appropriate standards of evidence, professional relevance, intellectual integrity and viewpoint diversity.
- Meet with Jewish mental health, civil rights and community organizations to develop safeguards for the meaningful inclusion of Jewish psychologists within the APA.
The letter also emphasizes that professional institutions have a responsibility to ensure that members are not subjected to ideological tests or made to feel they must conceal elements of their Jewish or Israeli identity in order to participate.
The appeal comes as thousands of psychologists and mental health professionals gather in Washington for APA 2026, making the Gesher-led coalition’s request an immediate question for the organization’s leadership: Can members with sharply differing perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict participate equally in their profession without political conformity becoming a condition of belonging?
BROAD NATIONAL ALLIANCE
Organizations supporting the open letter include:
Gesher Community Care • Stand With Us • Center for Combating Antisemitism • American Jewish Medical Association • Jewish Federations of North America • Anti-Defamation League • Academic Engagement Network • American Jewish Committee • End Jew Hatred • Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America • Jewish Grads Organization • Jewish Identity and Antisemitism Collective • Jewish National Fund – USA • Jewish Social Work Consortium • Jewish Therapists Collective • National Jewish Advocacy Center • Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies • Psychologists Against Antisemitism • Public Health Professionals Against Antisemitism/Jews in Public Health • Trauma Informed Learning Alliance • Yeshiva University
- AEN – Academic Engagement Network
- American Association of Holocaust Survivors and Descendants Greater Boston
- AJC – American Jewish Committee
- AJMA – American Jewish Medical Association
- ADL – Anti Defamation League
- Bay Area Jewish coalition
- CAM – Combat Antisemitism Movement
- CCA – Center for Combating Antisemitism
- Chicagoland Jewish Therapists
- CJA – Chicago Jewish Alliance
- DARA – Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism
- End Jew Hatred
- Fort Wayne Jewish Federation
- Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America
- Hillel McMaster
- HAF – Hindu American Foundation
- Hineni
- Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles
- Impact
- JCRC Bay Area
- JCRC of Broward County, Florida
- JCRC Chicago
- JCRC of Greater Washington
- JCRC of Omaha
- JCRC-New York
- JGO – Jewish Grads Organization
- Jewish Federations of Atlantic and Cape May Counties
- Jewish Federations of Greater Pittsburgh
- Jewish Federations of North America
- Jewish Identity and Antisemitism Collective
- Jewish Israel Affairs Action Committee at Etz Hayim
- Jewish National Fund – USA
- Jewish Social Work Consortium
- Jewish Therapists Collective
- Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago
- NA’AMAT USA
- NJAC – National Jewish Advocacy Center
- Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
- Pens for Swords
- Psychologists Against Antisemitism
- Public Health Professionals Against Antisemitism
- Stand With Us
- StandWithUs Mid-Atlantic
- StandWithUs Northern California
- TILA – Trauma Informed Learning Alliance
- Yeshiva University
- Young Israel of Phoenix
ABOUT THE OPEN LETTER
The open letter was initiated by Gesher Community Care and is supported by a growing cohort of Jewish communal, mental health, medical, civil rights and advocacy organizations.
It calls on the American Psychological Association to uphold its stated commitments to inclusion, nondiscrimination, scientific integrity, professional responsibility and respect for human dignity equally for Jewish and Israeli members.
The full letter and current list of 80+ supporting organizations and 2,800 individual endorsers can be viewed at https://www.geshercc.org/open-letter-to-apa-leadership.
About Gesher Community Care
Gesher Community Care is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to affordable, culturally responsive mental health care for Jewish individuals and families across the United States. Founded in the aftermath of October 7, 2023, the organization emerged in response to the growing emotional toll of antisemitism and the urgent need for safe, affirming therapeutic support within the Jewish community. Originally launched as Gesher Campus Care to address the needs of Jewish students and faculty, the organization has since expanded its mission serving Jewish individuals and families with compassionate care. Through its work, Gesher Community Care seeks to empower people to navigate complex times with strength, resilience, and dignity while helping build a more responsive and supportive mental health landscape for the broader Jewish community. For more information, please visit https://linktr.ee/geshercommunitycare
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