The Weaponizers of Antisemitism Have Come for the American Psychological Association

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 22 Dec 2025

Roy Eidelson | Psychology for human rights – TRANSCEND Media Service

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master — that’s all.”

18 Dec 2025 – Those psychologists who’ve seemingly spent the past two years weaponizing false charges of antisemitism in order to silence criticism of Israel and punish supporters of Palestinian rights are probably celebrating now. Thanks to their own misguided but tireless efforts, the Republican-controlled House Committee on Education and Workforce is now officially investigating the American Psychological Association.

That these Israel-right-or-wrong members of our profession actually welcome this investigation by the Trump administration demonstrates just how out of touch they are with the American Jewish community — a community they claim to represent. Consider a May 2025 survey of American Jews by the Jewish Voters Resource Center, which showed that twice as many respondents believed Trump’s actions on college campuses — purportedly aimed at combating antisemitism — were increasing rather than decreasing antisemitism (and over half viewed Trump himself as antisemitic). Going a step further, a September 2025 Ipsos poll found that almost three-quarters of American Jews said the Trump administration is simply using claims of antisemitism as an excuse for its attack on higher education. But here’s a key point: the weaponizers of antisemitism are probably untroubled by this data — because their priority is defending Israel, not Jews.

So then who exactly are the kindred spirits that the weaponizers have encouraged to investigate the APA? Well, in this “Make America Great Again” era of Trump adoration, it’s not as though holding a Republican seat in Congress reflects some elevated stature on matters of justice, human rights, free speech, or democracy. And that’s certainly clear when one looks at the roster of GOP representatives on this particular House committee. By all indications, many of them seemingly don’t care a whit about the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

For example, committee chair Tim Walberg (R-MI), a religious-right zealot, told his constituents last year, “We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid” for Gaza and “It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.” Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has equated criticism of Israel with antisemitism based on her paraphrased biblical injunction, “If you bless the Jewish people, you will be blessed. If you curse the Jewish people, you will be cursed.” Elise Stefanik (R-NY) affirmed her belief that “Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank” during her confirmation hearing for the position of ambassador to the United Nations. Mark Harris (R-NC), a former evangelical pastor, has claimed that Islam is “dangerous” and “counterfeit,” and that peace in the Middle East will require Muslims and Jews to convert to Christianity. Mary Miller (R-IL) quoted Adolph Hitler approvingly in a speech at a rally in Washington, DC, the day before Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. And Randy Fine (R-FL) is on record with these comments: “‘Palestinian’ is just another word for demon” and Palestinians in desperate need of humanitarian aid should just “starve away.”

For any psychologist who cares about things like ethics, human dignity, and international law, the ugliness and absurdity of such statements need no further discussion. But even more disturbing is the weaponizers’ seemingly reckless assault on the APA — relying on anecdotes, distortions, and misrepresentations of what antisemitism means — all because some members have refused to be silent about the devastation of the Palestinian people through occupation, apartheid, and genocide. Of course, the bitter irony here is that the APA has failed to adequately speak out against these horrors and injustices, or against anti-Palestinian racism.

What the APA’s leadership will do now isn’t clear. Discrimination, prejudice, hostility, and violence against Jews as Jews is a very serious problem, in the United States and around the world. But, unfortunately, that’s not what this is about. The House Committee has made an extraordinarily expansive request for all documents and communications in the APA’s possession that refer or relate to “antisemitism,” “Jews,” “Judaism,” “Israel,” “Israeli,” “Palestine,” or “Palestinian” since October 7, 2023. Complying with the request will expose untold numbers of vulnerable colleagues to potential jeopardy — personally and professionally — in light of the draconian crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech by self-serving MAGA politicians.

I suppose if there’s any silver lining here, and that’s a stretch, APA leaders have now been given another chance to stand up and do the right thing, by resisting this punitive targeting of human rights advocates. I hope they don’t let the opportunity pass.

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Roy Eidelson is a member of the TRANSCEND Network and was a member of the American Psychological Association for over 25 years, prior to his resignation. He is a clinical psychologist and the president of Eidelson Consulting, where he studies, writes about, and consults on the role of psychological issues in political, organizational, and group conflict settings. He is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, former executive director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, and a member of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology. Roy is the author of Political Mind Games: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What’s Happening, What’s Right, and What’s Possible and can be reached at reidelson@eidelsonconsulting.com.

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