{"id":251813,"date":"2024-01-08T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=251813"},"modified":"2024-01-04T05:40:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T05:40:46","slug":"will-the-american-psychological-association-ever-join-the-ceasefire-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2024\/01\/will-the-american-psychological-association-ever-join-the-ceasefire-call\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the American Psychological Association Ever Join the Ceasefire Call?"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Jan 2024<\/em> – The shocking\u00a0numbers<\/a>\u00a0of Palestinian civilians, many of them children, subjected to unimaginable horrors in Gaza\u2014death, displacement, disease, starvation, and more\u2014grow larger every day. And yet it seems that urgent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire still can\u2019t be heard inside the headquarters of the American Psychological Association (APA), an organization that for years infamously\u00a0failed<\/a>\u00a0to forcefully oppose the degrading abuse of U.S. war-on-terror prisoners and the involvement of psychologists in that abuse.<\/p>\n

At this point, the APA has already missed the opportunity to be part of the civil society vanguard calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.\u00a0Hundreds<\/a>\u00a0of organizations\u2014including\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>,\u00a0 Doctors Without Borders<\/a>,\u00a0Oxfam International<\/a>,\u00a0Save the Children<\/a>,\u00a0UNICEF<\/a>, the\u00a0United Nations General Assembly<\/a>, the\u00a0World Food Programme<\/a>, the\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>, and many other human rights groups, faith-based organizations, and labor unions\u2014have taken that step, weeks ago.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not too late for the APA to add its voice to this movement, and to encourage other influential professional associations\u2014organizations the public looks to for guidance on contentious issues\u2014to do the same. After all, beyond the unrelenting destruction of Gaza that\u2019s starkly visible for all to see, APA leaders possess a heightened\u00a0awareness<\/a>\u00a0of the dreadful psychological consequences of seemingly unfathomable violence and the intergenerational trauma that will inevitably follow. To state the obvious, remaining silent at this time casts doubt on the\u00a0APA\u2019s avowed\u00a0commitment<\/a>\u00a0to \u201crespect and promote human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamas\u2019s October 7th attacks that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians\u2014with 200 more taken hostage and facing perilous prospects\u2014were undeniably brutal and horrific. Nevertheless, these atrocities and the anguish of a grief-stricken nation do not justify the disproportionate and indiscriminate response from Israel\u2019s government over the past three months. This is especially clear in light of public\u00a0statements from Israeli officials that raise concerns of\u00a0genocidal intent<\/a>\u00a0behind the bombardment, ground invasion, and siege of Gaza.<\/p>\n

For example, from the very outset\u00a0Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u00a0vowed<\/a>\u00a0\u201cmighty vengeance\u201d and\u00a0described<\/a>\u00a0the conflict as \u201ca struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle.\u201d Israel\u2019s President Isaac Herzog\u00a0said<\/a>, \u201cIt is an entire nation out there that is responsible.\u201d Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari\u00a0 explained<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cwe\u2019re focused on what causes maximum damage.\u201d Israel\u2019s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant\u00a0declared<\/a>, \u201cThere will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed\u2026we are fighting human animals.\u201d And Giora Eiland, former head of Israel\u2019s National Security Council,\u00a0 wrote<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0\u201cGaza will become a place where no human being can exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet not only has the APA\u2019s leadership failed to join others in calling for a ceasefire, it has also taken steps to block\u2014or at least indefinitely postpone\u2014the publishing of this brief\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0in support of a ceasefire from the APA\u2019s own division of peace psychologists\u00a0(emphasis in original):<\/p>\n

We, as\u00a0peace psychologists<\/strong>, join the calls from all around the world for an\u00a0immediate<\/strong>\u00a0ceasefire in Gaza.<\/p>\n

We join the United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres in his\u00a0appeal<\/a>\u00a0\u201cfor an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, together with the unconditional release of hostages and the delivery of relief at a level corresponding to the dramatic needs of the people in Gaza, where a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

We, as\u00a0peace psychologists<\/strong>, remind the world that there is no military solution to the current crisis. There can be no peace without justice.<\/p>\n

We urge leaders around the world to call for an\u00a0immediate humanitarian ceasefire<\/strong>\u00a0to end the indescribable suffering and indiscriminate killing in Gaza.<\/p>\n

What exactly do APA leaders find problematic about this statement? Most striking is their reported concern over whether the call for a ceasefire is antisemitic. Unfortunately, this false equivalence has\u00a0become a popular and manipulative silencing tactic within\u00a0certain circles<\/a>, spurred on by today\u2019s extremist government in Israel and various\u00a0U.S. organizations<\/a>\u00a0that blindly support it. But the claim that any criticism of Israel\u2019s actions is antisemitic has consistently been rejected by serious scholars and human rights groups worldwide. For example, the\u00a0Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism<\/a>\u2014developed two years ago by over 200 experts in the fields of Holocaust history, Jewish studies, and Middle East studies\u2014defines antisemitism this way: \u201cdiscrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against\u00a0Jews as Jews<\/em>\u201d (emphasis added). Furthermore, the declaration stresses that criticism of Israel is\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0inherently antisemitic.<\/p>\n

Moving beyond abstractions, one doesn\u2019t need to look very far for other evidence that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire are\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0expressions of antisemitism. Thousands of American\u00a0Jews<\/em>\u00a0support a ceasefire and have joined\u00a0Jewish<\/em>organizations like\u00a0Jewish Voice for Peace<\/a>,\u00a0If Not Now<\/a>, and\u00a0Rabbis for Ceasefire<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0demonstrations<\/a>\u00a0across the United States, with impassioned pleas of \u201cNot in Our Name!\u201d In short, distinguishing opposition to Israel\u2019s obliteration of Gaza from hostility toward Jews isn\u2019t really hard at all. The APA\u2019s leadership is fully capable of recognizing the difference. Indeed, any failure to do so distracts from very real and dangerous instances of actual antisemitism\u2014of which there are far too many\u2014and the important fight against them.<\/p>\n

I can only speculate as to why the APA\u2019s leadership seems to find it so uncomfortable to publicly support a humanitarian ceasefire. Certainly, I know firsthand how, after the 9\/11 terrorist attacks over 22 years ago, the APA was quick to\u00a0embrace<\/a>\u00a0the Bush Administration\u2019s so-called war on terror despite ominous signs that human rights and international law would be secondary considerations, at best. Is the current context yet another case where APA leaders are reticent to take a stand that could alienate powerful interests and jeopardize the organization\u2019s prized \u201cseat at the table\u201d?\u00a0Is the APA placing calculated expediency above its\u00a0mission<\/a>\u00a0to apply \u201cpsychological<\/em>\u00a0science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives\u201d?\u00a0And is the APA ignoring its own\u00a0Resolution Against Genocide<\/a>, which\u00a0affirms \u201cthe basic human rights of all people for survival, equality, dignity, respect, and liberty\u201d and calls for \u201cawareness raising of psychologists and psychologists-in-training\u201d?<\/p>\n

These are questions worth asking, in part because it would seem the urgency of a ceasefire should be especially apparent to the APA as an organization with so many health professionals among its 100,000 members. As has been widely reported, Israel\u2019s assault has included the\u00a0targeting<\/a>\u00a0of Gaza\u2019s entire healthcare system, which has now collapsed. Almost 500\u00a0health professionals<\/a>\u00a0have been injured or killed in the attacks, thousands of patients have been deprived of necessary care, most hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, and essential medical supplies are now unavailable to forestall further loss of life. During a recent visit to Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza\u2019s largest medical facility, a team from the World Health Organization described the emergency department there as resembling a \u201cbloodbath<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many lives in the balance, I fervently hope that APA leaders will begin 2024 by carefully considering these issues and joining the call for a ceasefire. As a start, I encourage them to recall this still timely\u00a0observation<\/a>\u00a0from Martin Luther King Jr. about the Vietnam War, offered five months after his\u00a0Invited Distinguished Address<\/a>\u00a0at the 1967 APA annual convention and two months before his death:<\/p>\n

Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus but a molder of consensus. On some positions cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Roy Eidelson is a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network<\/em><\/a> 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 <\/em>Eidelson Consulting<\/em><\/a>, 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 <\/em>Psychologists for Social Responsibility<\/em><\/a>, former executive director of the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, and a member of the <\/em>Coalition for an Ethical Psychology<\/em><\/a>. Roy is the author of <\/em>Political Mind Games: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What\u2019s Happening, What\u2019s Right, and What\u2019s Possible<\/a> and can be reached at <\/em>reidelson@eidelsonconsulting.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 Jan 2024 – The shocking\u00a0numbers\u00a0of Palestinian civilians, many of them children, subjected to death, displacement, disease, starvation, and more\u2014grow larger every day. Calls for a humanitarian ceasefire still can\u2019t be heard in the APA, which failed\u00a0to oppose the abuse of U.S. war-on-terror prisoners and the involvement of psychologists in that abuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":110813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[2755,550,1199,865,85,70,965],"class_list":["post-251813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members","tag-american-psychological-association-apa","tag-corruption","tag-ethnic-cleansing","tag-genocide","tag-palestine-israel","tag-usa","tag-war-crimes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251813"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251816,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251813\/revisions\/251816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}