Support and Resources

for Jewish Mental Health Providers

Antizionism in Mental Health 

Jew Hatred Adapts to Each Era:

Antijudaism targeted Jews as a religion.
Antisemitism racialized Jews as a people.
Antizionism now targets the Jewish collective and Israel.

 

This ideology has infiltrated mental health spaces; professions charged with providing ethical care and justice. As a result, Jewish and Israeli clinicians are being dehumanized, delegitimized and excluded. Professional forums meant for collegial exchange are increasingly used to advance antizionist agendas. Clients have been turned away. Therapists have lost referrals. Associations, institutes, and graduate programs too often remain silent, or worse, participate.

Recent attempts to exclude the Israeli Social Work Union, an entire nation of healers, from the International Federation of Social Workers and to prevent a Jewish affinity group from existing within the APA are just a few of the latest libels and conspiracy theories. Professional forums meant for collegial exchange are increasingly used to advance antizionist agendas.

Jewish patients have been turned away from care. Jewish cinicians have been put on lists and have lost referrals. Associations, institutes, and graduate programs too often remain silent, or worse, participate.

Antizionism did not emerge in a vacuum. Its modern political form has roots in Soviet propaganda and authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. Today, its rhetoric is embedded in “decolonizing” discourse across mental health. The result is harm to the safety, dignity, and collective identity of Jewish people.

Despite this, there is still no meaningful graduate-level curriculum on Jewish history, the Holocaust, or contemporary Jew hatred. A foundational text exists, Social Work and Antisemitism: Issues and Interventions by Carole B. Cox and Dana B. Marlowe, yet it is absent from North American training programs.

Antizionism does not only harm Jews. Extremist ideologies corrode the ethical foundation of any field that tolerates them. Our professional codes and our obligation to do no harm are at stake. Antizionism is a dehumanizing ideology. It must be recognized and addressed as such.

If you experience any kind of Jew hatred:

  • Prioritize your safety & wellbeing.
  • Document what happened.
  • Reach out to us or to any of the groups listed below for support.

Coping with the Subtleties of Antisemitism

by Jodi Taub, LCSW

Over the past several years, I’ve been committed to promoting Jewish mental health through education, cultural competency, and trauma-informed frameworks. Like many of my colleagues and friends in this work, I’ve found myself straddling two roles: trying to heal from my own experiences of discrimination while also developing language, resources, and training to help others recognize antisemitism—especially in its more subtle, everyday forms.

Since October 7th, it has become painfully clear that we are living through a destabilizing moment for Jewish identity. And yet, for many of us, the hardest part hasn’t been the loud protests or viral images. It’s been the silence. The offhand comments from friends or coworkers. The sudden disconnection in relationships where we once felt safe. The people we considered allies who now look away—or worse, say something they don’t even realize is hurtful.

These moments are hard to name. They don’t always meet the threshold of hate. But they still wound. Because they leave us questioning: Did I just hear what I think I heard? Should I speak up? Will it even matter? We cannot always change these moments—but we can equip ourselves to navigate them.  Read on for practical tools to coping with subtle antisemitism from Jodi’s ‘Times of Israel’ blog.

 

Where to find Emotional & Collegial Support

  • Association of Jewish Psychologists – The scientific and professional home of Jewish psychologists and our allies whose primary focus is Jewish culture, ethnicity, religion, including issues of antisemitism.
  • Gesher Community Care –  Connecting the Jewish community to safe, supportive, and culturally competent individual therapists.
  • Hineni: Jews in Social Work – Facebook group for social workers.
  • Jewish Therapist Collective – An advocacy, education and community support organization for clinicians, grad students and others. Offers an active Facebook community, clinician directory curated by diverse clinical and cultural needs, live virtual events, and in-person events, CE opportunities, retreats and travel.
  • Jewish Social Worker Special Interest Group – For US and Canadian social workers Facilitators: Carole Cox & Dana Marlowe
    Meets: Third Thursdays, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Psychologists Against Antisemitism – Addresses and combats antisemitism within the field of psychology and related fields. Fosters training and education that increases sensitivity and responsiveness to antisemitism and its effects on individuals, families, and communities. To foster Jewish affirming research, education, clinical practice, and organizations.