Latest / Antisemitism Watch / House Committee Investigates APA Antisemitism
Transcript
- 0:06Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're also
- 0:10Speaker 1: launching Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York,
- 0:15Speaker 1: New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region. Visit clockworkmedia.org slash m,
- 0:22Speaker 1: a U.S. House Committee on Education. And the Workforce Investigation
- 0:26Speaker 1: has concluded that the American Psychological Association, or APA, has
- 0:31Speaker 1: been co-opted by radical activists promoting anti-Israel ideology. and systemic antisemitism.
- 0:37Speaker 1: According to the report, titled Antisemitism at the American Psychological Association,
- 0:43Speaker 1: internal records show APA leadership appeased anti-Israel affiliate groups while
- 0:49Speaker 1: ignoring or dismissing concerns from Jewish members. The report details
- 0:53Speaker 1: internal communications where APA leaders allegedly compared Hamas attacks to
- 0:58Speaker 1: the murder of George Floyd and made dismissive remarks about
- 1:01Speaker 1: Jewish members raising concerns. The APA leadership has rejected the
- 1:06Speaker 1: report's conclusions, stating the association unequivocally condemns antisemitism. The investigation
- 1:13Speaker 1: also found that the APA revised its resolution on antisemitism
- 1:17Speaker 1: in February 2026, adopting language from the Jerusalem Declaration over
- 1:22Speaker 1: the objections of an internal Jewish advisory group, and that
- 1:26Speaker 1: ethnic minority psychological associations within the APA mobilised against recognising
- 1:31Speaker 1: a Jewish ethnic psychological association, citing white privilege. The APA
- 1:37Speaker 1: reportedly declined to complete an Anti-Defamation League survey on antisemitism.
- 1:42Speaker 1: In the UK, delegates at the Green Party conference voted
- 1:46Speaker 1: on October 4 to adopt a motion declaring Zionism is racism. Troublingly,
- 1:52Speaker 1: they rejected an amendment intended to protect members from pressure
- 1:56Speaker 1: or discipline due to their affiliation with Jewish community institutions,
- 2:00Speaker 1: including synagogues. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and
- 2:04Speaker 1: the Jewish Leadership Council have condemned the motion as an
- 2:07Speaker 1: anti-Semitic platform. The Green Party has been referred to the
- 2:11Speaker 1: Equality and Human Rights Commission over concerns the motion could
- 2:15Speaker 1: lead to discrimination against Jewish people. In Michigan's Senate race,
- 2:20Speaker 1: Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens is calling on her opponent, Abdul El-Sayed,
- 2:25Speaker 1: to apologize for remarks linking Israel to the state's financial struggles.
- 2:29Speaker 1: El-Sayed has refused, instead criticizing Stevens and outside spending. The
- 2:34Speaker 1: controversy reignited over an advertisement criticized by Stevens, which reportedly
- 2:40Speaker 1: blamed U.S. support for Israel for high food prices, with
- 2:43Speaker 1: a voiceover stating, We have to set that $ 7 aside
- 2:47Speaker 1: for killing Palestinians. El-Sayed's campaign has stated it is not
- 2:51Speaker 1: affiliated with the ad, but El-Sayed has not explicitly disavowed
- 2:54Speaker 1: it or apologized. Stephen's fiancée, who is Jewish, has endorsed
- 2:59Speaker 1: El-Sayed's Republican opponent. In Stockholm, Sweden, an anti-Semitic sign reading
- 3:04Speaker 1: Jew-Free Zone was displayed outside a shoe store, drawing widespread outrage.
- 3:10Speaker 1: The artist behind the sign, Dan Park, known for provocative acts,
- 3:13Speaker 1: claims he intended to denounce another sign at the store
- 3:16Speaker 1: that excluded Israelis. However, the phrase Jew-free zone directly evokes
- 3:21Speaker 1: Nazi-era exclusionary practices. Satya Reutmann, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement,
- 3:28Speaker 1: condemned the use of the expression. Israel's ambassador to Sweden
- 3:32Speaker 1: also condemned the incident. The store owner has since removed
- 3:35Speaker 1: both signs. Alarming reports from Marseille, France, indicate a Jewish
- 3:40Speaker 1: apartment was targeted and looted after rioters identified a mezuzah
- 3:44Speaker 1: on the door. Unverified messages circulating in Jewish community WhatsApp
- 3:49Speaker 1: groups also claim that rioters possess lists of Jewish-owned businesses
- 3:53Speaker 1: and their addresses, fueling fears of coordinated antisemitic targeting. Separately,
- 3:58Speaker 1: a report warns that artificial intelligence chatbots are absorbing antisemitism,
- 4:04Speaker 1: with models scoring highly when rejecting claims, including those about Jews.
- 4:08Speaker 1: The study found these AI models can struggle to identify
- 4:12Speaker 1: and reject antisemitic content effectively. On the policy front, An
- 4:16Speaker 1: advocacy group in Canada, TAFSEC, is urging the federal government
- 4:20Speaker 1: to amend firearms regulations to permit religious organizations to employ
- 4:25Speaker 1: armed protection at places of worship. In Michigan, the terrorist
- 4:29Speaker 1: attack on state rep Noah Arbit's synagogue has amplified his
- 4:33Speaker 1: ongoing work, underscoring the role of public policy and politics
- 4:37Speaker 1: in confronting hate. Finally, a display of Christian solidarity in
- 4:41Speaker 1: northern Israel offers a moment of reflection. At Bania's church, 1,000
- 4:46Speaker 1: 200 Israeli flags were placed, each representing a victim of
- 4:50Speaker 1: the October 7th attacks. The Star of David was displayed
- 4:54Speaker 1: openly on church grounds, signaling that people of another faith
- 4:58Speaker 1: had made space for Jewish grief, demonstrating that the community
- 5:02Speaker 1: did not have to carry its loss alone. I'm Rachel Adler,
- 5:06Speaker 1: thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch. For focused coverage
- 5:10Speaker 1: from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Philadelphia region,
- 5:14Speaker 1: listen to Antisemitism Watch. midatlantic at clockworkmedia.org slash ma. Follow
- 5:19Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so you don't miss
- 5:22Speaker 1: the next update. This report was generated with AI assistance
- 5:27Speaker 1: and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important details with primary sources.