Jewish Psychologists for Justice

We deeply embrace the idea that liberation, justice, and security can only come when all are free.

We affirm and celebrate the diversity of Jewish identity. We embrace cultural and secular Judaism, and spiritual and religious Judaism. We oppose all forms of ethno-supremacy without exception. We accept all Jewish psychologists and mental health professionals who believe in justice and freedom for all peoples.

We endorse definitions of antisemitism that focus on the targeting of Jews as Jews. These definitions, such as those supported by Jewish and Holocaust studies scholars (e.g., the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism) and the definition put forward by prominent Jewish leaders on the Nexus Project Task Force on Issues Related to Israel & Antisemitism (Nexus Document), protect free speech and advocate for justice for all. We reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition, widely adopted by government bodies, as one which conflates all Jewish people with the country and government of Israel. We recognize that the IHRA definition has been used to smear human-rights-based criticism of the actions of the state of Israel, has fragmented our communities, and has been weaponized to punish and suppress scholars and activists who are dedicated to the human rights of the Palestinian people, along with those who oppose racial oppression and human rights violations, none of which are anti-Jewish political positions. Antisemitic speech is any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language directed at a person or a group — not a State or government — on the basis of their Jewishness.

We view antisemitism as dynamic and contextual, not as an essentialist and transhistorical hatred. We recognize that antisemitism is a result of the systemic and structural hierarchy deeply embedded within our society that privileges whiteness and Christianity while marginalizing communities of color and religious minorities. Antisemitic scapegoating often serves to redirect anger about oppressive social conditions toward Jews and Jewishness, diverting attention from the systems of oppression, including racial capitalism, against which we must all struggle in order to become free. We believe that everyone has a responsibility to unlearn antisemitism and reject it wherever it thrives.

We embrace empiricism, scholarship, and the worldviews of Jewish activists throughout history who have fought for social justice for all peoples. Examples include hereness or doykeit, found in the Jewish Labor Bund, and the transnational solidarity against racism practiced by the Mizrahi Black Panthers. Antisemitism is a danger not just to Jews but to everyone vulnerable to systemic oppression, and systemic oppression is a danger to all Jews.

We affirm the ancient Jewish idea of Tikkun Olam, or “repairing the world,” found in the daily liturgy recited three times a day by religious Jews. Further explored in the seminal texts framing Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism, Tikkun Olam calls on the Jewish people to restore the shards of light lost in the darkness of the world. In our modern world we hear the concept of Tikkun Olam as a guide for us to act with courage, kindness, and compassion in the face of oppression. Heeding this call, in solidarity with communities across the globe, we believe that all of humanity has a role in creating a more just world.

We affirm that structural racism and antisemitism are not the same, although social justice must address both, and both are part of white supremacy, a system into which we all have been socialized and that we must actively resist. In the tradition of long-established groups like Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, we hold that economic and racial justice are in line with Jewish values and increase safety, prosperity, belonging, and connection for Jews. Efforts to align with an unequal status quo and secure narrow protections solely for Jews not only undermine solidarity, but also lead inevitably to further scapegoating and blaming of Jews for larger societal inequities. Attempts to grant special status for the protection of Jews within hierarchical power dynamics disconnects Jews from other communities with shared struggles. Philosemitism (tolerance of Jews), when practiced by leaders and governments of unequal societies, allows these leaders to operate under the guise of morality and virtue while perpetuating inequality, exploitation, and imperialism. In Europe and the United States, such practices serve as a fig leaf for perpetuating white and Christian supremacy, while simultaneously censoring historical memory and preventing an accurate reckoning of the roles of these countries in Jewish oppression during the Holocaust and throughout history.

Jews are not a monolith. Being Jewish is a social identity that overlaps and interacts with other social identities (race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, age, etc.) to create one’s unique lived experience. We reject statements that claim Jews to be either all-powerful or all-disenfranchised victims, as those generalizations stifle nuanced conversation about our community and experiences. We hold that Jews, particularly white Jews, experience racial privilege while also being vulnerable to anti-Jewishness. It is our intent to remain aware of and continuously reflect on the contexts, complexities, and power dynamics that shape the diverse experiences of Jews. This includes attention to power dynamics within Jewish spaces, and addressing the tendency for non-Ashkenazi Jewish culture to be marginalized. We work to address this injustice in our organizing by uplifting the concerns and the worldviews of Mizrahim, Sephardim, Black Jews and other Jews of color, alongside Ashkenazi Jewish worldviews.

As Jewish antiracist psychologists, we aim to help psychology heal from what is racist, eugenicist, and supremacist in its origins and in its contemporary form. We seek to use the best of psychology and of Jewish social justice worldviews to identify and address symptoms of oppressive ideology and hierarchical power dynamics in the fields of psychology and mental health, and to generate liberatory approaches that are grounded in an understanding of anti-Jewish oppression and all forms of oppression.

In times of rising authoritarianism and fascism, it is especially crucial to work together toward shared human rights and dignity, to practice critical thinking, and to embrace equitable and truly democratic systems.

The Jewish traditions of rigorous ethical scrutiny, critical thinking, and welcoming the stranger, have long helped Jewish culture and Jewish communities endure and evolve. Debate is a hallmark of Jewish life, and the ability to freely question and critique establishment ideas, including related to the state of Israel, is essential. Further, as psychologists, we reject rigid, inflexible thinking, especially when it undermines efforts to secure safety, liberation, and well-being for all peoples.

We have grave concerns about, and are deeply opposed to the conflation of Palestinian human rights advocacy with antisemitism. We object to the following being mislabeled as expressions of antisemitism: 1) criticism of the State of Israel, including critique of a social structure premised on Jewish supremacy, and 2) support for Palestinian rights. This mislabeling stifles free speech and targets Jewish and non-Jewish human rights activists. At stake are the lives and well-being of those most vulnerable, and of those who seek equity and liberation for all.