In Wake of Oct 7, American Psychological Association President Likened Gazans to George Floyd and Jews to Racist Cops

The association's members, writing in an internal listserv, also gave Hamas 'kudos' for 'protecting civilians'

The former president of the leading professional psychology association in the United States, the American Psychological Association, reacted to Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel by likening Gazans to George Floyd and Jews to racist police officers, internal emails obtained by the House Committee on Education and Workforce show.

Counseling psychologist Cynthia de las Fuentes made the comparison in an email sent to another association leader, Pepperdine University psychology professor Thema Bryant, on Oct. 12, 2023, five days after Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 innocent Jews. Bryant, who served as association president at the time, sent de las Fuentes, the organization's president-elect, the group's statement on the attack, which condemned "the recent violent attack by Hamas on Israel" but added that the "situation is complicated." It did not include the word "terrorism." De las Fuentes responded, referencing criticism from "writers" who pointed to a more pointed statement the association issued after the death of George Floyd, declaring a "racism pandemic" in America. Those critics were wrong, de las Fuentes argued, because unlike Floyd, "Jews" aren't victims.

"Members of the police are equivalent to members of believers of 'by any means necessary' in achieving the goals of Zionism, similar to other terrorist groups' missions," she wrote. "Not all police and not all Jews." De las Fuentes continued: "George Floyd is representative of Gazans. Not all Black people and not all Palestinians are victims or terrorists. But the themes of domination and submission are clear in both cases. And we stand against systems of oppression and the cultivation of misery."

The email reflects what the House committee referred to as a "troubling" rise of antisemitism within the association sparked by "radical activist-academics" who "successfully co-opted the APA to politicize the association and promote ideology that demonizes Israel, minimizes Hamas terrorism, and portrays Jews as white oppressors."

The APA is the largest and most influential organization of professional psychologists in the United States. It sets professional standards, including ethical guidelines, that set the guardrails for how psychologists practice, and it publishes over 90 scholarly journals. The organization also routinely weighs in on public policy: It has weighed in, for example, in support of "reproductive justice," hormone treatment for transgender children, and even affirmative action in college admissions, arguably lending a veneer of scientific credibility to what are in reality hotly contested political and scientific debates.

The committee launched an investigation into the APA, which boasts more than 190,000 members, in December. It cited a series of Washington Free Beacon reports on former George Washington University psychology professor Lara Sheehi, who said all Zionists have a "settler psychosis" from which they must be "liberated" and who was accused of harassing her Jewish students.

Sheehi left George Washington University for Qatar's Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in 2024, but not before she became a close confidante of de las Fuentes. Sheehi, who served as president of the association's psychoanalysis division, routinely emailed de las Fuentes to lament Israel's "all out genocide," promote student protesters calling for the "total dismantlement of the apartheid regime," and dismiss the notion that Jews are "indigenous" to Israel as "dangerous, ahistorical propaganda," emails obtained by the committee show. De las Fuentes, in turn, expressed her "gratitude" to Sheehi, writing, "When you are ready, I will be willing and hope to be as you model so I can receive your edification." Bryant, de las Fuentes's predecessor, also praised Sheehi's "heart, truth, challenge, and compassion."

Hostility toward the Jewish state was not confined to de las Fuentes and Sheehi. On the association's internal listserv, New York-based therapist Lama Khouri called the suggestion that Hamas hopes to "exterminate" Jews "quite hilarious," adding, "This kind of talk leads to genocide and justification of mass murder. Whoever makes such [talk] has blood on their hands!" Another member argued that Hamas is "protecting civilians" and thus deserves "kudos," according to the committee.

"For an organization dedicated to understanding human behavior, the APA has done a remarkable job of ignoring prejudice within its own ranks," House committee chairman Tim Walberg (R., Mich.) said in a statement. "Its leaders have allowed antisemitism to fester and radical activists to turn a respected scientific institution into a platform for political agendas, while Jewish psychologists are ignored and ostracized. The APA has a credibility problem, and its leadership has no one to blame but itself."

The APA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It dismissed the committee's findings in an internal email obtained by the Jerusalem News Syndicate. "We don't agree with this report," association president Wendi Williams and CEO Arthur Evans Jr. wrote. "The American Psychological Association unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms."