On Friday, March 22nd 26 Chicago-area therapists were named in a list that was circulating online. The list, titled “List of therapists:practices that are Zionist,” was posted in an anti-racist therapist Facebook group and created as a means of warning other therapists not to refer clients to the people or practices on that list due to their Zionist views. It should be mentioned that while it is unknown whether all of the therapists listed identify with Zionism, what is known is that all of them are Jewish clinicians or Jewish-owned practices.

A group admin clarified that Jewish therapists are welcomed in the anti-racist group but that Zionists are not welcomed “due to the harmful white supremacist values Zionism perpetuates and upholds.” This is a clear cut example of anti-Zionism being used as a dog-whistle for anti-Semitism.

I align with Zionism in its true sense: “Zionism is the movement for the self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel. A vast majority of Jews around the world feel a connection or kinship with Israel, whether or not they explicitly identify as Zionists, and regardless of their opinions on the policies of the Israeli government.”*

I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the implicit or explicit suggestion that Zionism is in any way a white-supremacist ideology. This baseless accusation is just one in a string of libels hurled at Jewish people throughout time and is deeply anti-Semitic. In the annals of history there have been countless examples of people or organizations who have created lists of Jews for nefarious purposes. This is simply the latest incarnation of this ages-old practice.

Stand with us by signing our open letter.

* Definition courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League