Within weeks of Oct. 7, 2023, a group of psychologists mobilized to respond to the fear, pain and invalidation experienced by Diaspora Jews. 

There were no blueprints for clinicians to support a population of Jews whose distress was indescribable and permeated the soul. We knew Diaspora Jews were in crisis and although pain is pain, it manifested differently than it did among those who were living, working or just surviving in Israel. Many U.S. Jews had been privileged, naïve, or, dare I even write, blind, to the experiences of antisemitism. It was something of the past, something that happened infrequently, or something that could be brushed under a rug. 

Post-Oct. 7, we Jews learned that countless communities, thousands of miles away from the tiny State of Israel, held negative feelings or outright disdain for Jews (and Israel). And we learned fast. 

Through listening to individuals and focus groups and delving into the limited existing research, it became clear that Diaspora Jews were not OK. Jews described the shape-shifting of friends, community, teachers, mentors, family and institutions that had been in their lives for decades. We heard stories of Jews who had advocated and fought for marginalized communities, only to find silence, disregard and even outright hostility when they themselves came forward with Jewish pain. The rugs had been lifted, and it was messy. 

As psychologists, we needed a plan, ways to reach people and research. Days after the attacks, a group of concerned volunteer clinicians, under the leadership of Dr. Tara E. Liberman, held a Zoom meeting and decided to build a plane while flying it. We became the Jewish Community Mental Health Initiative at the American Psychological Foundation, a rapid response to the mental health crisis post-Oct. 7. We are now over 100 volunteer clinicians, researchers and educators. We offer approximately 25 free weekly support groups, have 10 ongoing research projects and provide consultation and training to Jewish and non-Jewish communities. 

From the outset, we stayed up well into the night planning, organizing and learning. One of our initial findings: Although people experienced immense fear of and pain from antisemitic physical violence, we observed significant increases in symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD from broken trust, denial of someone’s reality, dismissal of feelings, gaslighting and minimization of experiences. We recognized these as incidents and patterns of “invalidation.”

We connected with Drs. Miri Bar-Halpern and Jaclyn Wolfman, who had already begun applying the framework of “traumatic invalidation” to the post-Oct. 7 Jewish experience, giving language to our observations. In collaboration, Drs. Wolfman, Bar-Halpern, Liberman, Anna Vaynman and I, along with graduate students Zoe Bernstein and Ben Koliski, set out to explore Jewish traumatic invalidation post-Oct. 7. Seven hundred and thirty-three American Jewish participants showed us that invalidation was happening. They described being demonized, emotionally neglected and excluded — accused of being evil or harmful, ignored when they needed care, treated unfairly, left out or denied access. 

When asked who or what made them feel invalidated, participants most often reported politicians, celebrities and strangers. However, participants claimed it was most upsetting when institutions, like universities, and affinity or community groups invalidated their experiences. 

These Jews found invalidation to be emotionally harmful, destabilizing and unsettling — in a word, traumatic. Invalidation was associated with heightened symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression and anger, along with poorer global mental health. 

We also looked at the external and internal changes associated with being Jewish post-Oct. 7, including some that could be seen as positive. Participants expressed a stronger connection to their Jewish identity, religious practices and Jewish community. We found that almost half of the sample reported wearing distinctly Jewish items more frequently. Other data showed that participants found support, most often, from Jewish friends, family and rabbis and other clergy. Notably, every participant who endorsed seeking support from clergy found them to be useful, and although support groups were infrequently utilized, they were found to be highly beneficial. 

The invalidation study was a drop in the bucket of the research needed. We know the grave need for more research, more understanding and more training for Jewish and non-Jewish clinicians. Now that data and clinical observations are in, we can show the world what the Jewish people already know: We are not OK.

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