(See French translations below)

Dear Dr. Kuchuck:

I appreciated your personal email to me replying to our letter of December 27, 2017 which protests the decision to hold the 2019 IARPP conference in Israel, and concur with your email’s stated principles—namely, “the inclusion, protection, and free expression of a diverse set of views.” It was disconcerting therefore to hear that the IARPP listserv had officially shut down all discussion of the controversy regarding the release of a petition supporting that letter before 24 hours had passed, during which time the petition had already been signed by over 200 mental health workers—many of them IARPP members.

The deep contradiction between IARPP’s stated commitments to an open exchange of ideas and its plan to hold the 2019 conference in Israel is precisely our point. You state, “we aim to create within our relational psychoanalytic conference an open and safe space in which attendees across the political spectrum can engage and exchange views.” But it is clear that such an open and safe space cannot be created by IARPP within the state of Israel.

We have previously explained why this is so: because movement restrictions, checkpoints, and the relentless targeting of Palestinians who articulate criticism of Israel make it very difficult for Palestinian colleagues to attend any conference in Israel. The arrest less than two weeks ago of Munther Amira, a former Secretary General of the Palestine Union of Social Workers and Psychologists, underscores this point.

Further, the announcement just two days ago that the government of Israel now blocks entry to members of a long list of non-violent political action groups, such a Jewish Voice for Peace and the American Friends Service Committee, has been particularly chilling. This escalation in Israel’s attempt to silence criticism will now prevent many international members of IARPP from attending this or any conference in Israel.

Naturally, we believe that genuine dialogue at a grass-roots level between Palestinians and Jewish Israelis is both possible and necessary, provided the framework of such a dialogue embodied equality and balance. An organization committed to authentic diversity of views would be led by a board of directors made up of Palestinians and Jewish Israelis, for example.

Whether such an organization could become openly established within Israel is not clear, but it is obvious that IARPP is not such an organization. IARPP has stacked the deck in favor of the official Israeli view at every level—passively through accepting the reality of massive state suppression of free speech and then actively through shutting down debate within its own membership.

The IARPP claim to offer a “safe space” for diverse views is a fiction. The forcible cleansing carried out by the state of Israel is being recapitulated in miniature at the 2019 IARPP conference. The written statement of the IARPP leadership appears reassuring and welcoming, but the statement reflects make-believe. The reality is terrifying.

Yours truly,

Elizabeth Berger MD, MPhil
Child Psychiatrist, New York

Samah Jabr MD
Psychiatrist, East Jerusalem

Rebecca Fadil, LCSW
Social Worker, Washington, DC

Christine Schmidt, LCSW
Psychoanalyst and IARPP member, New York

From IARPP:

January 5, 2018

Dear Dr. Berger,

Thank you again for your letter and for your patience while we composed this response. We recognize the seriousness and passion behind your request and appreciate your taking the time to write to the Board.

As we do in considering the location of all IARPP conferences, the Board engaged in an open and deliberative process before deciding to hold the conference in Israel. If we chose our conference locations by judging the political decisions of national governments, we might well have a hard time finding an ideal setting that would fit everyone’s preferences and values. Indeed, some international members have protested our decision to host the 2018 IARPP conference in the United States, given the current political situation in the US. We decided that holding the US conference as planned-while making the political turmoil the theme of the meetings-would make for a meaningful experience that would help us all think through the difficult problems that confront us. 

In a narrow sense, we are not a political organization. But we do hold, advocate and stand behind a set of values and principles: Namely, the inclusion, protection, and free expression of a diverse set of views, essentially trusting the political values that do, or should, underlie a democracy. This includes the concern for universal human rights that is so clearly expressed in your letter. Yet, we feel that to allow our organization to single out one country for a boycott would be to practice the politics of exclusion. Boycotts will not help us fulfill our central mission: promoting values that are integral to the creative development of relational psychoanalysis.

Members of IARPP hold a variety of views about many political issues, including the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. One of the Board’s responsibilities is to honor the right of all members to independently voice their views of history, current events and what would best promote peace in the Middle East and around the world.  We are all deeply affected by this. It is not the responsibility of IARPP to side with one view of this complicated history– or to base organizational decisions on it. We are a professional membership organization.  Our conference location does not imply a judgment on the policies or politics of any particular location; our conference location reflects our respect for the professional contributions of our international chapters, our effort to support their continued professional development in their part of the world, and our attempts to better understand the difficulties faced by the communities we serve.

 Finally, hosting the conference in Tel Aviv will permit us to welcome the diverse voices of our Israeli Jewish and Arab colleagues along with multiple international perspectives. We intend to offer opportunities for conference attendees to travel to the Palestinian West Bank. We will be extending invitations to Palestinian colleagues, and we will work to enable their presence with us. Rather than foreclosing those issues and silencing conversation, we aim to create within our relational psychoanalytic conference an open and safe space in which attendees across the political spectrum can engage and exchange views.

We believe that dialogue, more than ever, is needed across divides. 

Respectfully,

Steven Kuchuck, IARPP President and Chana Ullman, IARPP Past President
On behalf of the Board of Directors

Appel – Les initiateurs d’un appel répondent ici à l’Association internationale pour la psychanalyse relationnelle et la psychothérapie [IARPP], qui tente de justifier sa décision de tenir sa réunion internationale de 2019 en Israël.

Cher Dr. Kuchuck,

J’ai apprécié votre courriel personnel [traduction ci-dessous] en réponse à notre lettre du 27 décembre 2017, laquelle proteste contre la décision d’organiser la conférence IARPP de 2019 en Israël et est conforme aux principes énoncés par votre courriel, à savoir « l’insertion, la protection et la libre expression d’un ensemble de points de vue différents.

Il était donc déconcertant d’entendre que la liste de diffusion de l’IARPP avait officiellement mis fin à toute discussion sur la controverse qui a suivi la publication initiée dans les 24 heures d’une pétition soutenant cette lettre, période au cours de laquelle la pétition avait déjà été signée par plus de 200 travailleurs de la santé mentale – dont beaucoup sont membres de l’IARPP.

La profonde contradiction entre les engagements déclarés de l’IARPP en faveur d’un échange d’idées ouvert et son projet de tenir la conférence de 2019 en Israël est précisément notre point de vue. Vous déclarez, « nous visons à créer au sein de notre conférence psychanalytique relationnelle un espace ouvert et sûr dans lequel les participants à travers le spectre politique peuvent confronter et échanger des points de vue. » Mais il est clair qu’un tel espace ouvert et sûr ne peut pas être créé par l’IARPP au sein même de l’État d’Israël.

Nous en avons déjà expliqué les raisons : parce que les restrictions de mouvement, les barrages militaires et le ciblage incessant des Palestiniens qui critiquent Israël font qu’il est très difficile pour les collègues palestiniens d’assister à une conférence en Israël. L’arrestation, il y a moins de deux semaines, de Munther Amira, ancien secrétaire général du Syndicat palestinien des travailleurs sociaux et des psychologues, souligne ce point.

De plus, l’annonce il y a deux jours que le gouvernement d’Israël désormais interdit d’accès les membres d’une longue liste de groupes d’action politique non violents, comme la Jewish Voice for Peace et le American Friends Service Committee, a été particulièrement inquiétante. Cette escalade dans la volonté d’Israël de faire taire les critiques empêchera désormais de nombreux membres internationaux de l’IARPP d’assister à cette conférence ou à toute autre conférence en Israël.

Naturellement, nous croyons qu’un véritable dialogue à la base entre les Palestiniens et les Israéliens juifs est à la fois possible et nécessaire, à condition que le cadre d’un tel dialogue incarne l’égalité et l’équilibre. Une organisation engagée dans une authentique diversité de points de vue serait, par exemple, dirigée par un conseil d’administration composé de Palestiniens et d’Israéliens juifs.

Savoir si une telle organisation pouvait ouvertement être établie en Israël demeure une question, mais il est évident que l’IARPP n’est pas une telle organisation. L’IARPP a « brassé les cartes » en faveur de la vision officielle d’Israël à tous les niveaux – en acceptant la réalité d’une large suppression de la liberté d’expression par l’État, et en closant volontairement le débat au sein de ses propres membres.

L’affirmation de l’IARPP d’offrir un « espace sûr » pour des points de vue diversifiés est une fiction. Le nettoyage violemment imposée par l’Etat d’Israël est réeproduit en miniature à la conférence 2019 de l’IARPP. La déclaration écrite de la direction de l’IARPP semble rassurante et bienveillante, mais elle n’est qu’un simulacre de réponse. Quant à la réalité, elle est terrifiante.

Sincèrement vôtres,

Samah Jabr MD
Psychiatre, Jérusalem-Est

Elizabeth Berger MD, MPhil
Pédopsychiatre, New York

Rebecca Fadil, LCSW
Travailleur social, Washington, DC

Christine Schmidt, LCSW
Psychanalyste et membre de l’IARPP, New York

Signez la pétition : non au Congrès de psychanalyse et psychothérapie en Israël