20 | OCTOBER 24 • 2024 J
N
A
re you a Jewish adult aged 18 years and
older who can read and understand
English? If so, you’re eligible to
participate in a local research study about
antisemitism.
The purpose of this study is to scientifically
investigate how perceived antisemitism impacts
the mental well-being of Jewish people in the U.S.
The principal investigator is Professor Changiz
Mohiyeddini, the course director of Behavioral
Medicine and Psychopathology at Oakland
University’s William Beaumont School of
Medicine.
For potential participants: You will be asked to
complete a survey about your experiences and
perceptions related to antisemitism and its impact
on your mental well-being. The online survey
takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
You can choose to stop your participation at
any time or skip any part of the study if you are
not comfortable. The survey is anonymous, and
no identifiable data that can directly be linked to
participants are collected, minimizing any risk
associated with confidentiality.
The results of the study may benefit others in
the future by providing a better understanding of
the psychological impacts of antisemitism.
Mohiyeddini, who is Jewish, points out that
antisemitism is normally debated within the context
of ethics, and while “probably every sound-minded
person would say antisemitism is inhumane, wrong
and unethical,” there’s more to the story.
“It’s not just about receiving a dirty look
or someone saying mean jokes about Jews.
Antisemitism literally kills people. It harms their
well-being and mental health,” he says. “My
intention is to use the most advanced scientific
approaches we have and conduct this study to
provide evidence that antisemitism is harmful.”
Mohiyeddini has been conducting research
for almost three decades and has provided
psychological and emotional support to Jews
everywhere he’s worked as a psychotherapist.
“I’ve noticed in my conversations when Jewish
people talk about what they experience, starting
at early childhood and extending to the entire
lifespan, you can hear this pain and suffering and
anxiety and depression that comes with it,” he said.
While researching, Mohiyeddini says he couldn’t
find many studies that really show the magnitude
of the harmfulness of antisemitism. “That is why
I talked to my colleagues, and I said let’s run this
study.”
Rabbi Menachem Caytak, director of the
Chabad Jewish Center of Troy; Dr. Michael Pytlik,
director of Jewish Studies at Oakland University;
Mark Schlussel, CEO of Curus healthcare
management; and Michael Nazmifar, first-year
medical student and Mohiyeddini’s mentee, are
supporters of the study.
Before making it public, Mohiyeddini sent the
survey to the supporters of the study and each
shared their feedback.
“They are all extremely knowledgeable,
experienced Jewish leaders in our community,” he
said.
Mohiyeddini created the questionnaire — which
measures different aspects of antisemitism —
based on literature review, his own research and
through talking to experts.
He is hoping to collect a couple hundred
responses, “because in order to be able to publish
it in reputable journals, we need a large sample
size,” he said. “The larger the sample, the more
powerful our results.”
Once they receive enough responses, they’ll
immediately analyze the data and provide a
publicly available, transparent, detailed report so
everyone can see the results.
The plan is to publish the results in journals,
news outlets and to “go wherever people want to
hear about it and provide this objective, scientific
evidence,” he says.
Mohiyeddini has “no doubt” the data will show
how harmful antisemitism is.
“I hope once we publish the results, those who
are engaging in antisemitism and don’t reflect on
it and think it’s just a joke or a remark come to
understand how harmful their behavior is and,
hopefully, it stops,” he says. “That is the aim of this
study, to raise awareness that antisemitism is not
something minor. Now is the best time to add the
voice of objective science into this discussion and
raise public awareness that antisemitism is really
harmful.”
To participate in the study, visit https://oakland.az1.qualtrics.
com/jfe/form/SV_3OtjOjOo6boIEaq. For questions, contact
Mohiyeddini at (248) 370-3905 or mohiyeddini@oakland.edu.
Researchers want to know how perceived antisemitism
impacts the mental well-being of American Jews.
Oakland University
Antisemitism Study
DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
OUR COMMUNITY
“NOW IS THE BEST TIME
TO ADD THE VOICE OF
OBJECTIVE SCIENCE
INTO THIS DISCUSSION
AND RAISE PUBLIC
AWARENESS THAT
ANTISEMITISM IS REALLY
HARMFUL.”
— CHANGIZ MOHIYEDDINI
Changiz
Mohiyeddini