After a tumultuous year involving a highly publicized lawsuit, Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), which offered therapy for unwanted same-sex attractions, will close its doors later this month. The closure to start 2016, announced via a JONAH email to supporters on New Year’s Eve, is a result of a lawsuit in New Jersey brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Christian Post reported that a court order is prohibiting JONAH’s counselors from providing referrals to those requesting help, and JONAH must also “dissolve as a corporate entity and liquidate its assets by the middle of May,” according to the email. In its message, JONAH added that the decision is a “tragic miscarriage of justice” and “reflects the near triumph of political correctness and the gay activist agenda in the USA.”
Christopher Doyle, a licensed professional counselor and a leader in the #TherapyEquality campaign of Equality And Justice For All, and a longtime ally of JONAH, released the following statement:
“The dissolution of JONAH is a tragedy not only for the organization, but for the hundreds of clients its counselors have helped through therapy and the thousands of faithful Jews they have inspired over the years with educational and outreach programs,” Doyle said. “It’s a sad day in America when a far-left team of lawyers with deep pockets like the Southern Poverty Law Center can bully a small non-profit organization because their ideology is in line with a liberal New Jersey judge—a judge who ham-stringed JONAH’s ability to defend itself, including taking away expert witnesses, refusing to allow JONAH to argue from a religious liberty perspective and basically ordering the jury to find JONAH guilty, despite the many holes in the plaintiff’s testimony that were brought to light during the trial.
“Despite this tragedy, it will not stop the many counselors and organizations offering hope and healing for individuals, families and communities struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions,” Doyle continued. “Everyone has the right to resolve unwanted desires, attractions and unmet love needs. If someone desires to work through those issues with a counselor, who are we to stop them?”
Doyle, a former homosexual who says that therapy changed his life, is now married to his wife and they have five children. He has long advocated for therapy freedom and therapy equality, especially as activists fight harder to ban therapies for minors that help them deal with unwanted same-sex attractions and gender identity confusion.
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