Ex-gay Jews sue
US anti-discrimination group, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), has filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit accusing a New Jersey organisation of consumer fraud for offering conversion (or “ex-gay”) therapy.
The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, charges that Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH); its founder, Arthur Goldberg, and counselor Alan Downing violated New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act by providing conversion therapy claiming to cure clients of being gay.
It is the first time a conversion therapy provider has been sued for fraudulent business practices. “JONAH profits off of shameful and dangerous attempts to fix something that isn’t broken,” SPLC deputy legal director Christine P. Sun said.
“Despite the consensus of mainstream professional organizations [sic] that conversion therapy doesn’t work, this racket continues to scam vulnerable gay men and lesbians out of thousands of dollars and inflicts significant harm on them.”
