JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The director of a nonprofit being sued for offering so-called gay conversion therapy acknowledged on the witness stand Monday that the group claims a “success” rate of 65 to 75 percent to turn gay men to straight even though it doesn’t keep its own statistics and relies on anecdotal evidence from counselors.
Arthur Goldberg also testified that he believes homosexuality is a spiritual disorder and a condition caused by emotional wounds occurring in childhood and adolescence that can be cured through a “gender-affirming” process such as that offered by his organization.
Goldberg testified on the second day of a trial involving four young men who underwent the treatment and sued the group, Jersey City-based Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing, in 2012.
They claim the group, known by the acronym JONAH, violated New Jersey consumer protection laws by making fraudulent claims and misrepresentations about what it could do. They are seeking to have JONAH’s business license revoked and to be reimbursed for the therapy they paid for as well as separate counseling they underwent after leaving the program.
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“It’s an estimate,” he said under questioning from plaintiffs’ attorney Lina Bensman.
