About
I am an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). My research spans various areas, including intergroup relations, intergroup conflicts, collective action, political behavior, emotions, and psycholinguistics.
My research is inspired and motivated by my lived experiences as a Palestinian. Growing up in a reality marked by ongoing oppression, violence, and trauma, I developed a keen interest in the psychology of intergroup relations and social change. My work seeks to identify the social and psychological factors that facilitate or impede social change in the pursuit of equality, justice, and liberation. I am also dedicated to challenging mainstream forms of knowledge in psychological science by centering the perspectives and worldviews of marginalized groups and deconstructing hegemonic understandings.
Before joining UCSC, I was a Marie-Curie postdoctoral fellow in the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University, and the Psychology of Intergroup Conflict and Reconciliation lab at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I collaborated with Robb Willer and Eran Halperin. I obtained my PhD in social psychology from the University of Groningen, in partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the supervision of Eran Halperin, Martijn van Zomeren and Tamar Saguy.
Download my CV here.