SWISS CENTER FELLOWS ‎

 

Nitzan Faibish, Doctoral Fellow

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Nitzan Faibish is a P.H.D student at the Program for advanced degrees ("Telem"), in the department of Political Science, Hebrew University (supervisor: Danny Miodownik). His fields of study are focused on the way spontaneous interactions, which occur between individuals from a-symmetrically conflicted groups, affect their perceptions regarding the 'other' groups. Nitzan's studied are taking place in Jerusalem and are focused on the way different spaces in the city shape the thinking patterns of the different groups in the municipal area. In addition to his doctoral thesis, Nitzan is a co-researcher of the 'Civic Education in Israel', a research targeted at developing a pedagogical infrastructure to a 5 study units program in the citizenship high-school studies. 

Research interests: my interests are focused on the types and patterns of interaction between groups in an ongoing political conflict. Specifically, I am interested in the manner in which shared spaces in divided cities shape and influence the interactions between the individuals who use those spaces. My research is testing how does spontaneous interactions at shared spaces in divided cities influence the city’s different communities' willingness to respect and accept each other. 

The main focus of my research as for now is the Hebrew university as a shared space, in which hundreds of people from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds in the Israeli society meet every day, sometimes for the first time in their lives. Another focus of my research is dealing specifically with Eastern Jerusalem students, for whom the university is the “first station” on their path to adult life in the Israeli society. My studies use several methodologies - natural experiment that is held in the research field, alongside self-report and depth interviews. With the theoretical innovation, I aspire, through my studies, to carry out operative advices regarding the promotion of mutual respect and the bringing of groups from different identities together. 

 

 

Eric Shuman, Doctoral Fellow

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Eric Shuman is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Psychology, University of Groningen  (supervisors: Professor Martijn van Zomeren, Professor Eran Halperin, Professor Tamar Saguy) and a visiting doctoral fellow at the Hebrew University and the Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution. His research interests include collective action and emotions, and power relations in conflict. In particular, he is interested in different types of collective action (e.g. nonviolent, nonnormative, violent), and their effectiveness. Apart from his academic work, Eric works as a consultant in the Learning and Knowledge Development department of aChord: Social Psychology for Social Change. aChord Center is a non-profit organization that specializes in the social psychology of intergroup relations. The center's unique added value is in developing innovative, evidence-based, practical knowledge and tools to improve intergroup relations, by utilizing cutting-edge social psychological theory and data. Eric works to develop theory and research-based tools that practitioners at aChord can use for their work in the field.

 

Research interests: My research interests broadly focus on collective action and how it affects the relations between groups embedded in unequal social relations or in conflict. In particular, I am interested in different types of collective action (e.g. nonviolent, nonnormative, violent). My research examines psychological factors that promote support for these types of action, but also the effects and effectiveness of these types of action at motivating the high power group to address inequality and pursue conflict resolution.

 

Currently, my main research focus is understanding the psychological effects of collective action by disadvantaged groups, with the aim of understanding what makes collective action effective in driving social change. I do this using a number of research methodologies. First, I use experimental methods where I randomly expose participants to similar actions, but where key components (e.g. the tactics, participants, or messages) have been systematically varied, and then measure their reactions. This allows me to make causal conclusions about the impact of various features of collective action. However, I also complement these controlled experimental studies with longitudinal studies of real-world action as it happens. For example, I have been involved in two projects examining the impact of two large scale actions over time (#MeToo and March for our Lives). I hope to use the insights gained from this research to inform efforts for social change towards greater equality between groups.

 

 

Maya de Vries - Kedem, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, The Swiss Center fort Conflict Research, Management and Resolution  

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Maya de Vries-Kedem received her PhD at the Communication and Journalism Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her dissertation focuses on the role of social media in conflict zones: the case study of East Jerusalem Palestinians. Maya completed her Master’s at the Swiss Center for Conflict Resolution. Under the supervision of Prof. Ifat Maoz, Maya’s MA thesis investigated the Israeli-Palestinian Track Two diplomacy from the participants’ perspective. 

She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Swiss Center for Conflict Resolution conducting research entitled: Anthropology of Smart Phones and Smart Aging in East Jerusalem. Within this project, Maya is conducting a long-term ethnographical study in a Palestinian community located in East Jerusalem, thus exploring the digital aspects of the lives of elderly civilians living under intractable ethno-political conflict.

Maya’s research interests include digital communication, political and cultural participation of marginalized groups and political activism in intractable conflict areas. She has published several articles in academic journals and has presented papers in international academic conferences on these topics.

PUBLICATIONS

de Vries, M., Kligler-Vilenchik, N., Alyan, E., Ma’oz, M., & Maoz, I. (2017). Digital contestation in protracted conflict: The online struggle over al-Aqsa Mosque. The Communication Review, 20(3), 189–211.‏ doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2017.1362814

 

de Vries, M., Simry, A., & Maoz, I. (2015). Like a bridge over troubled water: Using Facebook to mobilize solidarity among East Jerusalem Palestinians during the 2014 war in Gaza. International Journal of Communication, 9, 2622–2649.

Available at: http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3581

 

de Vries, M. & Maoz, I. (2013). Tracking for peace: Assessing the effectiveness of Track Two Diplomacy in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, 6(1–3), 62­–74.‏ doi.org/10.1080/17467586.2013.861074

 

Anthropology of smartphones and smart ageing in East Jerusalem

Post Doctoral Supervisor: Prof. Neta Kilgler-Vilenchik 

 

Along with gender, age is one of the primary parameters by which societies throughout history have structured and governed themselves. Through countless gerontocracies, older men have historically ruled much of the world. In almost every society, age has historically been a core parameter for granting authority and organizing society and governance. Since the 1960s, however, we have lived with an unprecedented modern consciousness that has presented an increasingly powerful challenge to this hegemonic principle by placing a high value on youth culture. As a result, there is a new uncertainty about the meaning of age and being elderly. Age has extended class discrepancies, as those between the ages of 45–70 have become a class that has settled its children and can now capitalize upon the new choices of consumer culture. Yet, these ageing populations increasingly face problems of loneliness linked to a loss of authority of seniority, though this may be alleviated by contact through new media. 

The research investigates how smartphones and particularly the use of health apps affect the lives of this age group, from their relationships, through their participation in cultural life, to leisure activities. At the same time, smartphones can address the problems that come with biological ageing through health apps. Mobile health initiatives were first developed around fitness and wellbeing but are increasingly helping older populations deal with diseases. Although such digital platforms have potential for helping those with limited access to professional care, they also threaten to bypass and undermine professional or institutionalized medical services. They also reflect wider changes in the political economy; for example, an increasing decline in welfare services.

In this manner, the case study of East Jerusalem is unique since Palestinian inhabitants of the city hold a complex legal status of “permanent residents,” according to which they are eligible for some rights (e.g., the right to receive medical services) but are not considered citizens of the Israeli state. This situation has created enclaves of “gray” spaces in which local solutions are applied. The medical services operating in East Jerusalem are a new type of privately-owned clinics that are financially supported by the state.

This study aims to contribute to the emerging field of digital anthropology and to the study of healthy aging among marginalized communities. In addition, it strives to expand the existing knowledge on the socio-political situation of East Jerusalem Palestinians and to increase the access of East Jerusalem Palestinians to health and welfare services, through encouraging and supporting the use of digital platforms.

 

 

 

Ibrahim Hazboun, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, The Swiss Center for Conflict Research, Management and Resolution  

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Ibrahim Hazboun, PhD

Ibrahim Hazboun holds a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew university. His dissertation, entitled “Journalism in Asymmetric Conflicts: Experiences and Practices of Palestinian Journalists.” The dissertation focuses on how groups shape and express their narratives and agendas through the media when restricted by the conditions, pressures and limitations of asymmetrical conflict. This was done by mapping the dispersed, fragmented and decentralized landscape of Palestinian media outlets and through analyzing the experiences of Palestinian journalists working for local media outlets. Thus, the dissertation explores the ways in which Palestinian journalists living in a marginalized community attempt to use social media to overcome political domination and geopolitical restrictions within the context of the asymmetrical conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Several of his papers were published in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented in international academic conferences. 

Dr. Hazboun is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Swiss Center for Conflict Resolution conducting research entitled “The dynamics and experiences of living in a conflict-torn area of East Jerusalem during the COVID-19 pandemic".

Dr. Hazboun research interests include journalistic practices during war and conflict, narratives of inter group and marginalized communities during conflicts and new media. Also, Dr. Hazboun is a journalist since 1999. He covered the Israeli Palestinian conflict, peace negotiations, Israel Lebanon war in 2006 and the wars in Gaza. He also covered other regional and international revolutions and conflicts including Egypt, Turkey and the war in Syria.

Publications:

Hazboun, I., Maoz, I. & Blondhiem, M. (2019). Palestinian media landscape: Experiences, narratives, and agendas of journalists under restrictions. The Communication Review. 22(1), 1-25. DOI: 10.1080/10714421.2018.1557964

Hazboun, I. & Maoz, I. (2018). Palestinian journalists turn to social media: Experiences and practices of covering the asymmetrical conflict in Jerusalem. Conflict & Communication Online, 17(2).  ISSN 1618-0747

Hazboun, I., Ron, Y., & Maoz, I. (2016). Journalists in times of crisis: Experiences and practices of Palestinian journalists during the 2014 Gaza war. The Communication Review, 19(3), 223-236. DOI: 10.1080/10714421.2016.1195206

The dynamics and experiences of living in a conflict-torn area of East Jerusalem during the COVID-19 pandemic

Post Doctoral Supervisor: Prof. Hillel Cohen 

Abstract: 

Palestinian-Jerusalemites face the battle against the spread of virus in a complex geopolitical situation, including deteriorated living conditions, instability, deep poverty, difficult mobility and fragile health system especially in neighborhoods that were excluded and separated by the Israeli built wall. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live in East Jerusalem neighborhoods are left alone to deal with the effects of the virus. The researcher will conduct semi structured in-depth interviews with Palestinian activists and medical staff from East Jerusalem aimed at understanding the dynamics and experiences of living as a marginalized community when restricted by the conditions, pressures, and limitations of asymmetrical conflict. The importance of the analysis is to further investigate the way marginalized communities living under the impact of conflict behave during an external and life-threatening crisis as the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

 

Prof. Camelia Suleiman, Senior Lady Davis Fellow 2019, Senior Fellow 2020-2022

Camelia Suleiman
 

Camelia Suleiman (Ph.D. Linguistics, Georgetown University), is an associate professor at the Linguistics and Languages department at Michigan State University. She has been working there and leading the Arabic Program since 2012. Her current research interests are in the Sociolinguistics of Arabic, particularly in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. Other research interests are on language, race and gender, language and the media and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her publications include: The Politics of Arabic in Israel: A Sociolinguistic Analysis (University of Edinburgh Press, May 2017), and Language and Identity in the Israel-Palestine Conflict: The Politics of Self-Perception in the Middle East. (November 2011, London: I.B. Tauris Press). Her articles have appeared in Journal of Psycholinguistic ResearchPragmaticsMiddle East Critique, The Middle East Journal of Culture and CommunicationMiddle East Studies Association Bulletin, and others. Her research also received several awards, press releases, and media coverage.

She is preparing a book manuscript on the status of Arabic in Israel, particularly after the nationality law which removed Arabic as an official language. Her research is ethnographic but emphasizes the interaction of macro dynamics with micro-moments of speech including social media.

 

 

Jessica Katz Jameson, PhD, Senior Lady Davis Fellow 2019

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Jessica Katz Jameson, PhD, is Professor of Communication at North Carolina State University where she teaches courses in organizational communication, public relations, conflict management, and nonprofit leadership.  Her research focuses on organizational conflict management, with emphases on third party mediation and facilitation, the role of emotion and identity in conflict communication, and collaboration and conflict management in diverse groups and teams. She has published articles in outlets such as Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, International Journal of Conflict Management, Journal of Health Communication, Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, Negotiation Journal, and Western Journal of Communication. She has authored several book chapters on organizational conflict, mediation, and conflict in healthcare. Professor Jameson has a strong commitment to community engaged scholarship, and is a founding member of NC State’s Community Engaged Faculty Fellows.

 

 

Engaging Conflict: Communication that Transforms Relationships, Groups, and Organizations.”

I’m currently writing a book titled “Engaging Conflict: Communication that Transforms Relationships, Groups, and Organizations.” The goal of the book is to share what I have learned over the last 20 years of research on conflict management in organizational settings to help people learn how to support an organizational climate that addresses conflict directly and productively. In collaboration with employees in corporate jobs, health care organizations, state and county governments as well as volunteers in nonprofit organizations, I have developed a model with the acronym LEARN: Listen, Engage, Acknowledge, Rapport, Nurture, to describe communication behaviors that build constructive conflict environments.

 

Since the time I completed the first draft of Engaging Conflict in 2014, the socio-political environment in the US has changed. In 2013, the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting of Black teenager Treyvon Martin in Florida was highly publicized and the social media campaign #BlackLivesMatter emerged. This was followed with increasing media coverage of police officers using unnecessary, sometimes deadly, force with Black citizens in 2014. Black Lives Matter led to a response from those who felt law enforcement was under attack, and “Blue Lives Matter” emerged in late 2014. These social media campaigns, ongoing media coverage, and daily conversations have increased racial tensions in the US, and we are currently struggling to create both online and face-to-face venues for constructive conversations and dialogue to improve race relations. Given the current climate, I would like the book I am writing to address conflicts based on race and other identity characteristics more directly. While I have examined identity conflict in some of my work in healthcare, the relevant identity was professional rather than racial or ethnic.

 

During my time in Israel I will continue my conflict research through examination of the communication tools and techniques that have been designed to facilitate and transform conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. There are many lessons we can learn (about race relations in the U.S., for example) from successful programs in Israel. For example, Dr. Ifat Maoz, who is sponsoring me, has done quite a bit of research in the area of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Articles she has published include titles such as “Peace building in violent conflict: Israeli-Palestinian Post Oslo people to people activities” and “Coexistence is in the eye if the beholder: evaluating intergroup encounter interventions between Jews and Arabs in Israel” (both published in 2004). She has also written explicitly about dialogue in co-authored articles such as “Learning about 'good enough' through 'bad enough': A story of a planned dialogue between Israeli Jews and Palestinians,” and “Online arguments between Israeli-Jews and Palestinians.” In addition to working with Dr. Maoz and her contacts, I have additional colleagues in Israel I could work with based on my 20 years as a member (and 2016 President of) the International Association for Conflict Management, such as Jay Rothman, Professor in the Graduate Program on Conflict Resolution, Management and Negotiation at Bar-Ilan University, who has written several books on identity-based conflict. I believe working with Dr. Maoz and other conflict scholars in Israel would contribute greatly to my research and allow me to add a critically important element to the book I have been working on.