Team

Dr. Slieman Halabi

Post-doc

Positionsbeschreibung

Research interests

My research revolves around how social identities shape interactions between groups and influence responses to inequality, conflict, and historical responsibility. My doctoral work focused on individuals and groups that straddle multiple social identities, the so-called “in-between group” members, and how they navigate political perceptions and behavior within contexts of intergroup conflict. Building on this foundation, my recent research explores misrecognition and micro-aggressions, for instance, identity denial that is experienced by minority group members, and how majority group members can respond constructively to confrontation about such experiences.  

Second, I investigate the role of collective memory and moral lessons of history, particularly those related to National Socialism and the Holocaust, in fostering resistance to authoritarianism and right-wing extremism. This line of research examines how historical remembrance can motivate civic engagement and democratic resilience. Moreover, I examine how these lessons influence Germans’ solidarity with Israel and the Palestinians.  

Alongside my academic work, I have been organizing and facilitating dialogue workshops bringing together Israelis and Palestinians living in Europe. These projects involve qualitative analysis to explore how asymmetries of power, privilege, and responsibility manifest in dialogue and how diasporia settings can encourage reflection, solidarity, and political action.  

Academic Career

since 2021 Postdoctoral Researcher, Chair of Social and Personality Psychology, University of Wuppertal
2019 – 2021 Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Bielefeld University
2022 PhD in Social Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
      Thesis: Falling in Between the Lines: The Experience of Individuals with Multiple Identities
2016 Research Associate, Jacobs University Bremen
2014 MA in Cognitive Psychology, Tel Aviv University

Projects

Past and Present: the Moral Lessons of the Holocaust for Democracy and Contemporary Intergroup Conflicts

Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue in the Diaspora: between Distancing and (Dis)Engagement

“Friend or Foe?” When Speaking the Minority’s Language Backfires

Funding & Awards

2024 – 2025 – Small Grant - Forum Friedenspsychologie (Peace Psychology Forum)
From History to Action: The Role of Historical Obligations from National Socialism and the Holocaust in Shaping Resistance to Authoritarianism and Right-Wing Extremism 

2023 – 2024 – German Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency
Experiences of Racist Discrimination and Mental Health in the Everyday Lives of Young People of Eastern European Origin
(with A. Kaurin & A. Baumert, 200,000 €)

2023 – 2024 – University of Wuppertal
Microaggression Confrontations: Interactions Between Deliverers and Recipients (7,622 €)

2023 – German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Conference travel grant, Montreal, Canada (1,933 €)

2018 – Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)
Graduate Travel Award for the 2019 Annual Convention

2014 – Moshe Dayan Center, Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, Tel Aviv University
Award for outstanding studies on Jewish–Arab relations in Israel

Publications

Becker, J., Essien, I., Halabi, S., Scholaske, L., & Veit, S. (2025). Acknowledging the Elephant in the Room: A Psychology of Racism Within the European Context. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 233(3), 147–154. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000598

Becker, J., Essien, I., Halabi, S., Scholaske, L., & Veit, S. (2024). “The Elephant in the Room: A Psychology of Racism Within the European Context”: A Topical Issue of the Zeitschrift für Psychologie. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 232(2), 139–141. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000552

Halabi, S., Klar, Y., Hanke, K., & Kessler, T. (2024). In‐between group membership within intergroup conflicts: The case of Druze in Israel. British Journal of Social Psychology, bjso.12760. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12760

Kende, A., Sam Nariman, H., Ayanian, A. H., Halabi, S., Ivan, C., Karić, T., Mihić, V., Nyúl, B., Pántya, J., & da Silva, C. (2024). ‘We’re still here’: Misrecognition and the quest for dual identification of Roma people. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 34(3), e2793.  https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2793

Özdemir, F., Doosje, B., Feddes, A. R., van Bergen, N. R., Ayanian, A. H., Halabi, S., Guevara, Y., Kende, A., Karić, T., & Da Silva, C. (2024). Antecedents and consequences of perceived misrecognition and perceived discrimination in ethnic minorities. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 99, 101938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.101938

Klar, Y., Mar’i, A. A.-R., Halabi, S., Basheer, A., & Basheer, B. (2020). Reactions of Arab-Palestinians in Israel Toward an In-group Member: Mixing Hebrew or English With Arabic. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39(4), 516-533. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X20933657

Adam-Troian, J., Bonetto, E., Araujo, M., Baidada, O., Celebi, E., Dono Martin, M., Eadeh, F., Godefroidt, A., Halabi, S., & Mahfud, Y. (2020). Positive associations between anomia and intentions to engage in political violence: Cross-cultural evidence from four countries. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 26(2), 217. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000385

Imhoff, R., Bilewicz, M., Hanke, K., Kahn, D. T., Henkel-Guembel, N., Halabi, S., Sherman, T.-S., & Hirschberger, G. (2017). Explaining the Inexplicable: Differences in Attributions for the Holocaust in Germany, Israel, and Poland: Attributions for the Holocaust. Political Psychology, 38(6), 907–924. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12348

Pre-prints

Halabi, S., Klar, Y., & Abu Elheja, M. (2025). “Friend or Foe?” When Speaking the Minority’s Language Backfires: Palestinian Reactions to Jewish-Israelis Using Arabic. When Speaking the Minority’s Language Backfires: Palestinian Reactions to Jewish-Israelis Using Arabic. SSRN. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5610813 (under review in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology)

Media Coverage 

Alongside my academic work, I have been involved in community and dialogue initiatives that foster critical exchange between Israelis and Palestinians and contribute to public discussions on remembrance, dialogue and solidarity. These activities have been featured in several German media outlets:

• ARD: Israelisches "Friedensdorf": Im Dialog zu mehr Verständnis
• DW: Wie sich Israelis und Palästinenser in Deutschland begegnen
• Deutschland.de: „Der Dialog ist nur der Anfang”. Slieman Halabi setzt sich von Deutschland aus dafür ein, Israelis und Palästinenser miteinander ins Gespräch zu bringen.
• RBB: Slieman Halabi bringt Palästinenser und Israelis zusammen
• SZ: Wo Israelis und Palästinenser einander zuhören – auch wenn es weh tut