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Research

Research agenda

Conflict and reconciliation; antisemitism, racism, and discrimination; health psychology in chronic conditions—linked by shared methods and translational aims.

Threads

01

Intergroup Conflict & Reconciliation

Psychological processes underlying conflict, prejudice, and interventions that foster coexistence and tolerance—especially among youth.

Contact and coexistence orientation · Inclusivity norms and polarization · Hope, collective action, and peace · School-based social network interventions

02

Antisemitism, Racism & Discrimination

Mechanisms and psychosocial impacts of contemporary antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, centering target-group perspectives.

Antisemitism and mental health · Antisemitism accommodation · Criticism of Israel vs. prejudice · Coping, resilience, and identity

03

Health Psychology & Chronic Conditions

Illness identity, social support, and quality of life for people navigating chronic conditions such as celiac disease and IBD.

Celiac camps and peer support · Illness identity and flourishing · Stigma and self-compassion · Dyadic child–parent measurement

Programs

Projects

  • Active2020–2025+

    INCLUSIVITY: Countering Polarization through Inclusivity Norms

    Project leader / Co-PI (Leading PI: Prof. Maarten van Zalk)

    Volkswagen Stiftung (VW Foundation)

    A multi-country program examining how inclusivity norms shape tolerance, contact, and cooperation amid polarization. Includes the school-based “Together for Tolerance” social-network intervention in diverse German schools, longitudinal adolescent surveys, and cross-national evidence from 12 European countries.

    • PNAS Nexus (2026) multi-country norms study
    • Social Inclusion (2025) longitudinal polarization paper
    • International Journal of Developmental Sciences (2023) feasibility study
    • Journal of Youth and Adolescence (2025) cyberbullying norms RCT
  • Active2022–present

    Antisemitism, Collective Trauma, and Psychosocial Health

    PI

    Multi-method research documenting the prevalence and mental-health correlates of antisemitism among Jews in Germany—before and after October 7—and adaptive versus maladaptive coping. Extends to qualitative network analyses of social support disruption and resilience pedagogies with Jewish educators (Project Ma’aneh).

    • Frontiers in Psychology (2025): “If you prick us, do we not bleed?”
    • Education after October 7 book chapter (2025)
    • Scientific report: October 7, One Year Later (2024)
    • Handbook of Antisemitism Studies chapter (forthcoming 2026)
  • Active2025–present

    Antisemitism Accommodation & Anti-Zionist Litmus Tests

    PI

    Experimental and conceptual work on how institutions and bystanders enable anti-Jewish discrimination when it is framed as political neutrality—and how “litmus tests” silence Jews and allies in progressive and workplace settings. Includes studies from offender, bystander, and victim perspectives.

    • Early Career Speaker Series, Indiana University (2025)
    • Contemporary Antisemitism 2026 Conference (Haifa)
    • Collaborative work with Czech and Israeli partners on workplace silencing
  • Active2024–present

    Criticism of Israel, Antisemitism, and Support for Boycott vs. Engagement

    PI

    Longitudinal and multi-wave studies testing when criticism of Israeli policy predicts constructive engagement versus punitive boycotts—and whether antisemitism operates as a critical boundary condition for that pathway.

    • Manuscript under review at Scientific Reports (with S. Vopel)
  • Active2025–present

    Civilian Firearm Decision-Making after October 7

    Co-PI (Leading PI: Prof. Uzi Ben Shalom)

    Israeli Ministry of Innovation, Science & Technology (~500,000 NIS)

    “Stop or I’ll Shoot”: a systematic examination of civilian firearm decision-making in Israel’s post-October 7 context—including latent profiles of licensed gun owners and psychopolitical predictors of support for civilian armament and lethal force legitimacy.

    • Multiple manuscripts under review / in preparation
  • Active2025–present

    Mental Resilience & PTSD Prevention (IDF Medical Corps)

    Research Adviser, Center for Mental Health, Medical Corps

    Applied research on mental resilience and interventions to prevent distress and PTSD among soldiers and reservists, in partnership with the IDF Center for Mental Health.

  • Active2018–present

    Illness Identity, Camps, and Quality of Life in Chronic Conditions

    PI

    A sustained health-psychology program on celiac disease and IBD: camps and peer support for youth, illness identity and flourishing, romantic rejection concerns, dyadic parent–child measurement, and scientific advising to celiac societies in Israel, Germany, and Switzerland.

    • British Journal of Health Psychology (2025) celiac camps quasi-experiment
    • Journal of Health Psychology papers (2022, 2024)
    • Frontiers in Psychology (2024) romantic rejection concerns
  • Completed2019–2024

    The Paradox of Hope in Intractable Conflict

    PI / lead author

    With collaborators including Eran Halperin and Jonas Kunst, this line of work shows how group-based hope for victory can both energize and obstruct pathways to peace—with implications for resilience and war attitudes after October 7.

    • British Journal of Social Psychology (2024)
    • AIS conference presentation (2024)

Methods

Design & analysis

Measurement development, SEM, multilevel and latent profile models, social network analysis, field experiments, and mixed methods.

Social network interventions

Identifying influential students and seeding equality-based respect norms in schools.

Longitudinal & multi-country designs

Adolescent panels in Germany; inclusivity-norm evidence across 12 European countries.

Experiments & quasi-experiments

Protest tactics, school RCTs, celiac-camp evaluations, accommodation paradigms.

Measurement science

Scale development, SEM, dyadic invariance, latent profile analysis.