Difficulties, Experiences, and Feelings of the Palestinian Female Students From East Jerusalem Regarding Their Intergroup Encounter With Israeli-Jews in Israeli Academic Settings

Whereas previous studies examined intergroup interaction in organized and professionally moderated encounters between Israeli-Jews and Palestinians, the present study deals with a unique type of encounter. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of Palestinian students from East Jerusalem studying at Israeli universities. In this context, our study examines the dilemmas, experiences, and feelings of Palestinian female students from East Jerusalem regarding their intergroup interactions with Israeli-Jews in Israeli academic institutions. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 young Palestinian women from East Jerusalem studying in Israeli academic institutions in which the dominant language is Hebrew. The findings identify different aspects of this unique encounter while bringing into the discussion concepts such as microaggression and intersectionality. At the same time and importantly, the findings also make it possible to identify patterns of constructive intergroup interactions in this context of the protracted asymmetric conflict between Israeli-Jews and Palestinians.