Julia Chaitin received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. Julia combines academic work with social justice activism. In addition to her work in Resource Development at NISPED, she is a Senior Lecturer in the department of Social Work at Sapir Academic College. In 2001 – 2002, she held the Lentz Post-Doctoral Fellowship for Peace and Conflict Resolution Research at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and from 2003 – 2006 she was an Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies at Nova Southeastern University. Julia was also one of the designers of the Conflict Studies graduate program at Ben Gurion University of the Negev.  

Dr. Chaitin’s research has three main foci:

• The long-term psychosocial impacts of the Holocaust on survivors, their families and young adults in Germany and in Israel
• Joint Palestinian – Israeli research that examines the impact of the conflict on Israelis and Palestinians
• Issues of ethnic belonging and identity among refugee/immigrant populations

Dr. Chaitin specializes in narrative and ethnographic research. In her work, she documents and explores the life stories of people who have suffered social trauma due to violent conflicts, within the context of their culture. Her two latest books include Children in the Shadow of the Holocaust, co-authored with Zahava Solomon, published by Kibbutz Ha’meuchad Publishing House, and Inside-Out: Personal and Collective Life in Israel and the Kibbutz (University Press of America). She has authored nearly 50 articles, chapters and books and her work appears in English, Hebrew, German and Hungarian. Julia is currently involved in research studies exploring: (1) the long-term personal, social and political impacts of the Holocaust on Jewish-Israeli young adults, and (2) refugees and immigrants from Palestine and Israel, and from Cuba, Guatemala and Haiti to the United States.

Julia believes that open, honest dialogue, that takes place in an atmosphere of equality between peoples/groups in conflict, is essential to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The belief "that if you want peace, work for justice" guides her work, both in the academia and in her work with NISPED and other civil society groups and endeavors.