Rimah Jaber, a fourth-year Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student at Fordham, was recently featured by SAGE Publishing for her apprentice-based research study on the identity development of Palestinian Muslim women in the U.S.
Her project, “We’re Not Home Anymore: Exploring Identity and Experiences of Palestinian Muslim Women in the U.S.”, dives into the complex identity processes Palestinian American women navigate—especially in the context of family displacement, politicized identities, and systemic discrimination. Jaber first presented this research at the 2024 APA Convention, where it received an “Outstanding Poster Presentation” award. Read more here.
Filming with SAGE, she said, was “an incredible opportunity”—and not a common one, especially for graduate students. “The invitation also came at a time of heightened silencing and censorship of Palestinian voices,” Jaber said. “So for me, it was recognition that my research on the identities and experiences of Palestinian women was needed and important.”
The interview gave her space to talk not only about her findings, but why this work matters to her personally. As a Palestinian Muslim woman, her research is about more than data. “It’s about finding meaning in the challenges we face,” she said. She also pointed to how long Palestinian Americans have been excluded from research—and why that absence makes spaces like this all the more important.
Using a phenomenological approach, Jaber conducted one-on-one interviews with participants and created space for them to talk deeply about their lived experiences. From those conversations, several themes emerged: identity fragmentation, politicization of Muslim and Palestinian identities, dehumanizing messages from society, and also—resilience. Many spoke about how their communities, cultural practices, and faith helped them push back against erasure.
Jaber also noted that these identity challenges are even more intense now than when she gathered her data, which was before the 2023 escalations in the Middle East. Based on her findings, she encouraged other Palestinian Muslim women to “lean into their coping strategies—into the communities and spaces that recognize and validate their experiences, and into the cultural practices that combat erasure and make them feel whole.”
She hopes the work will push institutions, especially academic ones, to support Palestinian students’ rights to pursue education and professional growth without fear of retaliation. And most of all, she hopes the research helps create more spaces where Palestinian women can be seen, heard, and protected.
This content was contributed by Leah McKirgan and edited by Vince Ricco.
