Nora Lester Murad
Al-Shabaka Policy Member Nora Lester Murad is an adjunct associate professor at Fordham University. She is also the co-founder of Dalia Association, Palestine’s first community foundation; and Aid Watch Palestine, a community-driven aid accountability initiative. She has published widely on the subjects of international aid and community philanthropy, including in The Guardian, Aljazeera, Huffingto
Nour Joudah
Al-Shabaka Policy Member Nour Joudah holds MA degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, and wrote her MA thesis on the role and perception of exile politics within the Palestinian liberation struggle, in particular among politically active Palestinian youth living in the United States and Occupied Palestine. She has taught at American University and is currently Associate Producer of Status Hour and Grants Officer for the Hassib Sabbagh Foundation. Nour is pursuing a PhD in Geography with a research focus on the spatial relations of decolonization in former settler colonies.
Noura Erakat
Noura Erakat is an assistant professor at George Mason University where she teaches in the legal studies, international studies, and human rights/social justice studies concentrations. An attorney and human rights advocate, she previously served as Legal Counsel for a Congressional Subcommittee in the House of Representatives and as an advisor on Middle East affairs for Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Noura comments regularly on US foreign policy and international law matters. She has appeared on Al Jazeera International, NBC’s “Politically Incorrect,” and Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor.” Her writings have appeared in The Huffington Post, Berkeley Law School’s Journal for Middle East and Islamic Law, Counterpunch, Al-Majdal, and the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).
Noura Mansour
Al-Shabaka Policy Member Noura Mansour is a Palestinian educator, writer, activist and community organizer, from Acre city. She studied Political Science and Education and received masters in International Relations from Haifa University. Noura has been involved in development and community work with NGOs in Jerusalem, West Bank and Palestine 48. She has worked with international NGOs and solidarity movements in Korea and Australia where she is now based and works in the Education sector. Noura is also a debate trainer and has taught and trained in many international forums in Asia, Middle East, Europe and Australia.
Nur Arafeh
Nur Arafeh is a Fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, in Washington DC, where her work focuses on the political economy of the MENA region, business-state relations, peacebuilding strategies, the development-security nexus and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She previously served as Al-Shabaka’s Palestine Policy Fellow between 2015 and 2017, worked as an Associate Researcher at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), and as a Visiting Lecturer of Economics at Al-Quds Bard College. Nur has also consulted for several Palestinian and international organizations, on issues related to development policies, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and socio-economic policy analysis. Her commentaries have appeared in English, Arabic and French in The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, Al-Jazeera, and Al-Akhbar, among other outlets. Nur holds a doctorate in International Development as a Rhodes Scholar from the University of Oxford, a Master’s in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a dual-BA degree in Political Science and Economics from Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University.”
Omar Barghouti
Omar Barghouti is a Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. He is a co-recipient of the 2017 Gandhi Peace Award. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, NY, and is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy (ethics) at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of, BDS: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights (Haymarket: 2011). His commentaries and views have appeared in many mainstream outlets including the New York Times, the Guardian, MSNBC, CNN, Le Monde, among others.
Omar Shaban
Omar Shaban is the Founder and Director of the Gaza-based PalThink for Strategic Studies an independent think tank with no political affiliation. He is an analyst of the political-economy of the Middle East and is a regular writer and commentator for the Arab and international media. Omar is a founder of Palestinian groups for Amnesty International, the deputy head of the board of Asala, an association promoting microfinance for women, and a member of the Institute of Good Governance.
Nael Bitarie
Al-Shabaka Policy Member Nael Bitarie is a Palestinian Syrian. Since 2004, Nael has been working with refugees from Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and refugees in Sweden where he currently lives. He is a Co-founder of Sawa for Development and Aid in Lebanon where he was the programmes manager. Currently he is a consultant and board member at Jafra Foundation. His work focuses on community mobilization, capacity building, and development. Currently Nael works with a number of initiatives in relation to Al-Yarmouk camp crisis.
Najwa al-Qattan
Najwa al-Qattan is associate professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the American University of Beirut, Georgetown and Harvard Universities. She has published on the Ottoman Muslim court, Jews and Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and the Great War.
