Noura Erakat is an human rights attorney and activist. She is currently an
adjunct professor of international human rights law in the Middle East
at Georgetown University. She is an advisor on Middle East Affairs
to Congressman Dennis Kucinich and has served as Counsel for a
Congressional Committee in the House of Representatives. Recently, she helped
launch the Palestinian equal rights lobby:
the American Association for
Palestinian Equal Rights.
As a Palestinian-American, Noura Erakat tells the story of the Palestinian people in compelling, personal, and informative ways – from first-hand experience. She has lived, worked, and studied in Israel-Palestine and this past Spring, was part of a National Lawyers Guild Mission to Gaza
investigating Israeli war crimes. Erakat has a keen understanding of the different issues underlying the conflict. Her ability to present the basics in a fair way to people who know little is astounding, as is her belief in relating the Palestinian struggle to others around the world.
While a leading student activist for Palestinian rights and divestment from Israel, she studied the Middle East at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon finishing law school at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, Erakta received a New Voices Fellowship to work at the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (USC) in Washington, DC. At the USC, she works as the National Grassroots Organizer and Legal Advocate.
From numerous speaking appearances, Erakat developed a reputation for an exhilarating speaking ability. Erakat is informed, but far from dry; persuasive, but fair; and passionate enough to make sure audiences have no choice but to be engaged. Erakat is an important voice for Palestinians in the United States.
Erakat has
appeared on national and international television programs including MSNBC, HBO’s “Politically Incorrect,” Fox’s
“The O’Reilly Factor,” Al
Jazeera International, among others. Her articles and essays are regularly found in magazines, newspapers and websites.
