Home › Policy Advisors and Members ›

Policy Advisors

Policy Advisors are the foundation of Al-Shabaka’s “virtual think tank.” Policy Advisors are established and recognized Palestinian scholars, writers, cultural figures, and others who have made significant contributions in the public sphere and who agree with Al-Shabaka’s vision and principles. The Policy Advisors develop briefs based on their areas of expertise and research.

The role of Al-Shabaka Policy Advisors includes when possible:

  • Writing policy briefs and position papers
  • Peer reviewing policy briefs and position papers
  • Serving on the Al-Shabaka editorial and other committees
  • Assisting in editing and translation when possible
  • Disseminating Al-Shabaka’s policy analysis and opinions through media contacts and other outreach throughout the world

For information on how to join Al-Shabaka see here

Laila el-Haddad

Laila el-Haddad is a Maryland-based freelance journalist, author, political analyst, and parent-of-two from Gaza. From 2003-2007, she was Gaza correspondent for the Al-Jazeera English website and a regular contributor to the BBC World Service. She is the author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything in Between, named for the award-winning blog she has authored since 2004, and was a contributor to The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict (Nation Books January 2011) and author of the forthcoming Gaza Kitchen.

Samer Abdelnour

Samer Abdelnour is completing a PhD in Management at the London School of Economics. His doctoral research examines NGOs and humanitarian response, and the role of community and collective enterprise in postwar peace-building and development in Sudan. Since 2005 Samer has managed applied research projects across Sudan (Darfur, Southern Sudan, Blue Nile).

Rabab Abdulhadi

Rabab Abdulhadi is Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, Associate Professor of Race and Resistance Studies, and Senior Scholar, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative at San Francisco State University. She is a long-time feminist activist and scholar who has contributed to the struggle for Palestinian self-determination and the well-being of Palestinian women. From 1982 to 1988, she was the Director of Political and International Relations at the Middle East Research Center in New York.

Bashir Abu-Manneh

Bashir Abu-Manneh is Assistant Professor of English at Barnard College, where he teaches global literature, Palestinian and Israeli literatures, Marxism, and Postcolonialism. He is affiliated with Barnard's programs in Africana Studies and Comparative Literature. He has written widely on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Ali Abunimah

Ali Abunimah is a writer and commentator on Middle East and Arab American affairs. He author of One Country, A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse (Metropolitan Books), and co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, an independent online publication with a global readership. He blogs at http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/

Sami al-Banna

Sami al-Banna is Director and Chief Technology Officer, NPS Office of Innovation, North American Public Sector at CSC. He was previously director of knowledge systems at McKinsey and Company.

Linah al-Banna

Linah al-Banna is a Child Psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Samia al-Botmeh

Economics and Gender Studies at Birzeit University in Ramallah, West Bank. She is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, and her thesis is entitled “Gender Differentials in Labor Market Outcomes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Previously, al-Botmeh worked as Senior Researcher and Coordinator of Research at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) in Ramallah and has published extensively on contemporary Palestinian economics, labor markets, and gender differentials.

Hani al-Masri

Hani al-Masri is a journalist and political analyst.  He was a columnist for al-Ayyam and al-Hayat.  Since 2005, he has served as the General Manager of Badael, the Palestinian Media, Research and Studies Center.

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.