Jamal Dajani ( ar, جمال الدجاني) is a
Palestinian-American journalist and an award-winning producer. He is the co-founder o
Arab Talk Radio He formerly served as Director of Strategic Communications & Media for former Palestinian Prime Minister
Rami Hamdallah. Prior to this he was Vice President of Middle East and North Africa at
Internews
Internews Network, now Internews, is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in California, formed in 1982. It was founded by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger. The president and CEO is Jeanne Bourgault.
Internews Europe is an in ...
. He is currently a lecturer at
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
.
Biography
Born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
to a prominent Palestinian family that served as custodians of
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
’s mausoleum in
Mount Zion
Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew ...
, Dajani completed his early studies at
Collège des Frères and attended
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in New York City, where he received a B.A. in Political Science.
Dajani is former Vice President of Middle East and North Africa at
Internews
Internews Network, now Internews, is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in California, formed in 1982. It was founded by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger. The president and CEO is Jeanne Bourgault.
Internews Europe is an in ...
, an international non-profit organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect and the means to make their voices heard. Prior to this, he was the Vice President of International News at
Link TV and co-creator and series producer of ''
Mosaic: World News from the Middle East'', winner of a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
. In 2006, Dajani launched the ''Mosaic Intelligence Report'', a weekly video analysis broadcast on Link TV and distributed online. He has also worked as producer and in an editorial capacity on several television productions, including
Occupied Minds
''Occupied Minds: A Palestinian-Israeli journey beyond hope and despair'' is a 2006 documentary film that was written, produced, and directed by journalists Jamal Dajani and David Michaelis. The film first released in the United States in March 20 ...
(a documentary about the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict
The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
), ''Who Speaks for Islam?'', and
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
Frontline World
''Frontline'' (stylized as FRONTLINE) is an investigative documentary program distributed by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Episodes are produced at WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts. The series has covered a variety ...
''War of Ideas'', where he acted .
as a consultant. Dajani has made guest appearances on numerous television and radio networks, and is a contributor to the ''Listening Post'' on
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...
. He has published several articles on the Middle East and blogs regularly on
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
. He is the co-host of ''Arab Talk'' on
KPOO radio.
Dajani was appointed by then-Mayor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
to the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission where he served as Chair (2005–2009),
and served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (2009–2011). He served for two years (2003–2004) as President of the Arab Cultural and Community Center of San Francisco, and served on the board of New America Media, a collaboration of ethnic news organizations in the U.S.
Awards
* 64th Annual Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
for excellence in radio and television broadcasting – Producer, ''Mosaic''
* 10th Annual Webby Awards
The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...
Honoree – Producer, Mosaic
* ACCC- Community Service Award – 2005
* New California Media "Pathbreaker" Special Achievement Award – 2003
* City & County of San Francisco – Certificate of Honor – 2010
* San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission – Certificate of Honor – 2009
* State of Californian Senate – Certificate of Recognition – 2009
See also
* Occupied Minds
''Occupied Minds: A Palestinian-Israeli journey beyond hope and despair'' is a 2006 documentary film that was written, produced, and directed by journalists Jamal Dajani and David Michaelis. The film first released in the United States in March 20 ...
, a 2006 documentary film about the Palestinian - Israeli conflict
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
References
External links
Jamal Dajani Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dajani, Jamal
American male journalists
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Palestinian film directors
People from Jerusalem
Living people
Palestinian emigrants to the United States
1957 births