Rula Jebreal ( ar, رولا جبريل, he, רולא ג'בריל; born April 24, 1973) is a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

foreign policy analyst, journalist, novelist and screenwriter with dual

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

and

Italian citizenship Italian nationality law is the law of Italy governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Italian citizenship. Like many continental European countries it is largely based on '' jus sanguinis''. It also incorporates many elements that are ...

. She was a commentator for

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

Early life and education

Jebreal was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

-born

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

Othman Jebreal and Zakia, and grew up in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Her father was an imam and groundskeeper at the

Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...

. Her mother, who suffered from severe abuse in her childhood, committed suicide by walking into the sea and drowning when Jebreal was 5. She and her sister Rania were put into the Dar El-Tifel

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

by their father, in 1978, until 1991. She was raised in the orphanage, and regards its founder, Hind Husseini, as her teacher and mother, crediting her with saving her life. In 1993, she received a scholarship from the

Italian government The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President. The Italian Constitutio ...

to study at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, where she graduated with a degree in

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

Career

Journalism

Jebreal worked as a journalist in Italy for twelve years. In 2006 she worked with

Michele Santoro Michele Santoro (born 2 July 1951) is an Italian journalist, and television host and presenter. He also served till October 2005 as Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy with the United in the Olive Tree list, part of the Sociali ...

as an interviewer on

AnnoZero ''AnnoZero'' was an Italian television talk show hosted by the Italian journalist Michele Santoro and was broadcast on Rai 2 from 2006 to 2011. Beatrice Borromeo was a collaborator on this show from 2006–2008. Journalist Marco Travaglio was a p ...

, a political television show in Italy.

Books and films

Jebreal first novel ''Miral'' was published in 2003. The

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

, adapted by Jebreal, and directed by

Julian Schnabel Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings" — with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been ...

, was first released in 2010. Jebreal's second novel ''The Bride of Aswan'' was published in 2007. Her third book, ''Rejected'', is a non-fiction study based on interviews with immigrants who have either made their way to successful careers in Italy or otherwise live on the margins of Italian society.

Personal life

She has a daughter Miral whose father is artist Davide Rivalta. Her collaboration with

on ''Miral'', extended beyond the movie. Jebreal was in a relationship with him from 2007 to 2011. In 2013, she married Arthur Altschul, Jr., son of banker Arthur Goodhart Altschul Sr. and a member of the

Lehman family The Lehman family is a prominent family of Jewish German-Americans who founded the financial firm Lehman Brothers. Some were also involved in American politics. Members have married into the prominent Morgenthau, Loeb, and Bronfman families. The ...

. She divorced Altschul in 2016 and started dating

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

, founder of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

. She is fluent in four languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English and Italian. She describes herself as a "secular Muslim".

Works

*'' La strada dei fiori di Miral'', BUR Biblioteca Univ. Rizzoli, 2005, ** **''Ørkenblomsten'', Engelstad forl., 2005, **''Miral – Ein Land. Drei Frauen. Ein gemeinsamer Traum'', Translated Leon Mengden, Btb, 2010, *''La sposa di Assuan'', (Bride of Aswan) Rizzoli, 2005, **''La promise d'Assouan'', Translated Lucie Comparini, Altal éd., 2007, **''A esposa de Assuão'', Campo das Letras, 2007, *''Divieto di soggiorno: l'Italia vista con gli occhi dei suoi immigrati'', (Rejected) Milan, Italy: Rizzoli, 2007,

References

External links

* * * * Rula Jebreal on C-SPAN
"Rula Jebreal"
collected articles at ''Radyoheval'' (Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jebreal, Rula 1973 births Living people Palestinian television personalities People from Jerusalem American Muslims Palestinian novelists Israeli people of Nigerian descent Palestinian people of Nigerian descent Arab citizens of Israel University of Bologna alumni People from Haifa Lehman family Palestinian broadcasters Italian people of Israeli descent Italian people of Palestinian descent