Noura Saleh Erakat (, ; ; born ) is a

Palestinian-American Palestinian Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. There are around 160,000 Palestinian American refugees according to the 2023 American Community Survey, making up around 0.05% of the U.S. population. Th ...

activist, university professor, legal scholar, and human rights attorney. She is currently a professor at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, specializing in international studies. Her primary focus is the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

, and she is a vocal critic of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Education and career

Noura Saleh Erakat was born on January 16, 1980, in Alameda County, California. She attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 2002, was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and was named a UC-Berkeley Human Rights Center Summer Fellow in 2003. In 2005, she received her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

and was awarded the Francine Diaz Memorial Scholarship Award. She completed her L.L.M at

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

in 2012. In 2010, she was a co-founder of ''

Jadaliyya ''Jadaliyya'' (" dialectic") is an independent ezine founded in 2010 by the Arab Studies Institute (ASI) to cover the Arab World and the broader Middle East. It publishes articles in Arabic, French, English and Turkish, and is run primarily o ...

'', an

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the comput ...

published in English, Arabic, and French, and which is affiliated with the non-profit Arab Studies Institute, operating in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Erakat has served as "legal counsel to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee" and has previously taught at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. From 2012–2014, she was a Freedman Fellow with

Temple University Beasley School of Law The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the law school of Temple University, a public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 650 students. Student body Admission for the ...

. Erakat also has taught international studies at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

. She currently serves on the board of the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

and serves as an associate professor at

, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Trans-Arab Research Institute, and is a policy advisor with Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. In 2019, Erakat published the book '' Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine'' at

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

. In May 2023, the Canadian MPP Sarah Jama, a 28-year old, black, disability rights activist, came under criticism for retweeting a tweet that Noura Erakat wrote. The tweet, which the lobby group

B'nai Brith Canada B'nai Brith Canada ( ; BBC; from ) is a Canadian Jewish service organization and advocacy group. It is the Canadian chapter of B'nai B'rith International and has offices in Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Vancouver. Mission The organizatio ...

described as “unacceptable,” praised Khader Adnan, a Palestinian activist and prisoner in

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

who died after an 87-day hunger strike in protest against Israel’s systematic and discriminatory use of

administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

to imprison Palestinians without charge or trial and to "to expose the basic injustice in Israel’s military justice system and its casual denial of basic freedoms". His cruel treatment had been condemned by many human rights groups and UN human rights experts. Erakat was said to be among three potential Palestinian American running mates for Dr

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

, the left-wing

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

's nominee for president of the United States in the 2024 election. In March 2025 Erakat received the Amnesty International Chair Award from the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Personal life

She is the sister of Yousef Erakat, better known by his

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

moniker,

FouseyTube Yousef Saleh Erakat (; ; born January 22, 1990), also known as FouseyTube or Fousey ( ), is a Palestinian-American YouTuber, online streamer, actor, and musician. His YouTube channels include ''FouseyTUBE'' (later renamed ''Crashout YSE''), and t ...

. She is the cousin of Ahmed Erakat, a Palestinian man who was shot and killed by Israeli police after his vehicle rammed into one of the barriers at a military checkpoint near

Abu Dis Abu Dis or Abu Deis () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, in the Jerusalem Governorate of the State of Palestine, bordering Jerusalem. Since the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Abu Dis land has been mostly part of " Area B", under Israeli military ...

, a village in the

Israeli-occupied West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

, on 23 June 2020. Noura has disputed the intentionality of this act.

Selected works

Academic books

*
Aborted State? The UN Initiative and New Palestinian Junctures
'' Co-edited with Mouin Rabbani, 2013. *
Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine
'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019.

Academic papers

Palestinian Refugees and the Syrian Uprising: Filling the Protection Gap During Secondary Forced Displacement
" Oxford Journal of International Refugee Law, Forthcoming.
New Imminence in the Time of Obama: The Impact of Targeted Killings on the Law of Self Defense
" Arizona Law Review, Forthcoming.
The US v. The Red Cross: Customary International Humanitarian Law & Universal Jurisdiction
" Denver Journal of International Law and Policy 41 Denv. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 225 (Winter 2013).
It's Not Wrong, It's Illegal: Situating the Gaza Blockade Between International Law and the UN Response
" UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law, Vol. 11, No. 37, 2011–2012.
Operation Cast Lead: The Elusive Quest for Self-Defense in International Law
" 36 Rutgers L. Rec. 164 (2009).
Litigating the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Politicization of U.S. Federal Courtrooms
" 2 Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law 27 (2009).

Print media

U.S. Should Stop Funding Israel, or Let Others Broker Peace
" ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,'' August 5, 2014.
Israeli operation not about security: Opposing view
"

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

, July 31, 2014.
Five Israeli Talking Points on Gaza—Debunked
" ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

,'' July 25, 2014.
Structural Violence on Trial: BDS and the Movement to Resist Erasure
"''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 201 ...

,'' March 16, 2014.

Interviews

Radio

Israel's greatest threats are internal, not Hamas or Iran, says former prime minister Ehud Barak

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, June 5, 2018
To The Point: "A New Shot at Peace Talks: Will it be Different this Time?"

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

, July 31, 2013.
Beyond Beijing: "Palestine seeking statehood bid in UN."

China Radio International China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in Babaoshan, Shijingshan, Beijing. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later adopted the pinyin fo ...

, November 21, 2012.

Video

Gaza in context."
gazaincontext.com, July 2016.
Debating the tactics and ethics of warfare on both sides of Mideast conflict
"

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

, July 24, 2014.
Gaza Debate: As Palestinian Deaths Top 100, Who's to Blame for Escalating Violence? What Can Be Done?
"

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...

, July 11, 2014.
Up With Chris Hayes: "Obama wraps up first trip to Israel as president."

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, March 22, 2013.
Up With Chris Hayes: "What sparked escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza."

, November 17, 2012.
The Law in These Parts: A Discussion
"

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as Thirteen (stylized as THIRTEEN), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the Educ ...

(

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Thirteen)

Notes

External links

Biography
–

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erakat, Noura 1980 births Living people American legal scholars George Mason University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni American people of Palestinian descent American women writers Palestinian women activists Palestinian human rights activists Human rights lawyers UC Berkeley School of Law alumni 21st-century Palestinian women writers 21st-century Palestinian writers American women legal scholars American women academics American women human rights activists Erekat family 21st-century American women