Hanan Ashrawi

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Hanan Ashrawi

Born 8 October 1946 (1946-10-08) (age 61)
Nablus
Occupation Politician
Spouse Emile Ashrawi
Children Amal, Zeina
Parents Daoud Mikhail, Wadi'a Ass'ad

Hanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi (b. October 8, 1946) is a Palestinian scholar and political activist. She is a protege and later colleague and close friend of Edward Said. Ashrawi was an important leader during the First Intifada, served as the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East peace process, and has been elected numerous times to the Palestinian Legislative Council.

She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in literature in the Department of English at the American University of Beirut. Ashrawi also has a Ph.D. in Medieval and Comparative Literature from the University of Virginia.

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[edit] Personal life

Ashrawi was born to Palestinian Christian parents on October 8, 1946 in the West Bank city of Nablus.[1] Her father, Daoud Mikhail, was a founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization and her mother was of Lebanese descent. Her family later moved to Ramallah, where she attended the Ramallah Friends Girls School. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in literature in the Department of English at the American University of Beirut. Ashrawi also has a Ph.D. in Medieval and Comparative Literature from the University of Virginia. While a graduate student in literature at the American University in Beirut she dated Peter Jennings of ABC News who was then stationed there as ABC's Beirut bureau chief.[2] Ashrawi will be receiving an Honorary Doctoral Degree at the American University of Beirut on June 28, 2008 as part of an award ceremony coinciding with the university's 139th commencement.

She was married on August 8, 1975 to Emil Ashrawi, a Christian Jerusalemite (born 1951)[3] who is now a photographer and a theater director.[4] Together they have two daughters, Amal (b. 1977) and Zeina (b. 1981).[5]

[edit] Political Activism

Ashrawi returned to the West Bank in 1973 to establish the Department of English at Birzeit University. She served as Chair of that department from 1973 to 1978, and again from 1981 through 1984; and from 1986-1990 she served the university as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. She remained a faculty member at Birzeit University until 1995, publishing numerous poems, short stories, papers and articles on Palestinian culture, literature, and politics.

Ashrawi's political activism in the occupied territories began almost as early as her academic career at Birzeit. In 1974, while the university was suffering intermittent closures by the Israeli military, she founded the Birzeit University Legal Aid Committee/Human Rights Action Project. Her political work took a greater leap in 1988 during the First Intifada, when she joined the Intifada Political Committee, serving on its Diplomatic Committee until 1993. From 1991 to 1993 she served as the official spokesperson of the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East peace process and a member of the Leadership/Guidance Committee and executive committee of the delegation.

From 1993 to 1995, with the signing of the Oslo Accords by Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, Palestinian self-rule was established, and Ashrawi headed the Preparatory Committee of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights in Jerusalem. Ashrawi has also served since 1996 as an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Jerusalem Governorate.

In 1996 Ashrawi was appointed the Palestinian Authority Minister of Higher Education and Research, but she resigned the post in 1998 in protest against political corruption, specifically Arafat's handling of peace talks.

In 1998, Ashrawi founded MIFTAH -- the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, an initiative which works towards respect for human rights, democracy and peace.

In 2003 Ashrawi was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize. Her selection was controversial among conservative Australians, who decried Ashrawi as "an apologist for terrorism". A more sympathetic account of Ashrawi's selection can be found in Antony Loewenstein's My Israel Question.[6]

Ashrawi is a member of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's Third Way party.[7]

Ashrawi holds honorary degrees from Earlham College and Smith College.

[edit] Works Published

  • Anthology of Palestinian Literature (ed).
  • The Modern Palestinian Short Story: An Introduction to Practical Criticism
  • Contemporary Palestinian Literature under Occupation
  • Contemporary Palestinian Poetry and Fiction
  • Literary Translation: Theory and Practice
  • This Side of Peace: A Personal Account (ISBN 0-684-80294-5)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Sarah K. Horsley. Hanan Ashrawi. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  2. ^ Fenyvesi, Charles (December 30, 1991 / January 6, 1992). Washington whispers. US News & World Report through LexisNexis Academic. Retrieved on November 30, 2006.
  3. ^ A glimpse into the life of Hanan Ashrawi, Muslimedia: April 1-15, 1997
  4. ^ Israel - Palestina: la paz imposible (in Spanish), Solidarios humanitarian organization web site
  5. ^ Conversation with Hanan Ashrawi, University of California publication
  6. ^ Questioning Israel. The Australian Jewish News (28 July 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  7. ^ "Ashrawi defends Hizbullah and Hamas", The Jerusalem Post, October 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 

[edit] External links

opposing views

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Sydney Peace Prize laureates

Muhammad Yunus (1998) · Desmond Tutu (1999) · Xanana Gusmão (2000) · William Deane (2001) · Mary Robinson (2002) · Hanan Ashrawi (2003) · Arundhati Roy (2004) · Olara Otunnu (2005) · Irene Khan (2006) · Hans Blix (2007)