An award-winning journalist, author and foreign policy analyst, Rula Jebreal has received accolades for her groundbreaking work in Italy, the United States and across the Middle East.
Ms. Jebreal was the first foreign anchor-person in the history of television news in Italy, where she went on to host multiple political talk shows. Since moving to the United States in 2008, Rula has been an on-air foreign policy analyst for MSNBC and a contributor to the Daily Beast, Newsweek and Salon.com, where her articles have reflected a deep knowledge of Islamic extremism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the new political order in the Arab Muslim world. Rula has appeared frequently on CNN and Bloomberg, and she has written op-eds for the New York Times and the San Jose Mercury News, among other media outlets.
Her first novel Miral has been translated into 15 languages, and is a worldwide bestseller. She also wrote the screenplay for the film of the same name and has subsequently produced two further books: The Bride of Aswan, which obtained the International Fenice Europe Prize, and Divieto di soggiorno (Permission to Survive but not to Thrive). These books address the marginalization of immigrants in Europe and how this plays into the hands of extremist elements.
Born in Haifa, Israel, Ms. Jebreal grew up in East Jerusalem. She graduated with a scholarship from the Italian government to study medicine, and she received a degree in physiotherapy from Bologna University. She always had a passion for journalism, and began to contribute to newspapers such as Il Resto del Carlino, Il Giorno, La Nazione and Il Messaggero.
Today, Ms. Jebreal lives (mostly) in the United States, moving there in 2008 when President Obama was elected, where she focuses on American politics and its impact on the world. She has become a regular commentator on CNN and NBC and has published regularly with the Washington Post, the New York Times and Foreign Policy magazine. Ms. Jebreal is recognized as a specialist on the consequences of the ‘Global War on Terror’, the rise of hyper-nationalism in the Western world and minority rights.
With strong roots in Rome – a place she still calls home – Ms. Jebreal was eager to become involved with the faculty and students of AUR: “It was a marriage of brains” she states, “When I first met the team at AUR; Richard Hodges, Lisa Colletta and Irene Caratelli, I was immediately fascinated and inspired by the trajectory of their ideas and how in tune they are with what’s going on around the world. I immediately recognized that this was an institution that was truly a global institution – and one that was helping to create 21st century citizens. I very much wanted to be a part of that.”