Huwaida Arraf

Huwaida Arraf
Arraf in 2009
Born	1976 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Citizenship	American
Education	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor American University
Occupation	lawyer, activist
Spouse(s)	Adam Shapiro

Huwaida Arraf (born 1976 in Detroit, Michigan) is a Palestinian American human rights activist, lawyer and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization focused on assisting the Palestinian side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using non-violent protests. Her law practice is based in Ramallah.

Arraf was born to two Palestinian parents - her mother from the West Bank town of Beit Sahour and her father from the Palestinian village of Mi'ilya, in the Galilee, which was taken over by Israel in 1948 and became part of the state. Under Israeli law, she has Israeli citizenship through her father, a Palestinian citizen of Israel. Her parents moved from the West Bank to Detroit, Michigan, Arraf's birthplace, to be able to raise her away from the violence in the West Bank. She and her parents were able to visit Israel every few years until Arraf was ten years old.

Arraf majored in Arabic and Judaic studies and political science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She spent a year at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and studied Hebrew on a kibbutz. Arraf later earned a J.D. at American University's Washington College of Law. Her focus was on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, with a particular interest in war crimes prosecution.

As a law student Arraf conducted research for the Public International Law and Policy Group, which provides pro bono legal assistance to governments involved in conflicts. Arraf also worked with the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the Washington College of Law, where she represented clients before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on issues ranging from indigenous lands rights to cross-border abductions and irregular rendition.

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