Amal Elsana Alh'jooj

Alh'jooj grew up in Tel Arad and Laqiya, both Bedouin communities in northern Negev.[1][3] She was her parents' fifth daughter, and the first of their children to be born in Soroka Hospital rather than a tent.[2] Her father was an agricultural worker in Israel, and named her Amal, meaning 'hope' in Arabic, in the hope that his wife would have sons after her.[1][2] Her family's home had no running water, electricity, doors or windows.[3] From age five until age 17, she worked as a shepherd.[3][1]

In 1993, Alh'jooj entered Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where she studied social work.[2][4] At the time, she was the first woman from her tribe to attend university, and one of only two Bedouin students at the university at the time.[1][2] During her time at university, she was head of the Arab Student Union.[1] She graduated in 1996.[1] As a master's student, she was also one of the first Israeli and Jordanian students to participate in the McGill Middle East Peace Program (MMEP), a social work program hosted by McGill University.[2] She went on to pursue a PhD at McGill as well.[2]

In the 2010s, Alh'jooj pursued a post-doctorate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy.[2][1] She focused on gender violence in Arab-Israeli communities.[1]

As a child growing up in a patriarchal culture, Alh'jooj, was often treated less fairly than her five younger brothers.[1][3][2] This was a source of anger throughout her childhood, and her grandmother helped her to direct that anger towards the systems that perpetuated inequality, rather than individuals.[3] Although Alh'jooj first became aware of patriarchy, she also soon became aware of how her community was harmed by government policies and gaps in systemic infrastructure that gave less support to Arab communities, including Bedouin communities.[1][5] Several of her uncles were involved with the Palestine Liberation Organization.[5] Ahl'jooj says members of her community “blamed the Jewish people for everything,” and described herself at the time as "very extremist".[5]

Ahl'jooj made her first political speech in 1982 during a protest in her community, in which she decried war and advocated for peace.[1] When she was 12, she wrote a letter to her father advocating for herself to attend a Hebrew school in Haifa.[6] Although she was unsuccessful, her father praised her writing skills, and Ahl'jooj has recognized this event as her first "formal attempt to stand up for women's rights".[6] In the next few years she earned a reputation as a troublemaker after founding a literacy group to teach local women to read and write.[2][6] At age 15, she was arrested during a protest at her high school over a policy that discriminated against Palestinians, and subsequently spent a night in jail.[1] While in jail, one police officer encouraged Ahl'jooj to pursue her education to better drive change in her community, a sentiment which stuck with her.[1]

When she was 17, Alh'jooj founded the first organization for Bedouin women, the Desert Embroidery Educational Visitor Center, which focused on job training and selling crafts made by local women.[1]

While at McGill University in Canada, Alh'jooj became more familiar with Jews and Judaism.[2] After finishing her education, Alh'jooj returned to Israel, where she resolved to begin building bridges between Israeli and Palestinian communities, particularly through women.[2] She worked at a community advocacy center in an underserved Jewish neighborhood in Beersheba, where she continued to build connections and learn.[5]

Alh'jooj co-founded the Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation alongside Vivian Silver.[2] She also was co-director with Silver of the Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED).[5] With the organization, Alh'jooj focused on raising standards of living among Bedouin communities in Israel and building connections between Bedouin and Jewish communities.[5] In 2010, the two won the Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East, given by the Institute for International Education.[5]

Alh'jooj is the executive director of McGill University's International Community Action Network (ICAN), which she had attended as a student while it was called the McGill Middle East Peace Program.[3][2] She is a board member of the New Israel Fund.[7] Alh'jooj also founded the Holistic Reconciliation for Newcomer Families program, which helps immigrants moving to Montreal City.[8]

In 2023, Alh'jooj published a memoir, Hope is a Woman's Name, about her work as an activist. It was published by Halban Publishers.[9][4]

Alh'jooj moved to Canada in 2012, and currently lives in Montreal with her husband and two twin children.[2][1] She is a Muslim, and wears hijab as a matter of personal choice.[2]