Rabab Abdulhadi

Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi
Born	1955 Nablus, Jordanian-controlled West Bank
Occupation(s)	Academic, activist, educator, editor, scholar
Years active	2004–present
Known for	Associate Professor in Ethnic Studies and Race and Resistance Studies; founding Director of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies program at San Francisco State University

Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi (born 1955) is an American academic, activist, educator, editor, and scholar of Palestinian origin. She holds the position of Associate Professor in Ethnic Studies and Race and Resistance Studies, and she is the founding Director of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies (AMED) program at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Colleen Flaherty from Inside Higher Education characterized her as "a divisive figure within an already contentious discipline."

Early life and education

Born in 1955 in Nablus, located in the Jordanian-controlled West Bank, Abdulhadi was raised in a Muslim household. She completed her undergraduate studies in women's studies at Hunter College in 1994. Subsequently, she pursued graduate education at Yale University, earning an M.A. in 1995, an M.Phil. in 1998, and a Ph.D. in sociology by 2000. Her doctoral dissertation, supervised by Michele Dillon, was entitled "Palestinianness in Comparative Perspective: Inclusionary Resistance, Exclusionary Citizenship."

Career

Between 2004 and 2006, Abdulhadi served as the inaugural Director of the Center for Arab American Studies and was an associate professor of sociology at University of Michigan–Dearborn. She joined San Francisco State University in January 2007, where she has frequently been the lone faculty member within her department, aided by student assistants and visiting scholars. In 2018, she initiated legal action against SFSU, alleging breach of contract concerning the promised creation of two faculty positions at the time of her hiring.

Abdulhadi has been subject to criticism from pro-Israel organizations including the David Horowitz Freedom Center, the AMCHA Initiative, Campus Watch, and the Lawfare Project. At SFSU, offensive posters targeting her have circulated on campus, eliciting support from student groups such as Associated Students, Inc., the General Union of Palestinian Students, and the Black Student Union. In 2017, protests arose during a campus speech by Jerusalem’s mayor; Jewish students accused the university of permitting antisemitism connected to Abdulhadi’s "anti-Zionist remarks." A federal court dismissed related discrimination lawsuits in 2018.

In 2019, Abdulhadi co-hosted an online discussion featuring Palestinian activist Leila Khaled using SFSU’s Zoom platform. The event was subsequently blocked by Zoom and YouTube for violating their terms of service; Facebook also removed its event listing. The U.S. government classifies Khaled’s organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as a terrorist entity. This episode heightened national conversations about free speech limits and subjected SFSU President Lynn Mahoney to scrutiny over support for Middle Eastern academic programs.

In 2024, after public outcry and a petition with 8,000 signatures accusing her of endorsing antisemitism and Hamas amid the Gaza genocide, Abdulhadi’s scheduled guest lecture at Wake Forest University was canceled. She instead delivered the presentation at a church in Winston-Salem.

Abdulhadi is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Awards

Over her career, Abdulhadi has been honored by various academic, civic, and professional bodies for her scholarship and community involvement. Notable distinctions include:

• 2004 New Century Scholarship awarded by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
• 2020 Georgina M. Smith Award from the Association of American University Professors
• 2023 Jere L. Bacharach Service Award from the Middle East Studies Association recognizing her lifelong dedication to freedom and liberation
• 2023 Angela Y. Davis Award for Outstanding Public Scholarship from the American Studies Association
• Lucius Walker Community Organizing Award presented by the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing
• Annual Alex Odeh Memorial Award from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
• Courage Award granted by American Muslims for Palestine
• Community Leadership Award from American Muslims for Palestine

See also

• Marc Lamont Hill
• Steven Salaita

External links

• Profile page at the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies (AMED) program, College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University
• Faculty profile on the San Francisco State University website