Over the last year and a half, we have faced the devastation of October 7, its aftermath, and the ensuing war in Gaza. Hanan Alsanah, co-executive director of Itach-Maaki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice was able to transform her despair into action. Through her legal activism, Hanan has empowered one of the most disenfranchised communities of Israeli society—Bedouin women. Caught between fear for their relatives in Gaza, living under rocket fire in the Negev, and facing the constant threat of home demolitions, Bedouin women are forced to navigate extreme hardship.
As a leader on the global stage, Hanan is in the US to speak at the United Nations. Read more about Hanan’s work in this article, and see her bio below.
About Hanan Alsanah:
Hanan has spent over two decades fighting for democracy, equality, and the empowerment of Israel’s most vulnerable communities. Prior to her current position as Co-Executive Director at Itach-Maaki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice, she served as Co-Director of the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, and as Director of Education and Community Development at Sidreh. In 2005, Hanan became the first Bedouin woman representative at the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Committee. In 2015, she founded Israel’s first Arabic-language feminist newspaper, and in 2023, she co-founded the Joint Jewish-Arab Emergency Relief Center, providing humanitarian aid to families impacted by October 7 in the south.