Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian

Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian
Title	Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Global Chair in Law (Queen Mary University of London)
Academic background
Alma mater	Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian is a feminist scholar whose work focuses on trauma, state crimes and criminology, surveillance, gender violence, law and society and genocide studies. Born and raised in Haifa, Israel, and residing in Jerusalem, she is a noted Palestinian feminist. She is a professor who teaches in the departments of criminology and social work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Global Chair in Law - Queen Mary University of London.

Career

Shalhoub-Kevorkioan grew up in Haifa. She received a Master of Arts degree in 1989 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1994, both from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Shalhoub-Kevorkioan is the Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Global Chair in Law at Queen Mary University of London.

War on Gaza

On March 12, 2024, Shalhoub-Kevorkian had been suspended from the Faculty of Law following her remarks on Israel's Channel 14 news, where she accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and cast doubt on reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7. The American Anthropological Association described an earlier letter, sent by the university in December 2023, as a threat to academic freedom and asked the university to retract. Philosopher and gender studies scholar Judith Butler wrote to the university leadership in support of Shalhoub-Kevorkian. Butler argued that it was the university's right to disagree with Shalhoub-Kevorkian on her view that the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza constitutes genocide, but that the university leaders had an "obligation as representatives of a major research university to engage the debate, and to make room for an informed discussion of the matter free of threats". In a letter to Hebrew University, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel argued that Shalhoub-Kevorkian's comments: "while contentious, are protected under the right to freedom of expression, rendering her suspension an intolerable infringement upon academic freedom and constitutional rights." After Shalhoub-Kevorkian walked back her statements expressing doubts over the extent of Hamas' sexual assaults on October 7, the Hebrew University recanted her suspension.

On April 18, 2024, Shalhoub-Kevorkian was arrested and released on bail the next day on charges related to her academic work. Police confiscated books and posters from her home and questioned her on previous academic publications. She was strip-searched , held in handcuffed so tightly that it caused her pain she claims without access to food, water, or medications. More than 100 colleagues among Hebrew University faculty signed a letter in support of Shalhoub-Kevorkian, criticizing the university, and describing the arrest as a political act against freedom of expression. More than 250 faculty at Queen Mary University of London also signed a letter in support of Shalhoub-Kevorkian.

Prizes and honors

• 2020 Impact Award, International Network of Genocide Scholars (INoGS)
• 2017 Radzinowicz Prize for the Best Article Published in 2016, The British Journal of Criminology
• 2016 Claire Goldberg Moses Prize for the Most Theoretically Innovative Article Published in Feminist Studies
• 2015 Honoree of the Harvard Law School's Second Annual International Women’s Day Celebrations, organized by the Harvard Women's Law Association and Harvard Law and International Development Society
• 2014 Radzinowicz Prize for the Best Article Published in 2014, The British Journal of Criminology
• 2011 International Scholarship Prize for Distinguished Work in the Field of Law and Society, Law and Society Association
• 2008 International Women's Rights Prize, The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation
• 2008 Golda Meir Fellowship, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• 2000 Dean's Letter of Commendation for Teaching Excellence, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• 1999 Ellis and Alma Birk Scholars Prize, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• 1998 Arab-Israeli Award for Pioneering Scholars, The Arab Students Committee for Higher Education
• 1994 Dean’s Letter of Commendation for Teaching Excellence, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Selected works

• Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera (2019). Incarcerated Childhood and the Politics of Unchilding. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-42987-0.
• Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera (2015). Security Theology, Surveillance and the Politics of Fear. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-30059-6.
• Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera (2009). Militarization and Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones in the Middle East: A Palestinian Case-Study. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88222-4.