Amal Elsana Alh'jooj

Amal Elsana Alh'jooj (born 1972) is a Bedouin Palestinian feminist, peace activist, and community organizer known for her grassroots work promoting universal access to rights and social justice in the Global South. She is an Arab citizen of Israel currently living in Canada.

Early life and early education Elsana Alh'jooj was born in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Tel Arad and grew up in Laqiya, a northern Negev Bedouin town. She was her parents' fifth daughter, and the first of their children to be born in Soroka Medical Center rather than a tent. Her father was an agricultural worker in Israel, and gave her the Arabic name Amal "Hope" in the hope that his wife would have sons after her. 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.

Elsana Ahl'jooj delivered her first political speech in second grade during a march against the 1982 Lebanon War, protesting the war and advocating for peace. Although she was unsuccessful, her father praised her writing skills, and Elsana Alh'jooj has recognized this event as her first "formal attempt to stand up for women's rights".

Elsana Alh'jooj founded PLEDJ in 2020, a research and training non-profit that networks global indigenous and marginalized knowledges to mobilize social justice and address international conflict. The organization amplifies local leadership by strengthening the relationship between academia and community practice in the Global South. She developed the Holistic Reconciliation for Newcomer Families program with Montreal City Mission, which helps immigrants moving to Montreal.

Following the October 7 attacks, Alh'jooj led a Jewish-Palestinian dialogue program and paid tribute to her slain friend and collaborator Vivian Silver.

In 2025, Alh'jooj spoke at the 10th anniversary of the Festival of Literary Diversity.

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