Bana Abu Zuluf, originally from Beit Sahour, Palestine, is a scholar and activist whose work intersects critical legal studies, decolonial theory, and Palestinian resistance. Growing up under Israeli occupation has profoundly shaped her academic and advocacy work, which focuses on challenging dominant legal paradigms and advancing Palestinian perspectives in international law.

 

Currently a Hume PhD Scholar at Maynooth University, Ireland, Abu Zuluf's research critically examines people-to-people peacebuilding projects in settler colonial contexts. Her work argues that such initiatives often normalize structural violence while obscuring fundamental power asymmetries. She holds an MA in Inter-Asia Political Studies from SongKongHoe University, where her award-winning thesis analyzed Christian Zionism in South Korean evangelical churches and its role in legitimizing Israeli policies.

 

As a Research Fellow at Al-Quds University's Human Rights Clinic and Advocacy Officer for the Good Shepherd Collective, Abu Zuluf combines academic research with grassroots advocacy. Her work on forced displacement of Palestinian Bedouin communities has contributed to International Criminal Court submissions and policy interventions. Her forthcoming book with Hart Publishing examines legal mechanisms of displacement and indigenous resistance strategies.

 

Abu Zuluf's publications span academic and public scholarship, addressing themes from environmental justice to academic complicity in colonial violence. Her creative work includes the "Jerusalem Urban Lexicon," documenting how material culture reflects Palestinian experiences of dispossession and resistance. Through multiple roles - scholar, advocate, and public intellectual - she works to center Palestinian theoretical contributions while challenging conventional approaches to international law and transitional justice.

 

A frequent speaker at international conferences, Abu Zuluf brings critical perspectives to discussions of decolonization, spatial justice, and Palestinian rights. Her innovative work has earned recognition including the Most Active Research Team Award from Al-Quds University and Best Young Researcher Award from SongKongHoe University.