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Draft:Isra Chaker

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Isra Chaker is a Syrian-American activist who currently serves as a Senior Campaign Manager at Amnesty International USA.[1][2].

Education

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Isra Chaker was born on November 9, 1990, in Boulder, Colorado, where she graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder. Chaker went on to pursue a Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Public Policy at George Mason University, which she completed in 2015[3][4].

Career

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Activism and Campaigns

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She has served as a Campaign Strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union[5], and as Senior Refugee, Migration and Protection Campaign Lead at Oxfam America.[6] In these capacities, she led campaigns on issues including immigrant, refugee and asylum seeker rights, racial justice, and discriminatory policies, specifically on the so-called “Muslim Ban”, also known as Trump travel ban[7][8].

Previously, she also worked for the United Nations Relief & Works Agency[9], organizing several campaigns at the White House[10] and Capitol Hill[11] on the rights of Palestinians and the issue of Islamophobia in the USA.

More recently, she gained national and international recognition for Amnesty International campaigns on humanitarian issues, including:

  • Ceasefire Now in Gaza: Chaker led an Amnesty campaign that collected over 1 million signatures calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, for which she coordinated a coalition of organizations such as Avaaz, Oxfam America, MoveOn, Demand Progress, and Friends Committee on National Legislation[12].
  • For Mama - The For Mama campaign is a collaborative fundraising effort launched in 2024 by a coalition of 20 charitable organizations and faith-based philanthropies to address the global maternal mortality crisis. The campaign, led by Chaker, aims to protect mothers and babies from preventable deaths by fundraising for maternal and newborn health programs in North America, the United Kingdom, and globally, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation[13][14].

Global Ambassador and Public Speaking

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Chaker is an appointed Ambassador for One Young World. She has served as a speaker at their annual One Young World Summit in London in 2019[15] and Manchester in 2022[16][17].

In 2019, she created @IsraSpeaks on Instagram for spotlighting personal stories to engage with and contribute to societal matters, as well as supporting other social-activists in gaining a platform for their views[18].

Media

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Chaker has been interviewed and featured on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman[19], Al Jazeera[20], CNN[21], VICE News[22], the New York Times[23], Teen Vogue[24] amongst others.

Recognition

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Chaker has been recognized for her work as a social justice activist and public speaker. She was named an Icon for the "We The Future" campaign by Amplifier Foundation, and was chosen as one of 10 youth who are leaders in advocating on behalf of vulnerable communities, in her case refugee and immigration justice[25]. Chaker was also recognized as one of the 2023 40 Under 40 Awardees by the Middle East Policy Council[26].





References

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  1. ^ Fugate, Valeria (2019-09-19). "CU alumna Isra Chaker urges support for immigrants, refugees during campus talk News". Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  2. ^ "Isra Chaker". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  3. ^ Haggard, Lucy (2019-09-16). "Activist Isra Chaker to speak at CU Boulder on Tuesday". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  4. ^ Wright, Juwayriah (2024-03-10). "The Link Between Ramadan and Activism". TIME. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  5. ^ "Isra Chaker". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  6. ^ Oxfam (2020-07-22). "Oxfam applauds the passage of the NO BAN Act in the House of Representatives". Oxfam America. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  7. ^ Stein, Perry (2017-10-18). "Muslim Americans rally against Trump travel ban one day after a judge blocked it". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  8. ^ Talbot, Rebecca (2022-03-27). "ICE Continues to Abuse and Traumatize Under Biden. Immigrants Are Fighting Back". Truthout. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  9. ^ Erblat, Austen (2019-08-26). "Event with entertainment and social media influencers will raise money for 'world's worst humanitarian crisis by far'". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  10. ^ Amnesty International USA (2023-11-29). "Bringing It Home: Amnesty International USA and Avaaz Hold Demonstration Outside White House Demanding Ceasefire in Gaza". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  11. ^ Relief, United Muslim (2016-07-18). "UMR's Capitol Hill Advocacy Day". Medium. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  12. ^ "Nearly 1 Million Across U.S. Call For Ceasefire Now". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  13. ^ Campaign, For Mama. "For Mama Campaign Launches Fundraising Effort to End Today's Urgent - and Solvable - Maternal Mortality Crisis". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  14. ^ "Committed Grants - Islamic Relief USA". Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  15. ^ "#OYW2019 Delegate Speakers Announced | One Young World". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  16. ^ "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Share New Photos from Gender Equality Roundtable During U.K. Visit". Yahoo Entertainment. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  17. ^ Belotti, Alex (2023-04-23). "2022 Impact Report" (PDF). One Young World. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  18. ^ "Instagram - @IsraSpeaks". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  19. ^ "Trump's Childhood Home is Now an Airbnb Where Refugees Slept Over to Protest Immigration Crackdown". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  20. ^ ناشطة مسلمة تطوعت في مبادرة أوكسفام للتعريف بالمجاعات. Retrieved 2024-05-13 – via www.youtube.com.
  21. ^ Kaur, Harmeet (2017-09-19). "A charity rented out Trump's childhood home and invited refugees". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  22. ^ Surico, John (2017-09-18). "Refugees Took Over Trump's Childhood Home". Vice. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  23. ^ Barry, Dan (2021-01-21). "For Many Across America, a Sigh of Relief as a New Era Begins". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  24. ^ Nast, Condé (2018-11-16). "From Bullying to the "Muslim Ban" — How Islamophobia Has Impacted My Life So Far". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  25. ^ "Wonder Woman: Isra Chaker — Kimothy Joy". 2023-06-08. Archived from the original on 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  26. ^ "2023 40 Under 40 Awards - Middle East Policy Council". mepc.org. 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2024-05-13.