Bio
George E. Bisharat was a trial lawyer for the Office of the Public Defender in San Francisco before joining the UC Law SF faculty in 1991. Professor Bisharat studied law, anthropology, and Middle East studies at Harvard, and wrote a book about Palestinian lawyers working under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. He writes frequently on law and politics in the Middle East, both for academic audiences and for major media sources in the U.S. and abroad. Professor Bisharat is an avid fly fisher, sometimes in such exotic locations as Russia and New Zealand, and also writes articles for fly fishing magazines. He is a singer, songwriter, and blues harmonica player specializing in the chromatic harmonica, and as “Big Harp George” has recorded two albums that earned award nominations and critical acclaim . His wife, Jaleh Bisharat, is a business marketing executive working in high tech.
Selected Scholarship
Books
Palestinian Lawyers and Israeli Rule: Law and Disorder in the West Bank (Univ. of Texas Press 1989).
Journal Articles
Apersistência das desigualdades raciais no sistema de justiça criminal dos EUA, 21 Juris Poiesis 256 (2018) (in Portugese). FULLTEXT
Mobilizing International Law in the Palestinian Struggle for Justice, 18 Global Jurist (2018) (with Jeff Handmaker, Ghada Karmi & Alaa Tartir). FULLTEXT
Law Against the People/The Empire Strikes Back, 42 Revista Antropolítica 296 (2017). FULLTEXT URL
Re-centering Justice as the End Goal of Our Struggle, 20 Palestine Y.B. Int’l L. (2017).
Stumbling Forward in Syria, 37 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 159 (2014). FULLTEXT
The Plea Bargain Machine, 7 Dilemas 767 (2014). FULLTEXT URL
Anthropology & Law as Two Sibling Rivals, 34 Antropolítica 121 (2013). SSRN
Re-Democratizing Palestinian Politics, 17 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 1 (2013). FULLTEXT
Violence’s Law: Israel’s Campaign to Transform International Legal Norms, 43 J. Palestine Stud. 68 (2013). FULLTEXT
Introduction to “Litigating Palestine: Can Courts Secure Palestinian Rights?”, 35 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 91 (2012). FULLTEXT
Freedom Thwarted: Israel’s Illegal Attack on the Gaza Flotilla, 4 Berkeley J. Middle E. & Islamic L. 79 (2011) (with Carey James, & Rose Mishaan). FULLTEXT
Boycotting Israeli Apartheid: Practical and Ethical Questions, 10 Illawarra Unity 23 (2010). FULLTEXT URL
Israel’s Invasion of Gaza in International Law, 38 Denv. J. Intl’l L. & Pol’y 41 (2009) (with Timothy Crawley, Sara Elturk, Carey James, Rose Mishaan, Akila Radhakrishnan, & Anna Sanders). FULLTEXT
Mobilizing Palestinians in Support of One State, 2 Contemp. Arab Aff. 552 (2009).
Maximizing Rights: The One State Solution to the Palestinian–Israeli Conflict, 8 Global Jurist Frontiers Art. 1 (2008). FULLTEXT
Facts, Rights, and Remedies: Implementing International Law in the Israel/Palestine Conflict, 28 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 319 (2005). FULLTEXT
Facing Tyranny with Justice: Alternatives to War in the Confrontation with Iraq, 7 J. Gender Race & Just. 1 (2003). FULLTEXT
Sanctions as Genocide, 11 Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs. 379 (Fall 2001). FULLTEXT
Peace and the Political Imperative of Legal Reform in Palestine, 31 Case W. Res. J. Int’l L. 253 (1999). FULLTEXT
Courting Justice? Legitimation in Lawyering Under Israeli Occupation, 20 Law & Soc. Inquiry 349 (1995). FULLTEXT
Land, Law, and Legitimacy in Israel and the Occupied Territories, 43 Am. U. L. Rev. 467 (1994). FULLTEXT
Chapters In Books
Justice for All: Toward an Integrated Strategy for Liberation in Israel–Palestine Palestine Yearbook of International Law 28 (Ardi Imseis ed., Brill 2014). CATALOG
Maximizing Rights: The One-State Solution to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, in International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Rights-Based Approach to Middle East Peace 29 (Susan Akram et al. eds., Routledge 2011). CATALOG
The Gaza Occupation and Siege Are Illegal, in Midnight on the Mavi Marmara: The Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and How It Changed the Course of the Israel/Palestine Conflict 102 (Moustafa Bayoumi ed., Haymarket Books 2010). AMAZON
Gaza Strip, in 2 Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities 146 (C. Neal Tate ed., 2005). AMAZON
Palestine, in 3 Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities 237 (C. Neal Tate ed., 2005). AMAZON
West Bank, in 4 Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities 290 (C. Neal Tate ed., 2005). AMAZON
Sanctions Against Iraq Are Genocide, in Defining the Horrific: Readings on Genocide and Holocaust in the Twentieth Century 338 (William L. Hewitt ed., Prentice Hall 2003). AMAZON
Peace and the Political Imperative of Legal Reform in Palestine, in Palestine and International Law: Essays on Politics and Economics 214 (Sanford R. Silverburg ed., McFarland & Co. 2002). CATALOG
Attorneys for the People, Attorneys for the Land: The Emergence of Cause Lawyering in the Israeli–Occupied Territories, in Cause Lawyering: Political Commitments and Professional Responsibilities 453 (Austin Sarat & Stuart Scheingold eds., Oxford Univ. Press 1998). CATALOG
Exile to Compatriot: Transformations in the Social Identity of Palestinian Refugees in the West Bank, in Culture Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology 203 (Akhil Gupta & James Ferguson eds., Duke Univ. Press 1997). AMAZON
Pursuing a Questionable Suppression Motion, in Ethical Problems Facing the Criminal Defense Lawyer 63 (Rodney J. Uphoff ed., Amer. Bar Ass’n 1995). CATALOG
Displacement and Social Identity: Palestinian Refugees in the West Bank, in Population Displacement and Resettlement: Development and Conflict in the Middle East 165 (Seteney Khalid Shami ed., Ctr. for Migration Stud. 1994).
Book Reviews
Book Review, 20 Shofar 130 (Summer 2002) (reviewing Geoffrey R. Watson, The Oslo Accords: International Law and the Iraeli–Palestinian Peace Agreements (2000)).
Book Review, 99 Am. Anthropologist 664 (1997) (reviewing E. Valentine Daniel & John Chr. Knudsen Eds., Mistrusting Refugees (1995)).
Palestinian Sovereignty or Internationalization?, 12 J. Palestine Stud. 71 (Summer 1983) (reviewing Henry Cattan, Jerusalem (1981)).
Newspaper & Magazine Articles
How Can Targeted Killings Be Justified? Lawful Versus Wise Policy, N.Y. Times, Nov. 14, 2012. URL
Israel Stacks the Legal Deck, L.A. Times, Mar. 7, 2012. URL
Palestine’s State Status Enables Security, S.F. Chron., Dec. 3, 2012. URL
Israeli Intimidation Brings Shift in Gaza Report, S.F. Chron., Apr. 6, 2011. URL
A True One-State Solution, Wash. Post, Sep. 3, 2010.
Gaza Occupation and Siege Are Illegal, S.F. Chron., June 4, 2010. URL
Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem Intolerant?, S.F. Chron., Sep. 5, 2010. URL
Palestinians Deserve to be Recognised, The Australian, May 7, 2010. URL
A U.N. Report Finds War Crimes in the Fighting: Now Israel Must Be Held Accountable, L.A. Times, Sept. 18, 2009.
Changing the Rules of War, S.F. Chron., Apr. 1, 2009. URL
Has Israel’s Response Exceeded its Right to Defend Itself?, S.F. Chron, Jan. 5, 2009. URL
Hold Israel Accountable for Gaza, Seattle Times, Feb. 5, 2009. URL
Israel is Committing War Crimes, Wall Street J., Jan. 10, 2009. URL
Israel on Trial, N.Y. Times, Apr. 4, 2009.
Obama Should Back Goldstone Report, S.F. Chron., Sep. 30, 2009. URL
Should Israel Deal with Hamas?, L.A. Times, Jan. 9, 2009 (with James Phillips). URL
The Gaza Docket Israel III, Int’l Herald Trib., Apr. 7, 2009, at 8.
What’s Israel Trying to Accomplish in Gaza?, L.A. Times, Jan. 8, 2009 (with James Phillips). URL
Will Hamas Emerge Stronger?, L.A. Times, Jan. 7, 2009 (with James Phillips). URL
A Two–State or One–State Solution?, L.A. Times, May 14, 2008 (with Judea Pearl). URL
Israel Starting from Scratch, L.A. Times, May 12, 2008 (with Judea Pearl). URL
Jimmy Carter, Hamas. Hamas, Jimmy Carter, L.A. Times, May 13, 2008 (with Judea Pearl). URL
Obama’s Missteps, S.F. Chron., June 17, 2008. CATALOG URL
Roots in the Holy Land, L.A. Times, May 16, 2008 (with Judea Pearl). URL
Should the U.S. Help Broker Peace?, L.A. Times, May 15, 2008 (with Judea Pearl). URL
The ‘National Suicide’ Incantation, L.A. Times, June 9, 2008. URL
The Fallacy of Islamic ‘National Suicide’, L.A. Times, June 9, 2008. URL
Where’s Healthy Debate on U.S. Policy Toward Israel?, Houston Chron., June 12, 2008. CATALOG
A Double Standard on Academic Freedom in the Middle East, Balt. Sun, Sept. 17, 2007, at A13 (with Judea Pearl).
A Question of Justice, S.F. Chron., Jan. 4, 2007. CATALOG URL
For Palestinians, Memory Matters, S.F. Chron., May 13, 2007. CATALOG URL
From Personal Experience, Houston Chron., Jan. 31, 2007 (reprinted as Pro–Israeli Lobby Is Silencing Dissent, Sacramento Bee, Feb. 25, 2007, at E1). CATALOG
Solution on Which All Agree Impossible to Achieve, S.F. Chron., June 2, 2007. CATALOG URL
Truth at Last, While Breaking a U.S. Taboo of Criticizing Israel, Phila. Inquirer, Jan. 2, 2007.
What Justifies Boycott of a State?, S.F. Chron., Aug. 15, 2007. CATALOG URL
Aid to Israel is Out of Hand, Topeka Capital–Journal, Jan. 7, 2006.
Did Israel Really Need to Savage the Beauty of Beirut?, USA Today, Aug. 2, 2006. URL
Israel Will Harvest a Future of Violence and Conflict with Lebanon, S.F. Chron., July 20, 2006. CATALOG URL
They Chose a Government That Will Stand Up For Their Rights, Dallas Morning News, Feb. 3, 2006.
Unilateral Action by Israel Spawns Violence in Gaza, Balt. Sun, Aug. 17, 2006, at A15.
What Did Bush Signal?, S.F. Chron., May 29, 2006. CATALOG URL
Bigotry Hurts in the War on Terror, S.D. Union Trib., July 22, 2005.
In the Wake of Gaza Disengagement: Enforce Ban on Settlements, S.F. Chron., Aug. 26, 2005. CATALOG URL
New Page in Israeli–Palestinian Relations: Whither the Road Map?, S.F. Chron., Dec. 8, 2005. CATALOG URL
Prosecuting Other People’s Terrorists, S.D. Union Trib., Dec. 12, 2005, at B7.
Should Israel Give Up Its Nukes?, L.A. Times, Dec. 9, 2005. URL
A Lifetime Of Challenge Stirred Determination, Sacramento Bee, Nov. 14, 2004, at E6.
Advance U.S. — Not Israel’s — Interests, Seattle Post–Intelligencer, Dec. 8, 2004, at B7. URL
In Arafat’s Aftermath: Peace Remains Elusive Amid Political Turmoil, S.F. Chron., Nov. 12, 2004. CATALOG URL
Judgment on the Wall: Ruling Gives Hopes Discouraged, S.F. Chron., July 14, 2004. CATALOG URL
Look for a Future Palestine in the Past: Two Generations Later, Palestinians Have Hope for Their Land, S.F. Chron., Dec. 19, 2004. CATALOG URL
Right of Return: Two–State Solution Again Sells Palestinians Short, L.A. Times, Jan. 25, 2004, at M3.
But Don’t Bet On It Establishing Democracy, Houston Chron., Mar. 3, 2003, at 27A. CATALOG
Impending War on Iraq: American Jihad, S.F. Chron., Feb. 13, 2003. CATALOG URL
Rite of Return to a Palestinian Home, S.F. Chron., May 18, 2003. CATALOG URL
Who Caused the Palestinian Diaspora?, Sacramento Bee, Nov. 30, 2003.
Sanctions Against Iraq are Genocide, Seattle Post–Intelligencer, May 3, 2002, at B7. URL
Views on the Middle East: Settlements Stand in the Way of Mideast Peace, S.F. Chron., Apr. 26, 2002. CATALOG URL
Dissertations & Theses
Practicing Law Under Occupation: Palestinian Lawyers of the West Bank (1987) (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University) (on file with Tozzer Library, Harvard University).
Education
-
Harvard University
Ph.D., Anthropology and Middle East Studies 1987 -
Georgetown University
M.A., History -
University of California at Berkeley
B.A., Anthropology
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