Randa Abdel-Fattah has been awarded the 2026 Jerusalem Peace Prize, recognising her advocacy for Palestinian rights amid mounting political and institutional pressure.

Academic, author, and human rights activist Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has won the 2026 Jerusalem Peace Prize and will receive the award in a ceremony in Melbourne on 10 April.

Explaining their choice, the Peace jury referred to Randa’s extraordinary, unwavering contribution to public debate, literature, scholarship and advocacy for Palestinian rights.

Randa’s writing and public speeches are eloquent portrayals of Palestinian identity and a courageous response to the cowardice displayed by governments and the media which think the continuing genocide of the Palestinian people can be ignored or considered of little consequence.

In an establishment culture constructed largely through white male supremacy, Randa’s books convey the struggles for Palestinians to be heard and taken seriously.

Randa teaches, “Don’t give way, don’t conform, refuse silence and censorship, paint pictures of truth about the experiences of the people of and from Palestine.”

Her writing challenges racism and the cowardice of politicians, journalists, and universities frightened to speak of genocide, apt to believe whatever the Israeli government said, who are intimidated by the Zionist lobby’s repeated claims that social cohesion in Australia was undermined by antisemitism, not by witnessing slaughter in Gaza. Randa challenges those claims.

A crucial interpretation of freedom came from Randa’s adoption of the symbol of paragliders breaking out from Gaza, thereby escaping their imprisonment. Pilloried by pro Israel sources for refusing to reject this image of Hamas escapees, Randa refused to give way, saying: “An image that represented a moment of freedom is not something I will apologise for.”

Her principled stands brought official judgements that this distinguished social scientist was not only controversial but could be considered a threat because she would not comply with rules. This included a suspension for 10 months of Australian Research Council funding of her Future Fellowship at Macquarie University. A thorough investigation rejected the grounds for the suspension and the ARC restored the funding.

By taking stands on principle, by not giving way to racist, stereotyping criticism of people of Muslim faith, by refusing to stay silent about Islamophobia and by exposing false claims from a lobby used to getting its way, Randa has rallied others to express their solidarity.

Such a rally occurred when over 180 authors withdrew from the 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week because the board had removed Randa from the program.

The writers’ withdrawal looks like a watershed moment in the struggles for multiculturalism, free speech, and speaking about the country’s commitment to human rights.

Randa’s courage for her people is a vigorous, non discriminatory commitment to meeting the neeḏs and rights of a common humanity.

It’s fitting that a peace prize be awarded to someone who engages in conflict with adversaries, who will not be censored, who insists on the rights Palestinians, of women the world over anḏ of all Indigenous peoples.

Congratulations to the courageous Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah on the award of the 2026 Jerusalem (Al Quds) Peace Prize. Click here for tickets to the event.