Short answer: No. As of August 2026, Hanan Ashrawi does not support Israel. She is a longtime Palestinian politician and PLO official whose entire public career has been defined by opposition to Israeli policy, denial that Hamas committed atrocities on October 7, 2023, and characterization of the United States as Israel's "partner in crime." There is no record of her donating to, praising, or supporting Israel or any Israeli cause.
What Hanan Ashrawi has actually said and done
- November 2003: Ashrawi received the Sydney Peace Prize. The award drew organized opposition from Sydney and Melbourne Jewish community groups, some of whom, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, called her "an apologist for Palestinian terrorism." Sydney's lord mayor had the municipal council boycott the ceremony.
- May 13, 2019: Ashrawi announced the United States had rejected her visa application with no reason given, calling it retaliation for her criticism of President Trump and Israel, according to CNN. The State Department declined to confirm or deny her case, citing visa confidentiality, but said U.S. law does not authorize refusing a visa based solely on lawful political statements.
- Late November to December 2020: Ashrawi resigned from the PLO Executive Committee, saying she wanted to force reform after PA President Mahmoud Abbas unilaterally renewed security coordination with Israel, the Times of Israel reported.
- October 13, 2023: In an interview with NPR, days after the Hamas-led October 7 attack, Ashrawi described the assault as "like prisoners breaking out of their prison. You oppress people beyond endurance," framing it as a product of Israeli policy rather than condemning the killings.
- October 26, 2023: On Democracy Now!, Ashrawi dismissed reports of Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians as fabricated, saying Israel would have to "walk back the issue of women being raped or children being beheaded or all that nonsense, doctored pictures and so on." She called the United States "certainly a partner in crime with Israel."
Who is Hanan Ashrawi, and where does her record leave things
Hanan Ashrawi, born October 8, 1946, is a Palestinian Christian academic and politician born in Nablus, whose family settled in Ramallah after 1948 who became internationally known as an English-language spokesperson for the Palestinian delegation at the 1991 Madrid peace talks. She later served as PA Minister of Higher Education and as a longtime member of the PLO Executive Committee until her December 2020 resignation, and she remained an active commentator on Palestinian affairs through 2025, the most recent public appearance we could verify.
Her public record is consistently critical of Israel. She has opposed settlements, framed the occupation as the root cause of Palestinian violence, denied Israeli accounts of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, and repeatedly cast the United States as complicit with Israel. Her 2003 Sydney Peace Prize drew organized objections from Australian Jewish organizations, and in 2019 she said the United States denied her a travel visa, which she attributed to her criticism of Trump-era Israel policy. No record was found of Ashrawi donating to, praising, or supporting any Israeli or Jewish cause, or participating in any pro-Israel event.
The bottom line
Hanan Ashrawi does not support Israel. Across more than three decades of public life, including her most recent on-record comments after October 7, 2023, her positions have been uniformly critical of Israeli policy and supportive of Palestinian statehood claims. There is no verified instance of her praising, donating to, or otherwise supporting Israel or a Jewish cause.
Wear where you stand
Public figures like Ashrawi make their positions on Israel clear through decades of statements and actions. If you want to make your own position just as clear, our I Stand With Israel collection offers a straightforward way to show it, including the I Stand With Israel bracelet, a simple everyday piece for anyone who wants their support for Israel visible without saying a word.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
