Dr. Yousef Bashir is an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, where he teaches Palestine: History, Politics & Society. He is a Palestinian-American author, scholar, and policy practitioner whose work focuses on Palestine, Gaza, humanitarian affairs, conflict resolution, and Middle East policy.
Born and raised in the Gaza Strip, Bashir brings both personal experience and professional expertise to his teaching and scholarship. Most recently, he served as a Gaza consultant and advisor to All Hands and Hearts, supporting the organization’s humanitarian response and strategy in Gaza, including humanitarian access, local partnerships, aid delivery, and engagement with regional and international stakeholders.
Bashir has worked extensively across the humanitarian, policy, and diplomatic fields. His previous experience includes serving as Director of Research and Operations at the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, working in the Office of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and serving as a Congressional Affairs Officer at the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Delegation to the United States. His work has involved engagement with U.S. policymakers, diplomats, humanitarian organizations, donors, and regional stakeholders on Gaza, Palestinian affairs, humanitarian access, and conflict resolution.
Bashir is the author of The Words of My Father: Love and Pain in Palestine, a memoir about growing up in Gaza and his journey from conflict and injury toward reconciliation and peace.
He earned a Doctorate in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where his doctoral research examined Hamas’s governance of the Gaza Strip. He also holds an M.A. in Coexistence and Conflict from Brandeis University and a B.A. in International Affairs from Northeastern University.