Miss Jennifer Riley
AMPAL Eastern Region Director

Jennifer Riley began her undergraduate work at American University in Washington DC.  Her interests in the Middle East were sparked by her contact with Palestinians who shared their stories of life in the West Bank. Shocked at the silence she'd witnessed about their situation, Jennifer focused her studies on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and majored in Middle Eastern studies with a concentration on Palestine.

At Villanova University, Jennifer obtained an MA in World History, with a focus on Palestinian History.  Her research work has included studies of Palestinian women's participation during the Intifada (for which she won Villanova University's Elizabeth Cady Stanton Research Award for the study of women's history) , the effects of illegal settlements on a peace agreement, and the issues of East Jerusalem and the return of the refugees.  She has also studied the history of Zionism and the political situation in Israel in an attempt to fully appreciate the complexities of the conflict.   

Jennifer has also presented and won awards on her research in philosophy, as well as the Dar el-Salam award for her research of the history of Arab and Jewish relations.  Additionally, she co-authored Freedom Stories, a collection of personal stories from Vietnamese refugees in America.      

Since 1991, Jennifer has worked on the grass roots level to help realize a Palestinian State.  Her personal focus has remained on the necessity of enforcing international law and the rights of Palestinians to enjoy basic human rights.  She is a firm believer in the power of education and the necessity of spreading awareness and devotes her studies and her career to the accomplishment of both. Her involvement in AMPAL reflects these goals.