Biographie
Rula Jebreal is an Italo-Palestinian journalist, novelist, and screenwriter holding both Israeli and Italian citizenship. After her mother passed away when she was five, her father placed her and her sister in the Dar El-Tifel orphanage, where she received her education. She earned a scholarship from the Italian government to study medicine at the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in physiotherapy. While working as a physiotherapist, Jebreal returned to the University of Bologna to complete a master's degree in Journalism and Political Science.
She became the first foreign anchorwoman on Italian television, receiving a Media Watch award for her Iraq war coverage. By age 33, she won the International Ischia Award, Europe's top journalism honor, for Best Journalist of the Year. Jebreal spent 12 years working as a journalist in Italy, gaining a reputation as a formidable interviewer through her conversations with notable figures such as Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema, Silvio Berlusconi, Bill Gates, President Mahmoud Abbas, Bernard Kushner, Al Berdei, and Ingrid Betancourt. In 2006, she co-hosted AnnoZero, Italy’s most significant and controversial show, alongside Michele Santoro. In 2008, she launched her own television program on Cairo’s Al-Qahira Wal-Nas, Egypt’s leading TV station, producing 30 episodes that focused on politics, the economy, and societal collapse under Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
Jebreal’s debut novel, "Miral," published in 2003, was translated into 15 languages, sold millions worldwide, and was adapted into the 2010 film Miral, directed by Julian Schnabel from Jebreal’s screenplay. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2010, receiving a 15-minute standing ovation and winning the UNICEF Protection of Children award. Its U.S. premiere took place at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, marking the first film ever to debut there.
Her second novel, "The Bride of Aswan," released in 2007, was translated into five languages and won the International Fince Europa Award. Her third book, "Rejected," is a non-fiction examination of immigration history in Europe, published in Italy and France and used in Italian university curricula.
Jebreal also wrote and produced the documentary "Permesso di Soggiorno," which explored the death penalty in China, the United States, and Iran during the 2008 UN debate on the death penalty moratorium. The critically acclaimed documentary aired on Italian television in 2008.
