Laila El-Haddad

Laila El-Haddad is a Palestinian-American journalist, public speaker and policy consultant. She frequently lectures on and writes about the situation in Gaza and the intersection of food and politics and more broadly on the issue of Palestine. She is the author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting and Everything in between which chronicles her time spent in Gaza in the mid 2000s as a reporter and mother and co-author of the critically acclaimed book The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey which was the recipient of ‘Best Arab Cuisine Book’ award from Gourmand magazine, and a finalist at the 2013 MEMO Palestine Book Awards. She is also the co-editor of the anthology Gaza Unsilenced and contributor to The Immigrant Cookbook: Recipes that Make America Great. Her forthcoming book Halal Tayyib: A Muslim American Culinary Journey explores the history of Islam in America through the lens of food. An avid gardener and outdoor enthusiast, she currently lives in Clarksville, Maryland with her husband, their four children and their 5 chickens.