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Rawan Osman

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Rawan Osman
روان عثمان
Born1983 (age 41–42)
Damascus, Syria
EducationHeidelberg University
OccupationPro-normalisation activist
Known forSupporting the Abraham Accords

Rawan Osman (Arabic: روان عثمان, born 1983 or 1984) is a Syrian-born German activist. She advocates for the normalization of relations between Middle Eastern Arab states and Israel.[1]

Life

Osman was born in Damascus into a secular family.[2] Her father's family were Sunni Muslims from Damascus, first recorded in 1938, while her mother's family were Shiite Muslims from a village near Baalbek, in the Lebanese Beqaa valley.[3] Osman grew up in the Beqaa Valley,[4] though she returned to Syria after graduating from high school.[2] She also lived in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.[4] In 2011, at the onset of the Syrian civil war, she moved to Strasbourg, France, to learn skills to open a wine bar in Damascus.[5][6] There, she met Jewish people for the first time while living in the city's Jewish quarter. These encounters prompted her to reckon with the antisemitism she had been taught growing up.[7] She later attended Heidelberg University in Germany, where she studied Modern Hebrew and Jewish Studies.[3][4]

Activism against antisemitism

While living in Europe, Osman began advocating for awareness about antisemitic attitudes and education in the Middle East and among the Middle Eastern diaspora.[5] In particular, she advocates for multicultural acceptance in the Middle East, including acceptance of Israel and Israelis, and the condemnation of "the instigators of wars willing to sacrifice innocent life" and "those who exploit the Arab-Israeli conflict to fuel their political power."[3] With reference to the large number of refugees from Syria in Germany, she wrote that "Germany must recognize and seek to understand the embedded nature of anti-Semitism in Syria in order to better help its newest residents to live lives free of state-sponsored prejudice." Further, she stated: "A Europe unsafe for Jews will never be safe for other minorities."[5]

To further this, she founded Arabs Ask, a forum meant for Arabs to ask questions and challenge preconceived notions about Judaism and Israel.[6][8] In 2023, she advocated for the signing of the Abraham Accords.[3]

While working with the Center for Peace Communications, Osman became involved with Sharaka.[4] In 2022 and 2023, she was part of Sharaka's Arab delegation to the March of the Living, a Holocaust commemoration event in Poland.[4][9][10][11] She has also traveled to the United States with Sharaka, participating in community events.[12] She was criticized by Arab social media users in January 2024 after posting videos of herself speaking to an IDF soldier and Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the IDF.[13]

From September to November 2023, Osman published a blog for The Times of Israel. Apart from her own story of becoming aware of antisemitic indoctrination, she strongly condemned Hamas for the attack on 7 October 2023.[14] She is also working on a book about Israel and Israelis.[2][10] In the film Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred, she described her reaction when she learned about Jewish history and realized she had been indoctrinated: "I was angry. Because the Jew is not my enemy.”[15]

On 4 March 2024, Osman spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council. In her short speech, she criticized the governments of Qatar, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria for what she described as failures to support the people in Gaza and to fight against Hamas and Hezbollah.[16][17]

Personal life

Osman lives in Germany.[11] She was born a Sunni Muslim,[3] and has identified herself as an Arab-Zionist.[6] In 2025 she began the process to convert to Judaism.[18]

She has been estranged since the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel from most of her family and friends who are still in Syria and Lebanon. According to Osman, some cut off ties due to fear, while others due to antisemitism.[18]

References

  1. ^ "My peoples, our children". Fathom Journal. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Rawan Osman". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  3. ^ a b c d e Osman, Rawan. "My peoples, our children". Fathom. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  4. ^ a b c d e Schwartz, Yaakov (2022-04-28). "Muslim influencers visit Auschwitz, seek to bring truth of Holocaust to Arab world". The Times of Israel.
  5. ^ a b c Osman, Rawan. "New Forms of Old Hate: Confronting Assad's Anti-Semitism in Germany". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  6. ^ a b c "'I am an Arab Zionist'". Jewish News Syndicate. 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  7. ^ Osman, Rawan (2023-09-26). "My first encounter with Jews changed my life". The Times of Israel.
  8. ^ Stern, Marilyn (2024-11-11). "Rawan Osman: An Arab Woman's Journey from Antisemitism to Zionism". meforum.org. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
  9. ^ Isaac, David (2022-04-29). "In groundbreaking step, Muslim delegation participates in 2022 March of the Living". Jewish News Service.
  10. ^ a b Amouyal, Noa (2023-06-02). "Arab influencers embrace March of Living, welcomed by attendees". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  11. ^ a b Osman, Rawan (2023-06-06). "Holocaust Remembrance Counters the Axis of Resistance to Change in the Middle East". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  12. ^ Adgie, Joe (2023-12-03). "Arab-Israeli Group Calls for Peace in Marietta Talk". Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  13. ^ Abu Hindiyah, Amina (2024-01-08). "من هي روان عثمان التي ظهرت مع أفيخاي أدرعي المتحدث باسم الجيش الإسرائيلي؟". Cairo 24 (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  14. ^ "Rawan Osman's Blog". blogs.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  15. ^ Suissa, David (2024-11-18). ""They Hate us Because We're Good": A New Film Reframes the World's Oldest Hatred". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  16. ^ Loum, Souleymane (2025-03-06). "Israël/Pays arabes : Netanyahu va adorer le déballage explosif d'une Syro-Libanaise à l'ONU". Tunisie (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  17. ^ "WATCH: 'Israel is Not the Problem' – Syrian Activist Calls Out Middle Eastern Regimes at UN | United with Israel". UWI. 2025-03-05. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  18. ^ a b Lukash, Alexandra (February 22, 2025). "'I condemned Hamas—my own family blocked me': Arab peace activist on her journey from antisemitism to Judaism". Ynet.
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