Laura Blumenfeld

EXCLUSIVE
  • Prize-Winning Middle East Correspondent
  • Former Senior Policy Advisor on Secretary of State John Kerry’s Israeli-Palestinian Negotiating Team
  • New York Times Bestselling Author, 'Revenge: A Story of Hope'
  • Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies

Bestselling author, prize-winning journalist, and researcher Laura Blumenfeld has dedicated her life to analyzing conflict in the Middle East.

Blumenfeld previously served in the U.S. State Department as senior policy advisor for the Middle East Peace Process. She spent two decades as a reporter for the Washington Post covering the Middle East, national security, and presidential politics. She has also been a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a public policy fellow at the Wilson Center, where she worked on the project of “U.S. Responsibility to Lead.” Blumenfeld’s memoir, Revenge: a Story of Hope, recounts her global travels in search of the terrorist who shot her father in cold blood. She is currently a Middle East analyst at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Blumenfeld has written on peace in the Middle East for The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and more. Her perspectives on politics and conflict in the region have been sought by AIPAC and AJC, alongside JCCs and Jewish Federations across the country.  

 



Laura Blumenfeld headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • AIPAC
  • Palm Beach Synagogue
  • Jewish Federation of Boca Raton
  • American Society for Technion, Chicago, IL
  • Temple Beth Shalom
  • AJC
  • Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas
  • JCC of Greater Washington
  • Jewish Community Center of Dutchess County
  • Dominican Center at Marywood
Rave Reviews About Laura Blumenfeld as a Speaker
Your candid presentation made real for us the possibility of transformation and forgiveness as an alternative to destructive revenge. Your journey is truly a story of hope for all of us. Those who attended found the evening an enjoyable and reflective event. Thank you again for bringing this much needed message to our community, and beyond.

Middle East Analyst Laura Blumenfeld | BBC News - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Laura Blumenfeld
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Journalism in Action

Bestselling author, prize-winning journalist, and researcher LAURA BLUMENFELD is a seasoned investigative journalist whose unquenchable curiosity has led her on a relentless quest for truth. With over two decades of experience, she has carved a distinctive niche in the world of journalism, earning a ...

Bestselling author, prize-winning journalist, and researcher LAURA BLUMENFELD is a seasoned investigative journalist whose unquenchable curiosity has led her on a relentless quest for truth. With over two decades of experience, she has carved a distinctive niche in the world of journalism, earning a reputation for her tenacity and keen insight. This fascinating talk explores Blumenfeld’s experiences to exemplify the power of journalism to ignite change and promote understanding.

Revenge: A Story of Hope

Join prize-winning Middle East correspondent and author LAURA BLUMENFELD in reflecting on the personal growth needed to forgive. Hear her tales of wandering the world in search of resolution in this powerful talk on forgiveness, catharsis, and community. In this talk, Laura Blumenfeld gives audience ...

Join prize-winning Middle East correspondent and author LAURA BLUMENFELD in reflecting on the personal growth needed to forgive. Hear her tales of wandering the world in search of resolution in this powerful talk on forgiveness, catharsis, and community. In this talk, Laura Blumenfeld gives audiences a personal, and intellectual tour of the human aftermath behind public events, and about the thin line between love and hate. 

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Speaker News
<p><strong>Major news outlets turn to correspondent Laura Blumenfeld for political analysis on conflict in the Middle East</strong></p>

Major news outlets turn to correspondent Laura Blumenfeld for political analysis on conflict in the Middle East

Prize-winning political correspondent, bestselling author, and analyst LAURA BLUMENFELD is a respected voice on topics concerning peace in the Middle East. Eminent outlets such as NPR’s Here & Now Anytime and the BBC News Channel have called Blumenfeld on-air for her robust analysis of ongoing global conflict. Blumenfeld shows endless dedication to uncovering the profound stories that shape our world. Her diplomatic acumen, holistic understanding of the conflict, experience working in-region, and decades of experience as a reporter conjointly provide a clear interpretation of the evolving information landscape in the Middle East.

Watch Laura Blumenfeld in conversation on BBC News Daily Global here >>

Watch Laura Blumenfeld deliver remarks at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies here >>

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Books by Laura Blumenfeld
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Biography

Laura Blumenfeld, The New York Times best selling author and  prize-winning Middle East correspondent, was a Senior Policy Adviser on Secretary Kerry's Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations team from October 2013-February 2015. She is currently a Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University, and a Public Policy Fellow at The Wilson Center. 

Blumenfeld covered national security, presidential politics, Israel and the Middle East for The Washington Post as a distinguished senior staff writer for twenty years. She is the author of The New York Times best seller, Revenge: A Story of Hope. Revenge has been translated into nine languages, and has been excerpted in a range of publications, from People to The New Yorker. As The New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman wrote, "Laura Blumenfeld has the eye of a reporter, the soul of a novelist, and the passion of an activist. She brings all three to bear superbly." She also authored a chapter in the book What Israel Means To Me, edited by Alan Dershowitz.  

Blumenfeld has lectured on counter-terrorism, military ethics, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is a frequent speaker at universities including Princeton, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and the U.S. Naval Academy. She served as a Senior Transatlantic Fellow at The German Marshall Fund, where she specialized in security policy.

Blumenfeld's work has been developed for screen adaptation by George Clooney, Madonna, Ellen Pompeo, HBO, Universal Pictures, ABC and CBS Television. Showtime aired an hour-long documentary on This American Life, based on her feature story. At The Washington Post, she wrote a regular column about senior government officials for the Federal Page, called "Off Camera." She has also written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast Traveler UK, and the Financial Times. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Lehrer News Hour, The Today Show, CNN, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Oprah and CCTV. She has been interviewed extensively on NPR, the BBC and other radio shows.

Blumenfeld holds a master’s degree in international affairs specializing in the Middle East from Columbia University, which she attended on full-scholarship as a Mort Zuckerman Future World Leaders Fellow. She graduated with honors with a degree in English literature from Harvard College and studied Middle East languages and civilizations for a year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  

Blumenfeld lives in Washington D.C.