Candidate Profiles
MAGIS Candidates, 2008 - 2010

Ekhlas Salama

Growing up on a farm in the central valley of California, Ekhlas was desperate to leave the small town life and venture out to the city. Thus, she traveled the four hours away from home to earn her B.A. in International Development Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She focused on conflict issues within the Middle-East, particularly the Palestine-Israel conflict.
 
During her time at UCLA, Ekhlas was fortunate enough to do study, research, and volunteer abroad through programs in Eastern Europe, Central America, and the Middle-East. Her experiences abroad have sparked a deep interest within herself to actively partake in the global society.

Within the MAGIS program, Ekhlas wants to continue her focus on the Palestine-Israel conflict; taking a more critical look on the societal role of Arabs within Israel. She would like to more closely examine the discriminatory jurisdictions of the Israeli government towards Arabs and the effect on the Arab population within Israel.

Ekhlas interned in summer/fall 2009 with Baladna, a Palestinian youth NGO based in Haifa, Israel. Being out in the field has helped fine tune her interest within the region to Palestinian youth development and the difficulties of such identity building within the state of Israel. She plans on writing her thesis on the subject of contemporary violence and harassment by the state of Israel towards Palestinian youth activist living within the Green Line of Israel.