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Maher Bitar

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Maher and his family with U.S. president Barack Obama

Maher Bitar is an American government official who worked in the Obama and Biden Administrations.

Early life

In 2006, Bitar graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he was on the executive board of the school's Students for Justice in Palestine.[1][2] Bitar has a Master's degree from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He studied at Georgetown Law School.[3] He has written about political organizing among Palestinian refugees.[4] His family is of Palestinian origin.[5]

Career

Bitar worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jerusalem.[2]

Obama Administration

Bitar is a career Department of State employee.[6] At the State Department, Bihar developed a close relationship with Jake Sullivan.[7] During the Obama Administration, Bitar worked at the National Security Council (NSC) as Director for Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 2013 to 2015.[6] From 2015 to 2017, he was Deputy to U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power[7]

In 2017, Bitar joined the House Intelligence Committee as general counsel for the Democrats, where he played a role in the first impeachment of Donald Trump.[7] He was also legal counsel to U.S. Representative Adam Schiff.[8]

Biden Administration

At the beginning of the Biden Administration in January 2021, Bitar was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the NSC, succeeding Michael Ellis.[9][7] His appointment was praised by Rob Malley and Ziad Asali of the pro-Palestinian group American Task Force on Palestine.[5]

In January 2024, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan moved Bitar into a new role at the NSC as Deputy Assistant to the President and coordinator for intelligence and defense policy.[10][11] Bitar is the highest-ranking official at the White House responsible for coordinating the U.S. government's intelligence and defense policy.[6]

References

  1. ^ Santulli, Stephen (2006-01-13). "Students to Host Palestinian Summit". The Hoya. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "A Road Less Traveled: National Security Careers After Law School – Maher Bitar". Reiss Center on Law and Security. 2021-04-05. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Maher Bitar (L'12)". www.law.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  4. ^ Bitar, Maher (September 2009). "Activism among a new generation of Palestinian exiles". Forced Migration Review. 33: 54. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b Harris, Bryant (2021-01-24). "Arab-American lawyer involved in Trump impeachment to advise Biden on intelligence". The National. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Maher Bitar" (PDF). Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Bertrand, Natasha (2021-01-21). "He helped Adam Schiff impeach Trump. Now he's joining Biden's NSC". Politico. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Biden appoints Palestinian American to key intelligence role". israelhayom.com (in Kinyarwanda). 25 January 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  9. ^ "White House Releases State Dinner Guest List". White House. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Preview of U.S. Participation in the Third Summit for Democracy". State Department. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (2024-01-08). "White House turns to defense tech startups for help in Ukraine". LA Times. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
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