Human Rights Institute | Columbia Law School

Tarek Z. Ismail

Counterterrorism & Human Rights Fellow

• Phone: (212) 854-8364
• Email:  tarek.ismail@law.columbia.edu

Tarek develops research and policy at the intersection of human rights and U.S. counterterrorism policies, with a particular focus on issues affecting Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities in the United States, including racial profiling, selective prosecution, and the use of informants and sting operations. He has spent the last two years conducting extensive research on the U.S. government's approach to "homegrown terrorism."  His recent writing on the subject includes The FBI's Surveillance Power in the aftermath of Boston (The Hill, May 17, 2013). 

As a student at Columia, Tarek also researched and wrote on counterterrorism issues in the Human Rights Clinic, contributing to the publication of Promises to Keep: Diplomatic Assurances Against Torture in U.S. Terrorism Transfers. Prior to studying at Columbia, Tarek was a public information consultant at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Jerusalem, where he worked with experts on legal issues regarding access rights of international organizations in occupied Palestinian Territories, and the status of Palestine refugees in international law.

Tarek graduated with a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2011, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree with distinction in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.