Hello neighbor!
My name is Yousef K. Bashir. I was born in the Gaza Strip and moved to the United States when I was 16. I attended high school in Utah, earned a B.A. in International Affairs from Northeastern University and an M.A. in Coexistence and Conflict from Brandeis University. I have been an advocate and activist all my life, traveling to 25 states, speaking at campuses, conferences and religious centers. My subject has always been reconciliation, resolving conflict and finding just and equitable solutions for the most troubling disputes.
Today I am proud to be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Dupont Circle. I want your vote for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) for Single District Member (SMD) 2B03. I hope to earn your trust and represent you as your next Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. Public service is my vocation. I will always be there to take your calls and read your emails and learn about your concerns. As a resident of our SMD, I know our views and interests have not been well represented in the recent past. We can do better. I will be your voice in the Dupont Circle ANC, and I will encourage as many of you as possible to participate in the councils and committees that will balance development and preservation to create a vibrant future for our unique neighborhood.
After moving to Washington in 2015, I was selected for the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship and worked for the Partnership for a Secure America, a think tank that promotes bipartisanship among congressional staffers. I briefly worked in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate before joining the Office of the General Delegation of the PLO to the United States as the Congressional Affairs Advisor. After that office was shut down by the current administration, I was selected by Peace Action to campaign during the 2018 midterms for Dr. Kim Schrier who won the race for Washington state’s 8th district. During my junior year as an undergraduate student, I wrote my first book—The Words of My Father: Love and Pain in Palestine published by HarperCollins. This book tells the story of my childhood in the Gaza Strip, how I was shot by an Israeli soldier and saved by Israeli doctors and how I have become the person I am today. Currently, I work at the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.