When Vivian Rasem Khalaf was 13, studying in junior high school in El Bireh in the occupied West Bank, she watched as one of her classmates was injured by an Israeli soldier during a protest – a memory that still haunts her.
“It was a peaceful protest of students outside the school, children between the ages of 12 and 17 carrying signs,” the Palestinian-American lawyer and chairwoman of the board at the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), said. “The military came to disperse the protest and started shooting rubber bullets. One hit the leg of one of my classmates, and she was injured and carried away.”
Ms Khalaf's journey, from witnessing violence as a teenager to leading humanitarian efforts benefiting her community from half a world away, reflects both resilience and a lifelong commitment to justice.
Born in Jerusalem, Ms Khalaf, now 59, emigrated to the US as a child when her father came to pursue a doctorate in Colorado.
“We came as non-immigrants,” she said. “I grew up in Denver until the age of 12, then we relocated to El Bireh in the West Bank, where my family is from. It was a shock – moving from the US to life under military occupation – but it taught me empathy and made me realise how privileged I was.”
She was educated by the Quakers at the Friends Girls School in Ramallah, graduating in 1984.
“I’m Muslim, yet I was educated at a Quaker institution,” she said. “The Quakers have been in Palestine since the late 1800s.”
Pursuing a legal career
Ms Khalaf returned to the US to pursue higher education, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and Russian history from the University of Illinois and a law degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1993, she founded one of the first Arab American-led law firms in Chicago, specialising in family-based immigration.
“I saw the need in the community for an attorney who knew the culture, spoke the language and empathised with their struggles,” she said. Encouraged by her husband, she opened her own firm and became the first Palestinian woman in her community to do so.
Her firm, Khalaf & Abuzir, has offices in Palos Hills, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas, with an additional office in Ramallah handling family reunification cases. Her partner, Omar Abuzir, first joined her as a law student. “He’s the brother of a dear friend I went to school with in Ramallah,” she said. “I offered him a position as an associate lawyer and he is now my partner, and a very dear one.”
Being a Palestinian Muslim woman in a male-dominated profession is not easy. “It’s been a challenging journey but very gratifying,” Ms Khalaf said. “I had to prove myself more than my male counterparts. People weren’t used to walking into an office, seeing a woman speaking Arabic and realising she could help them.”
Her career highlights include working on the amnesty programme that allowed undocumented immigrants to apply for residency and later on cases of the Muslim travel ban during Donald Trump’s first term as president. “That was a defining moment,” she said. “It galvanised both the legal community as well as the community in general to come out in support of those that were not allowed into the US, families that were torn apart.”
Ms Khalaf also joined a class-action lawsuit during the pandemic to fight for US citizens married to undocumented immigrants who were denied financial assistance. “We found that unconstitutional,” she said. “That lawsuit and other, similar lawsuits pressured Congress to change the law so families could finally get the help they deserved.”
Championing children's health
Her advocacy eventually led her to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), where she now serves as chairwoman. “PCRF was a culmination of my work in the community,” she said. “It allowed me to use my legal and advocacy skills to help children in need.”
Founded more than 30 years ago, PCRF provides urgent medical and surgical care to children in the Middle East. “My hope is that one day PCRF will close its doors because it’s no longer needed,” Ms Khalaf said. “I pray for the day when every child can get the care they need in their own country.”
Since October 2023, PCRF has evacuated more than 300 children from Gaza for medical treatment, distributing more than $100 million in humanitarian aid. The October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli offensive have killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, including more than 20,000 children.
Ms Khalaf shared the story of one child, Fadi Al Zant, a boy with cystic fibrosis who was evacuated from northern Gaza. “It was the first time I saw bones and skeletal image of a child like that,” she said. After receiving treatment in the US, he is currently in Egypt. “We were able to save that one life [but] so many other children were not as fortunate. And that's, you know, the sad part about what we do with PCRF – we can only help so many children, but there are many more left behind.”
Most children PCRF helps today are treated closer to home, in Egypt, Jordan or Europe. “Only 20 of them came to the US,” Ms Khalaf said. “The majority went to Spain, Italy and Belgium.”
She added that while the US is not the first destination for the charity's cases, “it should be one destination”.
In August, the US government suspended visitor visas for Gazans after complaints from a far-right influencer. The decision has impacted PCRF’s ability to bring injured and critically ill children to the US for life-saving medical treatment.
“The US should step up and offer to care for some of these children the way other countries have done,” she said.
PCRF continues to face immense challenges. “Today, there is the blockade on aid, the inability to get the massive amount of humanitarian aid that is needed in Gaza. There's nothing left there,” she said.
“The healthcare infrastructure has collapsed. For the first time in modern history, we're seeing cases of illnesses that have been eradicated for a very, very long time now, polio is one example.”
She stresses the need for food, water and shelter. “Winter is coming. What are these people going to do with these tents that aren't equipped for the cold weather?”
The biggest challenge is the continued prohibition for NGOs like PCRF from bringing in the essential items that are needed, she added.
Stories of hope amid war
Despite the obstacles, Ms Khalaf’s faith keeps her going. “I believe there’s still good in this world,” she said. “There's a light at the end of the tunnel. Justice will be served eventually.”
She shared stories of children who lost limbs and found hope through PCRF.
“One girl, Nada, had more than 60 surgeries before coming to the US,” she said. “Doctors here saved her leg from amputation. Another child, Ahed Bseiso, had her leg amputated on a kitchen table in Gaza by her orthopaedic surgeon uncle. We brought her to the United States, she was fitted with a prosthesis, and she has since left and has been reunited with her father in Belgium.”
As a trailblazing Arab-American woman in law and humanitarian work, Ms Khalaf sees her story as part of a larger movement. “Representation is key,” she said. “Women in Palestinian society are the foundation of families. Their stories of loss and resilience are powerful.”
She also encourages young women to enter law. “I tell them: my doors are always open,” she said. “Enter the legal field with courage and empathy. Without empathy, everything you do is for naught.”
When asked what being an Arab in America means to her, she let the question sink in and smiled thoughtfully. “It means we’re part of the American fabric,” she said. “No different from being Italian American or Greek American. I’m proud to be Arab American. This country gave me opportunities, and it should continue to do so for others seeking a better life.”
