Richard Falk is an internationally renowned American jurist, professor of international law, and public intellectual. Born into a secular Jewish family, his background prompted him to translate the moral consciousness of Jewish tradition into a pursuit of universal human rights and global justice. He served as a professor of international law at Princeton University for forty years and, throughout his lengthy career, has remained dedicated to examining the operations of global power through a legal lens.
His career is marked by distinguished achievements, most notably serving as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories from 2008 to 2014. As a preeminent scholar in international law and nuclear policy, he has authored dozens of influential academic works exploring state sovereignty, war crimes, and global governance. Although his views are often at the center of controversy for challenging Western hegemony, he remains recognized as one of the most important contemporary thinkers defending the rights of vulnerable peoples through legal instruments.
Falk steadfastly supports the Palestinian right to self-determination through rigorous legal analysis and official UN reports, openly accusing Israeli occupation policies of constituting “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing.” He utilizes his academic authority to defend the legal status of Palestinians and has repeatedly called for international pressure on Israel at international courts and human rights forums. As a Jewish intellectual, he outspokenly argues that the systemic oppression of others contradicts the essence of the Jewish spirit, maintaining that true peace in the Middle East will only come when international law is fully enforced and Palestinians achieve full citizenship and sovereignty.