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Emily Harris

Emily Harris

International Correspondent Emily Harris is based in Jerusalem as part of NPR's Mideast team. Her post covers news related to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She began this role in March of 2013.

Over her career, Harris has served in multiple roles within public media. She first joined NPR in 2000, as a general assignment reporter. A prolific reporter often filing two stories a day, Harris covered major stories including 9/11 and its aftermath, including the impact on the airline industry; and the anthrax attacks. She also covered how policies set in Washington are implemented across the country.

In 2002, Harris worked as a Special Correspondent on NOW with Bill Moyer, focusing on investigative storytelling. In 2003 Harris became NPR's Berlin Correspondent, covering Central and Eastern Europe. In that role, she reported regularly from Iraq, leading her to be a key member of the NPR team awarded a 2005 Peabody Award for coverage of the region.

Harris left NPR in December 2007 to become a host for a live daily program, Think Out Loud, on Oregon Public Broadcasting. Under her leadership Harris's team received three back to back Gracie Awards for Outstanding Talk Show, and a share in OPB's 2009 Peabody Award for the series "Hard Times." Harris's other awards include the RIAS Berlin Commission's first-place radio award in 2007 and second-place in 2006. She was a John S. Knight fellow at Stanford University in 2005-2006.

A seasoned reporter, she was asked to help train young journalist through NPR's "Next Generation" program. She also served as editorial director for Journalism Accelerator, a project to bring journalists together to share ideas and experiences; and was a writer-in-residence teaching radio writing to high school students.

One of the aspects of her work that most intrigues her is why people change their minds and what inspires them to do so.

Outside of work, Harris has drafted a screenplay about the Iraq war and for another project is collecting stories about the most difficult parts of parenting.

She has a B.A. in Russian Studies from Yale University.

  • The Muslim holiday Eid marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and is usually a time for family celebration. This year, it also marks three weeks since the current war in Gaza started.
  • Israel and Hamas carried out a rhetorical battle Sunday over the fate of dueling offers to extend a ceasefire. In the end, the fighting resumed after Saturday's 12-hour truce. Israel vowed to continue its military campaign, targeting tunnels along the border. Wary Gazans prepared as best they could for the feast that marks the end of Ramadan.
  • Alexander the Great complained about the tunnels under Gaza during his siege of the area in 332 BC. They are still an issue today as the Israelis and Palestinians slug it out.
  • Secretary of State John Kerry is trying again to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, as casualty counts rise inexorably higher. NPR's Emily Harris explains both sides' demands.
  • A United Nations school, which was being used to shelter displaced Gazans awaiting evacuation, came under fire from a missile or shelling. The attack reportedly killed 15 people. Palestinian officials blame Israeli shelling; Israel says it may have been Hamas rockets that fell short of their target.
  • A few months ago, 24-year-old Anas Hamra made a "Happy" video about Gaza. If the rest of the world was playing off Pharrell Williams' song, he figured Gaza ought to step up, too. Plus, even with salty tap water and travel restrictions, life in Gaza was not all misery. On Wednesday, Hamra spent 24 hours with his video camera in Shifa Hospital in Gaza and emerged unable to find a word to describe how he feels. The first song that came to mind is "Wake Me Up When It's Over."
  • Two weeks into the conflict in the Gaza Strip, more than 600 Palestinians — mostly civilians — and 29 Israelis have been killed. Two recent Israeli strikes, on a school and a hospital, reflect the scope of Israel's offensive.
  • As the Israeli military expands its assault in the Gaza Strip, casualty numbers continue to grow. At last count, more than 550 Palestinians — mostly civilians — and 25 Israeli soldiers have died. On Monday, an Israeli strike hit a hospital in central Gaza, killing people in the intensive care unit.
  • Israel warned Palestinian residents days in advance that it planned to attack a Gaza City neighborhood. But in the cramped territory, there are few places for residents to take refuge.
  • While Israelis seek refuge from Hamas rockets in ubiquitous shelters, Palestinians crowd into schools to escape Israeli airstrikes. Conditions there grow dire as the conflict drags on.