US Jewish scholar and Human Rights activist Dr. Justinian Rudelson Ben-Adam was appointed Board Chair of the
Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), a leading Muslim organization in Washington DC. The Uyghur Muslim
UHRP was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize by members of the US Congress. As one of the leaders of the
Uyghur Muslims in exile, Rudelson Ben-Adam is one of only a few Jews who have led a Muslim organization since
Shmuel ibn Neghrilla Ha Nagid in 11 th century Spain.
UHRP is a global Uyghur organization instrumental in documenting Uyghur rights abuses and cultural and physical
genocide by the Chinese government. It advocates for the freedom and rights of the Uyghur people on global stages.
Currently, UHRP is conducting a lawsuit against the Chinese government for Genocide and Crimes against
Humanity in a in an Argentinian high court that asserts universal jurisdiction on such cases.
Former UHRP Board Chair Nury Turkel, the co-founder of the UHRP in 2004, was recognized as one of Time
Magazine’s 100 most impactful global leaders for 2020. He served as the Chair of the US Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) from 2022 to 2023. He is the author of No Escape, the true story of
China’s genocide of Uyghurs.
Dr. Rudelson Ben-Adam is a Harvard PhD anthropologist with four decades of experience in Uyghur human rights
work. His book, Oasis Identities: Uyghur Nationalism along China’s Silk Road was a pioneering work inspiring a
new generation of Uyghur scholars around the globe. He created the first Hebrew language program in China, at
Beijing University, and helped introduce Israeli drip-irrigation technologies (Netafim) to China’s largest desert,
located in the Uyghur homeland in China. In 1985-87, he assisted the Israeli Foreign Ministry repatriate former
Israeli soldier Eli Haimann who passed away in the Uyghur homeland of altitude sickness. Rudelson Ben-Adam is
author of Lonely Planet’s traveler language Phrasebooks for Hebrew, Mandarin, and 16 languages of the Silk Road
including the Uyghur language.