Episode 3: Mazen Rasoul on Palestine, the diaspora, and the joy of solidarity

Mazen Rasoul, Esq., is a Palestinian-American attorney based in Columbus, Ohio, with a rich background in law, community service, and advocacy. Born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1990, Mazen’s family moved to Ramallah, West Bank, in 1993. He returned to Columbus in 2008, receiving a B.A. in Political Science at The Ohio State University, and J.D. from Capital University Law School in 2015. In 2016, Mazen founded Rasoul Law Office, specializing in Immigration Law, Small Business and Contracts, and other legal areas. He is deeply involved in the Immigrant and New American community in Central Ohio, serving as chairman of the board of directors at the Riverview International Center, a local Columbus based non-profit that provides services to new Americans to help them start their new lives in the US. He also serves as a board member of the Arab American Bar Association of Ohio as well as Ohio in Arabic Foundation. Mazen has been an active member of the Palestinian solidarity movement in central Ohio since 2008. He served as the president of OSU’s Committee for Justice in Palestine (now Students for Justice in Palestine-OSU), founded the Art of Freedom Dabkah Troupe, and more. More recently, he is founding member of Baladna, Palestine Society of Columbus, and serves on its board of directors. Mazen was one of the lawyers representing students and other arrested during OSU’s repression of the Palestine solidarity encampment in April 2024. Links and references Rasoul Law Office Baladna: Palestine Society of Columbus Riverview International Center: Welcoming New Americans WOSU: OSU activists call on the state to boycott and divest from Israel (2025) Columbus Dispatch: Police forcibly removed hijabs at OSU protests (2024) Columbus Dispatch: Columbus City Council and Gaza resolution (2024) Reference: Oslo Accords of 1993 (Electronic Intifada, 2013) Reference: Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) versus International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism