[4] His career in journalism in the Middle East began in 1965, when he served as the first managing editor of The Jerusalem Star, an English-language Jordanian newspaper that has since changed its name to The Palestine News.
[3] He is professor emeritus and senior fellow at the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research, at the American University in Cairo - which he founded, and for which he served as its first director (1985 - 2005).
[1][3] Schleifer was executive producer of Control Room (2004), a documentary film about Al Jazeera and its relations with the US Central Command.
[citation needed] During his career, he has interviewed many Middle Eastern leaders—heads of state as well as Ayman al-Zawahiri the leader of Al-Qaeda since 2011.
[5] Born Mark Schleifer to a secular Jewish family on Long Island, he received his BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1956[1] where he was involved in Marxist movements.