Ray Hanania (born April 17, 1953) is an American journalist, editor, public relations expert, reporter, and stand-up comedian of Palestinian descent.

Hanania was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Palestinian Christian (Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) parents.

His father, George, from a prominent Christian family in Jerusalem, served with the U.S. Army during World War II and with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA.

Hanania was forced to resign from the Sun-Times in the wake of complaints that he was acting as a behind-the-scenes adviser to Treasurer Miriam Santos, the city's top Hispanic officeholder.

In 1992 Hanania founded his own public relations firm, Urban Strategies Group, doing media consulting for political, government and private clients including the Town of Cicero.

However, in a November 2012 column for the Saudi Gazette, he wrote "the real obstacle preventing peace is the fundamental refusal of most Israelis and most American Jews to accept the right of Palestinians to exist as a people with a state."

Hanania launched a stand-up comedy career in 2001 to advance his belief that humor can calm the animosity between Jews and Arabs, promoting peace through moderation.

A few weeks before the show, Zanies owner informed Hanania they were going to add Jewish American comedian Jackie Mason to the bill so he could get stage time before his planned appearances on Broadway.

"[10] Hanania later developed a unique Palestinian-Jewish stand-up comedy routine that features his experiences growing up Arab in America and satirizing his marriage to his wife, Alison, who is Jewish.