Advisory Board

His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Chairman
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
His Beatitude Michel Sabbah has been the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem since 1987. The Latin Patriarch is the bishop of those Middle Eastern Catholics who follow the Western Catholic liturgy. H.B. Sabbah was born in Nazareth, studied at the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in Beit Jala, and was ordained in Nazareth in 1955. He received his doctorate in Arab philology from the Sorbonne. During his priesthood, he has served in parishes in the diocese, has served as the diocesan youth director and the director of education, and served as the President of Bethlehem University.


Coadjutor Archbishop Fuad Twal
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem


His Beatitude Gregorios III
Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem
His Beatitude Gregorios III was born in Daria, Syria. He received his Ph.D. in Eastern Theology sciences in 1961 from the Pontifical Institute for Eastern Studies in Rome, and was assigned as a parish priest at Grotto Frata in 1959. After returning to Lebanon, he was appointed Director of the Higher Theology Institute in Deik Mukhalis and in the Kasleek University near Beirut. He established a magazine, .Unity in Faith,. in 1962 that specialized in Eastern Ecumenical Studies and organized the first conference to include the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic rites in Beirut in 1972. In 1974, he was invested by H.B. Maxemius V as Archbishop of Jerusalem.


Right Rev. Munib A. Younan
Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Palestine and Jordan
Bishop Younan was born in Jerusalem. He earned his Masters Degree in Theology from Helsinki University and has served as pastor of several churches in Palestine. He is one of the co-founders of Al-Liqa Center for Religious Studies in Jerusalem. He is also President of the Board of Managers of the International Christian Committee (ICC) in Jerusalem. Bishop Younan has served on several international committees for religious and charitable organizations.


The Most Rev. Archbishop Elias Chacour
Archbishop of Galilee
A Palestinian Christian Arab, Abuna Chacour was appointed to the little known Galilean village of Ibillin in 1965 as a newly ordained Melkite Catholic Priest, having obtained his BA in Theology and Bible Studies at Saint Sulpice and the Sorbonne University, Paris. In 1968 he became the first Arab to study Bible and Talmud at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He obtained his Ph.D. in Ecumenical Theology at University of Geneva in 1971 and numerous honorary doctorates from U.S. universities since. He is Founder and President of Mar Elias Educational Institutions, which had its beginnings as a kindergarten in 1968 and has expanded over the years to include all grades, including the first Arab Israeli Christian university. He is the author of three books, Blood Brothers, We Belong to the Land, and J'ai foi en nous. Archbishop Chacour has received many world peace and reconciliation awards, including three nominations for the Nobel Peace Price. In 2005, the Holy Synod of the Melkite Catholic Church appointed him Archbishop of Galilee with responsibility for the Melkite Church in Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and all of Israel.

 
His Grace Patrick Kelly
Archbishop of Liverpool, England
Archbishop Patrick Kelly was born in Morecambe, Lancashire on 23 November 1938. The Archbishop commenced studies for the priesthood in Rome in 1955, and was ordained at the English College, Rome in 1962. He remained in Rome for postgraduate studies until 1964. On his return to England he was appointed as Assistant Priest at St Peter's Cathedral, Lancaster where he served for two years until his appointment as a lecturer in theology at St Mary's College, Oscott, Birmingham in 1966. He became Rector of Oscott in 1979 and continued in the post until his appointment as Bishop of Salford in 1984. He was ordained as Bishop of Salford on 3 April 1984 and became Archbishop of Liverpool on 3 July 1996. He is Vice President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales; has chaired the Department for International Affairs where he remains a member and Chairs the Committee for Environmental Justice. He has also served on the Committee for International Justice and Peace, and the Bishops' Committee for deaf people. He is also a consultor to the Pontifical Commission for International Justice and Peace and President of the International Catholic Foundation at the service of deaf people. On an ecumenical level he is a former member of ARCIC (The Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission). In November 1999 he was elected as vice-President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.


Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson
Bishop of Saginaw, MI


Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel
Atlanta, GA
Rev. Abu-Akel was elected in 2002 as Moderator of the 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. He was born in Kuffer-Yassif, Galilee, Palestine to Arab Christian Palestinian parents in 1944. He received his Doctor of Ministry at the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, his Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta and is a graduate of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Lakeland, FL. Rev. Abu-Akel is the Founder and Executive Director of the Atlanta Ministry with International Students, Inc. and is a pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.


Samir Abu-Ghazaleh, M.D.
Sioux Falls, SD
Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh was born in Haifa, Palestine. He attended high school in Amman, Jordan. He earned his undergraduate degree from Nahara College in Cairo, Egypt and his medical degree from Ain Sham University Medical School, also in Cairo. He completed his residencies and graduate work in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Dakota Affiliated Hospitals and in Gynecologic Oncology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh is a member of many professional medical organizations and has published eleven articles in medical journals. He was recently appointed to the National Cancer Advisory Board for a six-year term. He also serves on the Board of Governors for the Arab WesternInstitute. Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh donates his time as a speaker for many medical and charitable organizations. He is a Knight of Malta.


Robert Younes, MD
Medical Mall- Medical Director


Rev. M. Craig Barnes, PhD.
Pittsburgh, PA
The Rev. Craig Barnes, Ph.D. became the Meneilly Professor of Leadership and Ministry at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in September of 2002. Previously, he served as the senior pastor of The National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC, since 1993. Prior to this he was senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Madison, Wisconsin. His Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago, where his doctoral advisor was Martin Marty. He is the author of several popular books, including most recently Sacred Thirst: Finding God in the Desert of our Longings (Zondervan, 2001), and Hustling God: Why We Work So Hard for What God Wants to Give (Zondervan, 1999.) A well-known Presbyterian, he is also the author of numerous published articles and is a popular speaker at seminary and church events.


Archbishop Vicken Aykazian
President National Council of Churches (USA)
Council Member, World Council of Churches


Albert J. Bateh
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Mr. Bateh was born in Ramallah, Palestine. He completed his education in New York where he started managing Ramallah Trading Co., Inc. He served in the United States Army from 1958-60 and began the Eissa A. Bateh & Brothers Foundation in 1960. He still serves as its president. Mr. Bateh has been a board member of the WesternRamallah Federation of Palestine (ARFP). He is also a board member of both the Ramallah Foundation, Inc. and the WesternRamallah Federation Educational Fund.


Rev. Gary Burge, PhD.
Wheaton, IL
Rev. Dr. Gary Burge attended the University of California at Riverside, where he was an exchange student at The American University of Beirut studying political science and religion. This experience studying in the Middle East made an indelible mark on him. Lebanon's civil war broke out that year and he watched a dangerous, national tragedy unfold before his college dorm. In 1992 he joined the faculty of Wheaton College & Graduate School where he teaches today as Professor of New Testament. Dr. Burge is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., and from 1987-1999, he served as a Presbyterian Chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Dr. Burge's publications include The Anointed Community: The Holy Spirit in the Johannine Tradition (Eerdmans, 1987); Interpreting the Johannine Literature (Baker, 1992), the translation of John's Gospel in the New Living Bible; a commentary on John's letters (Zondervan 1996) and a major commentary on John's Gospel (Zondervan 2000). He has returned to Israel over 18 times to study New Testament archeology and has led many groups of college students on study tours. In 1993 he wrote a study of Biblical theology, modern Israel, the Palestinian Christian church, called Who Are God's People in the Middle East? What Christians Are Not Being Told About Israel and the Palestinians (Zondervan, 1993). A second volume was published recently entitled Whose Land? Whose Promise? (Pilgrim Press, 2003). He is also the president of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding, a coalition of pastors and theologians which works to bridge the Arab and American church.


Fr. Drew Christiansen, S.J.
Washington, D.C.
Fr. Christiansen is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University. He received his Ph.D. in religious social ethics from Yale University. He has been a research associate at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, a faculty member at the Jesuit School of Theology, director of the Center for Ethics and Social Policy at the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, and a founding member of the University of Notre Dame.s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He was Director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC), the coordinating organization of the U.S. Catholic bishops, and has continued to serve as a counselor to the USCC on Mideast affairs. He serves on the boards of several organizations, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem invested him as Canon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He has written more than 70 articles on ethics, Catholic social teaching, and public policy. He is the co-editor of three books.


The Rev. Roy Enquist, Ph.D.
Lutheran Minister


Raja Khoury
Vienna, VA


Osama Kishek
Irvine, CA
Mr. Kishek was born in Jerusalem. He came to the United States in 1979 and completed his BA in Economics at the University of California-Irvine. He earned his MBA from UCLA. In 1990, Mr. Kishek founded Kishek International, Inc., a fine jewelry wholesale corporation. He currently lives in California with his wife and
two children.


Bishop James K. Mathews, Rtd.
Bethesda, MD
Bishop James K. Mathews is a bishop of the United Methodist Church. He received his theological training at New York Theological Seminary. After graduate training at Boston University and Cambridge University, he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in History of Religions (Comparative Religion). Bishop Mathews has been very active in ecumenical circles at every level: local, state, regional, confessional, national and international. He has spoken and written often on the issue of Christian Presence in the Holy Land. He is the author of nine books.


Albert Mokhiber
Arlington, VA
Vice Chairman of the Board of ADC, Mr. Mokhiber served as ADC President for four years, from 1990-1994. He began his tenure at the ADC National Office in 1984 as Director of Legal Services. Mr. Mokhiber took ADC to the Supreme Court in the landmark case of St. Francis College v. Al-Khazraji, the first time an Arab-Westerncame before the Supreme Court. A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, Mr. Mokhiber is now practicing law in the Washington, D.C. area and continues to be active in Arab-Westernaffairs.


Musa Nasir, M.D.
Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Nasir is a physician specializing in family medicine and surgery. He is the Medical Director and a founding member of the Pacific Independent Physicians Association in Los Angeles and director of the Foundation Laboratory. He earned his MS in Biochemistry and Bacteriology from the University of South Dakota and his MD from the University of Texas. He has held many positions in medical organizations in addition to maintaining his private practice. Dr. Nasir founded the Birzeit Society, which provides medical and educational help in Palestine. He is also on the board of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, which brings children to the U.S. for medical care.


Rev. Donald Wagner, Ph.D.
Chicago, IL
Rev. Wagner has been director of Mercy Corps International's Middle East Program, director of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding (EMEU), and pastor of three Presbyterian churches. For ten years he was National Director of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign. He is currently Director of the Center for Middle East Understanding at North Park University, Chicago, IL. Rev. Wagner has led over twenty pilgrimages to the Middle East and has organized more than fifteen national conferences. He is author of several political and Christian articles on the Middle East and is the author of three books.