Board of Trustees

Dr. Tanas Alqassis

Chairman

Regional Trans-cultural Manager for the Church Mission Society for Europe and the Middle East and North Africa

Tanas Alqassis is the Regional Manager for the Church Mission Society for Europe, Middle East and North Africa. Tanas have a  vision to change the way the West views the Middle East and the way the Middle East views the West, he has a passion for education and media and the firm belief that the only solution for the Middle East is Jesus Christ. He worked for World Vision in Jerusalem for nine years as the Finance/Administration Manager, and has also worked in Romania as a the Grant Manager for World Vision Romania.  Tanas has also been very involved with Musalaha, serving both on the Board, and as a leader of Desert Encounters and other forms of training. He served as the Chairman of the Arab Vision Board,  a trustee of  Embrace the Middle East, and Middle East Concern, and has also served with ACTdev Tunisia and Middle East Media. Tanas began his accounting career with BethBC and was a part of the BethBC choir for many years, as well as an integral part in preparing for BethBC’s 25th Anniversary celebrations. He is committed to doing all he can to help the Body of Christ reconcile and work together, for the sake the Lord Jesus Christ and His testimony in us. Tanas is in the process of finishing his Doctorate in Ministry degree concentrating on Practional Leadership.

Rev. Rajai Samawi

Vice Chairman

Evangelical church Pastor

An Evangelical church Pastor born in Jordan and is currently living and serving in Nazareth, Israel. He is a church planter, leader of an evangelistic organization, and owner of a Tourist company in Israel. Rev. Samawi has been in ministry since 1992. He has worked in several countries in the Middle East and Europe and is currently focusing on reaching out to refugees and planting Churches among them in Turkey, Greece, and Germany. Rev. Samawi is married to Samar Mansour Samawi and they have one daughter, Farah, who is 18 years old and holds both Jordanian and Israeli citizenship.

Samar Al-Araj

Secretary

Director of the Athletics Department at Bethlehem University

Samar is the director of the Athletics Department and a lecturer at Bethlehem University. Samar serves as the General Secretary of the Palestinian Tennis Federation and is a former member of the Palestinian Olympic Committee. Currently, she is the president of the Sports Federation of the Palestinian Institutions of Higher Education.

Samar has dedicated her life to promoting women’s sports in a country under occupation as well as putting women’s football on the map in a male-dominated society.

She joined the University of Jordan to study sports in an attempt to prove that women have the same qualifications as men for any career they choose. She graduated first in her class.

After graduation, Samar received her first post as a Sports Education teacher at Bethlehem University. Due to the political situation faced daily and the social attitudes against women’s rights, she insisted on founding the first women’s national football team in Palestine.

Mirabo Shammas

Treasurer

Chairperson of the Accounting Department at Birzeit University

Mirabo Shammas is currently working as the Chairperson of the Accounting Department at Birzeit University.  He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Accounting.

Mirabo started his career as an academic assistant at Birzeit University.  He later joined the Accounting Department as a lecturer.  During his career at Birzeit University, he was appointed as the Chair of the Accounting Department, and later as the Chief Financial Officer.  He also worked as the Director of Internal Audit at the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.  In addition to his university education, Mirabo earned a number of international professional certificates in the fields of Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Management including Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified in Financial Management (CFM), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (CIPSAS), Certified Risk Professional (CRP), Certified Business Manager (CBM).  In addition, Mirabo is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Palestine.

Mirabo’s previous experience includes working as a Senior Auditor with EL-Yousef & Co., a representative firm of KPMG (one of the Big Four international auditing firms).  He also worked as a Financial Consultant for a number of international and local organizations including: The World Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Ramallah Municipality, the Municipal Development and Lending Fund, National Team on preparing the National Strategy and the Executive Program for Palestinian Local Governments.  He also developed and delivered a number of training programs for public and private organizations.  Mirabo is a member of a number of professional organizations including:  The Association of Palestinian Internal Auditors (co-founder and board member) and The Palestinian Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Dr. Khaloob Kawar

Head of special department education and lecturer, Beit Berl college 

Khaloob was born and raised in the city of Nazareth. She is deeply involved in serving the community through various ministries focused on youth, and women. With a Ph.D. in speech and language pathology from Tel-Aviv University, Khaloob has made significant contributions to her field, publishing numerous research articles in esteemed academic journals.

Currently, Khaloob’s professional endeavors revolve around working as a dedicated speech and language pathologist, specializing in assisting individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, she holds the esteemed positions of a lecturer and the head of the M.A. track in the Special Education Department at Beit Berl College.

Khaloob’s core values encompass integrity, commitment, human rights, and social justice. These principles guide her in both her academic pursuits and her clinical practice. Her passion for knowledge, along with her innate curiosity, ambition, and dedication to learning, serve as the driving forces behind her exceptional work in both academia and the field of speech and language pathology.

Scarlet Bishara

Judge in the Ecclesiastical Court of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

The first female judge in the Ecclesiastical Court of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). She pursued her postgraduate education at the Beirut Arab University (BAU), where she earned a legal degree. she received training in the Sharia’ Courts as well as Catholic and Orthodox Family ecclesiastical courts. She was also able to contribute significantly to the creation and installment of the reformed Personal Status Law of the ELCJHL, where she assigned to be a judge at the Lutheran Court of First Instance since 2015.

Her current position is the legal advisor of the governor of Bethlehem and Bethlehem governorate.
Judge Scarlet is a valuable member of many committees in Palestine such as: the Women’s Protection Team in Bethlehem, the National Referral System for Women Victims of Violence, , and the Legal Aid Project for Abused Women in Ecclesiastical Courts, she is cofounder of  (Al-Hakimat Council with judge Somod Damiri from Sharia Court ) the council  is an initiative under the umbrella of  the ELCJHL to promote civic rights and citizenship and to promote women rights in the Palestinian society and for women to acquire decision making roles in their community).
Judge Scarlet is a women’s rights activist who has published multiple studies analyzing women’s rights from a legal perspective.

Judge Scarlet is a public speaker who participated in numerous lectures. She represented the Ecclesiastical Court of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land at numerous international conferences on gender justice, including those held at the UN.