Board of Directors

A Palestinian-American, returnee to Palestine after the Oslo Agreement . Focused on job creation by investing in the local economy. Board member in leading local companies and Board Chairman of a large local NGO. 

Philanthropic entrepreneur at heart with passion for education and vocational training.

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Dr. Khouloud Daibes joined the Bethlehem Development Foundation as CEO in December 2021.

She is an architect, former politician, diplomat, and a mother of three.

Dr. Daibes has over 25 years of experience in the fields of cultural heritage, tourism and Palestinian affairs.

After completing her Ph.D. degree in architecture from the University of Hannover in Germany, she returned to Palestine in 1994 to work on various restoration projects especially in the Bethlehem Area as director of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

Prior to becoming the Ambassador of Palestine in Germany from 2013 until 2021, Dr Daibes served as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities from 2007 until 2012 and as Minister of Women Affairs from 2007 to 2009.

She is a member of the Presidential Committee of the restoration of the Church of Nativity, Higher Committee for Church affairs, and a board member of several local organizations.

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Ambar co-founded Ibtikar Fund 1 in 2016, including establishment and fundraising, and actively managed its portfolio of 26 startups.

Previously, Ambar managed Palestine for a New Beginning (PNB), a Palestinian non-profit company focused on entrepreneurial development, Ambar grew PNB from an idea and a loose and small board leadership to an established Palestinian institution. Through PNB, Ambar organized the yearly Celebration of Innovation, a Palestine-wide competition of entrepreneurs, and the follow-up support to these entrepreneurs; as well as Global Entrepreneurship Week in Palestine. Through a partnership with Leaders Organization, Ambar also managed Palestine’s first acceleration program, FastForward.

Ambar is a member of the 23rd class of Kauffman Fellows, and was named as one of the “50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World” by CEO Middle East Magazine and “20 Women VCs of MENA” by MENAbytes.

Ambar has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Marketing degree from Arizona State University.

Mr. Issa kassisieh a Palestinian scholar and diplomat was born in 1964 in Jerusalem. He holds a BA in English Literature from Bethlehem University, a Master’s degree in International Relations from Birzeit University, and studied public administration at the Kennedy School of Government and Diplomacy at the University of Birmingham.

He held the position of Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Holy See, and holds the position of Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Knights of Malta.

Founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. The most widely published Palestinian theologian to date, Rev. Prof. Raheb is the author and editor of 40 books including: Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christians in an Age of Empire; The Cross in Contexts: Suffering and Redemption in Palestine; Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes; His books and numerous articles have been translated so far into thirteen languages. Rev. Prof. Raheb served as the senior pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from June 1987 to May 2017 and as the President of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011-2016.  Rev. Prof. Raheb was elected in 2018 to the Palestinian National Council and to the Palestinian Central Council. A social entrepreneur, Rev. Prof. Raheb has founded several NGO‟s including the Christian Academic Forum for Citizenship in the Arab World (CAFCAW). He is a founding and board member of the National Library of Palestine and a founding member and author of Kairos Palestine

Rev. Prof. Raheb received in 2017 the Tolerance Award from the European Academy of Science and Arts, in 2015 the Olof Palme Prize. In 2012 the German Media Prize was awarded to Rev. Prof. Raheb. Launched in 1992, this award was mainly granted to Heads of States, including President Obama (2016) the German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2009), Bill Clinton (1999), Nelson Mandela (1998), King Hussein of Jordan (1997), Boris Yeltsin (1996), President Arafat (1995), Yitshak Rabin (1995). He also received for his outstanding contribution to Christian education through research and publication‟ an honorary doctorate from Concordia University in Chicago (2003)   and   for   his  interfaith   work   the “International Mohammad Nafi Tschelebi Peace Award” of the Central Islam Archive in Germany (2006) and in 2007 the well-known German Peace Award of Aachen.

The work of Rev. Prof. Raheb has received wide media attention from major international media outlets and networks including CNN, ABC, CBS, 60 Minutes, BBC, ARD, ZDF, DW, BR, Premiere, Raiuno, Stern, The Economist, Newsweek, Al-Jazeera, al-Mayadin, Vanity Fair, and others.

Rev. Prof. Raheb holds a Doctorate  in  Theology  from  the  Philipps  University  at  Marburg, Germany.  He is married to Najwa Khoury and has two daughters, Dana & Tala. For more, www.mitriraheb.org

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