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Rifat Odeh Kassis (Arabic: رفعت عودة قسيس) is a Palestinian human rights and political and community activist. He is an author and speaker. He has been arrested and imprisoned several times by Israel.

Born in Beit Sahour to a Palestinian Christian family, he founded in 1991 the Palestinian section of the international child rights organization,[1] Defence for Children International (DCI) and in 2005 he was elected President of the international movement. In October 2008, he was re-elected President for another term. In 2014, he concluded his work as General Director of Defense for Children International Palestine and moved temporarily to Jordan to lead the Lutheran World Federation program there.

Career

In 1995 he helped to establish a rehabilitation program in Chechnya targeting Chechen children who have been injured and traumatized in the war. In 1995, he co-founded the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages.

In 1996 he left Palestine to work in Central Asia for several years, helping to develop the NGO sector there.[2]

In September 2000, he came back to Palestine to become the Executive Director of the East Jerusalem YMCA. As a response to the second Intifada he founded the "Keep Hope Alive Campaign" and founded and run the YMCA/YWCA Joint Advocacy Desk.

In 2003, he co-founded the Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative (OPGAI), a network works on contributing to establishing a social movement and advocating on ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Golan Heights. In 2005 he joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva to run the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). In 2008, he became a Member of the Board of Directors of Alternative Information Center (AIC).

He is a co-author and the general coordinator[3] of Kairos Palestine which is the Christian Palestinians’ word to the world about what is happening in Palestine.[3]

Published works

He is the author of articles, study papers and researches. He spoke in national and international conferences. In 2006, he published his first book, Palestine: A Bleeding Wound in the World’s Conscience. In 2011, he published his second book, "Kairos for Palestine".

He contributed to several other published books among them:

In English

In Arabic

In Dutch

In Danish

See also

References

  1. ^ "DCI/PS - Little Voices: Summer 2004". Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  2. ^ "NGO ADRA and children organized concert for the pensioners". DCCA. Archived from the original on 15 October 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Rifat Kassis | Kairos Palestine". Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  4. ^ Akawi, Yasser (1 January 2004). "From Communal Strife to Global Struggle: Justice for the Palestinian People ; Selected Presentations and Articles From: A Middle East Without Wars and Oppression is Possible: an International Seminar on the Palestinian Struggle and Glabalisation". Alternative Information Center – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Mansour, Johnny (1 August 2012). Arab Christians in Israel: Facts, Figures and Trends. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781478389941 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Liber amicorum "Kinderrechten beginnen thuis": ter gelegenheid van het afscheid van Stan Meuwese als directeur van Defence for Children International (1992-2007)". Defence for Children International. 1 January 2007 – via Google Books.

External links

Authority control databases
Categories