Alex Awad and Philip Farah, Palestinian Christian Advocates

Rev. Dr. Alex Awad was born and raised in Jerusalem. After graduation from St. George’s High School, he studied in Europe and then moved to the United States. He finished a BA degree at Lee University and an MA in Education at North Georgia University. He received an MA in Missions and Evangelism from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
For the last 26 years Rev. Awad with his wife Brenda served as missionaries with the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church in Israel/Palestine. Until recently he was the pastor of an international church in East Jerusalem and taught courses at Bethlehem Bible College, where he served as a faculty member, dean of students, and board member. In June 2015, Rev. Awad was awarded an honorary doctorate at Bethlehem Bible College’s annual commencement. Until his retirement in June 2015, Rev. Awad directed the Shepherd Society which is the humanitarian arm of Bethlehem Bible College. Many needy Palestinians seek the help of the Shepherd Society in meeting emergency needs such as food, medicine and employment.
~
Philip Farah was born in Jerusalem in 1952, four years after his family was driven out of their home in what became Israeli West Jerusalem. He received his education at the Anglican St. George’s School in Jerusalem and later studied political science at the American University of Beirut. He returned to Jerusalem to teach at several schools in the West Bank and at Birzeit University. Philip was active in the nonviolent struggle against the Israeli occupation; he was among Palestinian progressives who pioneered relations with anti-occupation Israelis.
Philip came to the United States at the age of 27 to continue his university education, earning a PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Economics from the University of New Mexico. He has lived and worked in several countries in the Middle East. He currently works as an economist in Washington, DC, and lives in Vienna, VA with his wife and three children. He is a founding member, in 2000, of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace and the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace. Philip has addressed audiences across the United States on Middle East peace and justice issues, and he has occasionally blogged on the Huffington Post.