Meet MEJDI
MEET OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Dr. Marc Gopin, Owner
Marc Gopin is the James Laue Professor at ICAR, George Mason University, and permanent director of its Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution. He has 25 years of experience in Middle Eastern conflict resolution, diplomacy and training. Ordained as a Rabbi in 1986 and from a traditional Jewish community Marc is a unique peacebuilder who has built bridges between peoples for decades. He has established significant trust in the Arab world from Palestine to Syria. Gopin’s work in Syria and Israel is known throughout the region, especially in the Arab world, and his reputation for honesty and pursuit of equality for Arabs and Jews has endeared him to a vital network of activists from Israel to Syria. Few others are in a position to network across enemy lines in the way he has, as is demonstrated in his recent book, To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy. Click here to see a short video featuring Marc.
More about Marc:
http://scar.gmu.edu/marc-gopin
http://kerem.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/A-Conversation-with-Marc-Gopin.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWpJuh76e2I
Aziz Abu Sarah, Owner/Operator
Aziz Abu Sarah, a resident of both Jerusalem and Washington, is a successful entrepreneur in tourism of Palestine and Israel. Aziz has nearly 10 years of experience in Middle East tourism including the founding of his own local tour company, SETI Tourism services in 2004. Aziz has operated tours for groups as large as 150 people and over the years brought 1000s of people to the region. With clan roots dating back hundreds of years, Aziz’s knowledge of local businesses and culture and virtually every peacemaking initiative has also served as the basis for his pioneering peace efforts as co-founder of Al Tariq – The Palestinian Institution for Democracy and Development, dedicated to nonviolence, and Palestinian co-Chairman of the Parents Circle – Bereaved Families Forum.
More about Aziz:
http://scar.gmu.edu/aziz-abu-sarah
http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/video-gallery/145/
Scott Cooper, Owner/Operator
Scott Cooper has years of experience as a successful banker and financial representative for companies such as JP Morgan Chase. He specialized in helping clients with wealth preservation and growth and is now utilizing these skills to help social investors and peacebuilders utilize innovative business models to facilitate positive change. Since coming to the field of conflict resolution, Scott has spent time deeply embedding himself within networks of local Arab, Jewish, Israeli, and Palestinian peacemakers. He also worked at the United States Institute of Peace on a project focused on the issue of evaluating peacebuilding programs in conflict zones. Scott received a Master of Science degree from the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (George Mason University).
Elad Vazana, Director – Middle East
Elad Vazana is a professional guide and facilitator for MEJDI Tours. Vazana, a former IDF tank commander turned peacebuilder, has run programs for Arab and Jewish youth in Israel and Palestine for nearly 15 years.
More about Elad: http://www.justvision.org/portrait/97480/interview
MEET OUR STAFF
Talia Salem, Travel Specialist
Born and raised in California to Palestinian-Jordanian parents, Talia considers herself a citizen of the world. She has worked as a journalist and travel writer for the past five years specializing in the group travel industry, as well as culinary and sustainable tourism. She has years of experience in tourism industry and is currently working on her Masters in Sustainable Tourism Destination Management at the George Washington University. Talia is trilingual and has also spent extensive time abroad in the France and Jordan, and plans to expand that list ASAP.
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Jobie Lay, Travel Specialist
Jobie Lay counts her passport as one of her most prized possessions. She has spent several months living, volunteering, and traveling in India, Israel and Palestine, and is excited to be able to share her experience of the Middle East and love of travel with others. Jobie received her B.S. in Health Psychology & Human Biology from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington.
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MEET OUR FACILITATORS & GUIDES
Shira Nesher, Social Guide
Shira Nesher is an Israeli who served as a tour guide and educator in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and has extensive experience in tourism. Dedicated to coexistence and dialogue, Shira is a student of Political Science and History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Husam Jubran, Guide
Husam Jubran serves as a Representative in Palestine and Jordan for the Middle East/North Africa Social Innovators Program and is based in Palestine. He has a Master degree from the Eastern Mennonite University in Conflict transformation and Peacebuilding and Diploma in tourism. Mr. Jubran works also as an interfaith tour guide in the Holy Land and provides trainings in Conflict Management, Crisis Management, and Nonviolence.
More about Husam: http://www.emu.edu/crossroads/spring2005/palestinian.html
Kobi is a guide and facilitator for MEJDI Tours. Kobi, a former settler turned peace activist, has been working in conflict resolution and peacemaking for nearly 10 years. He is a facilitator, and expert in Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-violent Communication methods and practices.
More about Kobi: http://crdcgmu.wordpress.com/staff/kobi-skolnick/
Fakhira Halloun, Social Guide
Fakhira Halloun is a Palestinian woman and citizen of Israel committed to building a shared equal society for the Palestinian and Jewish communities in Israel. She has considerable professional experience in conflict transformation, as well as facilitating greater understanding and dialogue of the ongoing conflict between the Palestinian minority and the State of Israel. She holds a BA in social work and an MS in criminology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a current PhD candidate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.
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Ilana Meallem, Social Guide
Ilana Meallem is a guide and facilitator for MEJDI Tours. Meallem is an Israeli who runs programs that empowers Arab and Israeli Peacemakers. She has an expertise in environmental conflict resolution.
More about Ilana: http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/03/ilana-meallem-green-peace/
Mazen Faraj, Social Guide
Mazen Faraj is a guide and facilitator for MEJDI Tours. Faraj, a former Palestinian combatant, is also the Projects director of the Parents Circle Families Forum.
More about Mazen: http://www.georgiabulletin.org/local/2008/05/08/peace/
Liel Maghen, Social Guide
Liel Maghen is a guide and facilitator for MEJDI Tours. A past participant of New Story Leadership and a graduate of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Liel has years of experience with co-existence and environmental projects. He is currently a student of Middle Eastern studies and Political Science at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
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Lee Ziv, Social Guide
Lee Ziv is a guide and facilitator for MEJDI Tours. Ziv, a native Israeli, runs joint Arab Jewish programs focused on music and spirituality.
More about Lee: http://www.musaique.org/index.php?page=about
Yuval Ben-Ami, Social Guide
Yuval is an author, journalist, guide and cultural critic. He was born in Jerusalem in 1976 and raised in diverse corners of the country. He traveled Europe extensively in his twenties, working as a musician. He later moved to the United States and began writing for Israeli and international newspapers and magazines, among them Haaretz, Boston Globe, National Geographic (Israel), and Yedioth Aharonot. Yuval defines himself primarily a writer on travel and culture. He serves today as theatre critic for both IDF radio “Galei Tzahal” and for popular culture magazine “City Mouse”. His writing of travel appears in all major Hebrew travel magazines. His English blog “Everywhere” also touches on both subjects and is part of the highly acclaimed +972 online magazine project. Since 2005, Yuval has been guiding groups and individuals in Israel and the West Bank, in Hebrew, English and French. Some of the tours use Hebrew poetry as a conceptual “spine”, others are concerned with the question of human rights in the frame of the current situation.
More about Yuval: http://972mag.com/author/yuvalb/
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Sharón Benheim, Facilitator
Sharón Benheim studied Psychology and Conflict Resolution. She is a committed advocate of communication and mediation, and specializes in process design and facilitation for groups, communities, and organizations. Sharón is a member of Mediators Beyond Borders and is a past staff member of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. She holds a Masters in Public Policy: Mediation and Conflict Resolution from Tel Aviv University and is currently continuing her graduate studies at Ben Gurion University.
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