Mitri Raheb

Mitri Raheb
Born	Bethlehem, Palestinian Territory
Occupation	President, Diyar Consortium Pastor, Christmas Lutheran Church

Mitri Raheb (Arabic: متري الراهب‎‎) is a Palestinian Christian, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem (a member church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, or ELCJHL), and the founder and president of the Diyar Consortium, a group of Lutheran-based, ecumenically-oriented institutions serving the Bethlehem area.

Mitri Raheb was born in Bethlehem, in 1962. He pursued his higher education in Germany, first at Hermannsburg Mission Seminary (1980–1984) and then at Philipps University in Marburg, Germany (1984–1988), where he completed his graduate studies including a doctorate in theology. He returned to Bethlehem in 1988 to serve as the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church (Christmas Lutheran Church), and serving as the managing editor of the Al-Liqa’ Journal for religious and heritage studies in the Holy Land (1992–1996).

Since 1992, Raheb has founded and led a number of projects and institutions serving the social needs of Palestinians living in the Bethlehem area, focusing specifically on women, children, youth, and the elderly.

He is one of the co-authors of Kairos Palestine document together with Patriarch Michel Sabah, Rev. Naim Ateek, Rifat Kassis and others. Israeli diplomats have criticized Raheb's work on the document, claiming that it is "an extremist and racist document which does not contribute to reconciliation and peace between the Palestinians and Israelis." Raheb has been critical of Western support for Christians of the region and their lack of support against the Israeli occupation: “There is talk as if the West is genuinely interested in Christians, but most of the time they only use them for their own political ends."

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