I was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel , where I studied political science, communication and law. Then I worked for six years at the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv, directing projects using sports, drama, theater, film production and culture to facilitate dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian youth.  

In April, I completed the M.A. as a Fulbright Scholar in the advanced study of the arts and peacebuilding in the Conflict Transformation Program at EMU. As part of my practicum, I began to develop an arts-based program for trauma awareness and resilience. This summer I traveled to New Orleans to lead two workshops for youth victims of Hurricane Katrina.

I am working in Tel Aviv at the policy development think tank that focuses on producing peace-oriented policy on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. I am now directing two projects, one on the refugee issue and one on the disengagement plan. I am really enjoying the work.

I am also an active volunteer in the Israeli Women’s Network and the Coalition of Women for Peace.

August '05

In the summer of 2005 Michal took a maternity leave: she and her husband Zach welcomed Amos Ya’acov Tagar on August 6.

March '06

I am back with the ECF. My husband Zach is now the Israeli Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth, Middle East (with offices in Tel Aviv, Bethlehem and Amman ). I have also joined the Board of Directors of “Green Course” an environmental activist non-governmental organization in Israel .

Amos is doing wonderfully! Keeping us busy (and still sleep deprived) and overjoyed. He is already crawling, standing up and walking with the support of furniture. He is a happy, friendly and strong individual and is especially excited around his cousins and around Emma, my parents' dog.

November ‘06

The war between Israel and Lebanon seems so far away now, which is difficult to grasp since our life was completely upside down then. We had a family of refugees from the North of Israel staying with us, and between their three-year old with nightmares, our little Amos and their three-month old baby, non of us were getting any sleep.  We would have just as gladly hosted a family of Lebanese refugees, but, of course, if that were possible, there wouldn’t be a war to begin with.

Amos is amazing!!! As you will see from the pictures, he has grown quite a bit, and is no longer a baby.  He speaks non stop, though we don’t always understand his magical language.  He loves music and dancing with his parents.  I wish days were longer and that I didn’t have to divide my time up between work and home, but I cannot give either up.

I am working with the cultural affairs office at the US Embassy, and my portfolio includes the judicial system and American studies. I hope to be able to promote restorative justice in Israel through cooperation with US organizations.

Besides my work at the Embassy, I am working with a community restorative justice center where we are using the manual written by Howard Zehr and Lorraine Amstutz. I'm part of a team that is working to use restorative justice principles in mediating between youth at risk and their communities, as a preventive measure for criminal behavior.

I am also pursuing my Ph.d studies in Israel.

March 2008

At present, I am working for Save the Children in the Danish programs in Jordan. Save the Children is an international Alliance of NGO’s operating in more than 100 countries. The Alliance consists of some 23 countries, with the most prominent being the US, Sweden, UK, Japan and Denmark (my employers). The lead organization in Jordan is Save the Children--US, where I am stationed.

I manage SC-D local programs, in close cooperation with the head office in Copenhagen. My work is very rewarding, as SC-Denmark’s programs are in partnership with leading local organizations, working towards Children’s Rights best practices, in light of the parameters set forth in the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC).  

First Report:

I am presently on a sabbatical from the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy. I'm contracted to manage a program on "MEDIA Education and Democracy in Action," a program funded by the US Department of State, that links individuals, knowledge and cultures.

On the side I have conducted training on Organizational Conflict Management, and I am working on two other training modules, Organizational Leadership and Needs Assessment. I do this as I hope to develop my training services and portfolio.

My last duties at the Institute of Diplomacy were on "Cultural Dialogue" within the Euro-Mediterranean Context, where I coordinated the National Network on Cultural Dialogue. Also last summer I helped Mennonite Central Committee plan a meeting held in Jordan for Summer Peacebuilding Institute alumni, CJP alumni and others.

Fulbright scholar from Syria 2004 -2006 UN Foundation Fellowship at the DPA –UNHQ- NYC 2006  

I returned from the US during the war on Lebanon 2006. I joined my mother organization United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria, and I worked on helping the Lebanese refugees in Syria during that emergency.  

Currently I am working with the UNHCR as Protection Consultant in the Gulf region based in Kuwait . This job involves traveling around the Gulf region whenever needed to interview asylum seekers and decide on their eligibility to become refugees. It involves community service and community building, negotiations and ongoing networking with government officials, NGOs and the private sector trying to provide protection and the best assistance possible to people of concern to UNHCR.  

I have earlier worked with UNHCR in Middle Eastern countries like Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and also in Central Asia.   In addition to following up with refugees concerns, I am in charge of organizing trainings and workshops on capacity building for government officials in the region regarding refugee law, International law and Human rights. These trainings aim at better understanding of the refugee’s issues and more awareness by the government officials and local NGOs about the UN work in order to reach a high level of cooperation to reduce the suffering of the vulnerable groups in the society.  

Most recently we finished a training on Age, Gender and Diversity mainstreaming that was attended by UNHCR professionals from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi; officials from the Kuwaiti authorities also attended.  

In March ‘07, I will be a resource person (together with colleagues from Geneva and the regional office in Saudi) in training on refugee law for officials of the Kuwaiti government.  

In my work with the UN and in my training activities, I work on implementing and educating about restorative justice and conflict transformation, the skills that I learned at CJP. I also use the socio-political analysis skills that were highly empowered during my fellowship at the Department of Political Affairs at the UN HQ in NYC.    

I am currently Human Rights Education Coordinator in Amnesty International’s Middle East/North Africa Regional Office.

Earlier, I spent a year-and-a-half as a freelance consultant for a number of NGOs in the region. I conducted evaluations for a UNICEF initiated youth program in Jordan and a landmines awareness project in Yemen. I also helped with organizational assessment and capacity building for an organization in the Palestinian refugee camps. I organized a workshop on advocacy and children’s rights, as well as implementing the community participation component of an environmental project.

Returning to Lebanon after the war, I did not find the opportunities I had expected when I left with a Fulbright scholarship. However, I have given a training on team building to a student representative body in one Lebanese University . I have also taught a course on Human Rights for freshly graduated police officers in the Lebanese Institute for Internal Security Forces.   Currently, I am doing some consultancy work on restructuring and rewriting the policy and procedure for a charity organization.   In all of these opportunities, there is a lot of experience but very little payment. Although I am enjoying my work, I think I should search for something else to sustain myself financially. Other than that, I am planning on pursuing a PHD study, and we will see how it goes.

I’ve been working as a security analyst assistant at the UN, Department of Safety and Security of Lebanon. I am in charge of writing analytical reports and collaborating on crisis management activities for UN personnel and envoys in Lebanon .  

I also work as a free lance consultant for local Lebanese NGOs that deal with human rights and conflict resolution.  

During the war on Lebanon , I volunteered to help displaced children and youth in public schools deal with their traumas. We used circle processes and arts for trauma healing.

I came back to Palestine and decided I need to change my career and focus more on dance, which I did. We worked on a contemporary dance piece called "At the Checkpoint" to share with the outside world our day-to-day stories on the checkpoint facing the apartheid wall.  

I went through an unexpected, life changing experience of getting married to a wonderful man (Fajer, meaning dawn) and had a beautiful little baby girl, NARA, born on October 8th, 2006 . Her name is derived from fire (nar) in Arabic. It is the singular of fire, and is usually referred to the fire within a burning coal (which is usually the potential of something wonderful). She is a true miracle, and we are both so much in love with her. As soon as we lay our eyes on her, all our troubles disappear, and, in that sense, I think she is a miracle worker. We are still trying to get her papers from the Israeli authorities, as she is the result of a mixed marriage (a Jerusalem Palestinian, and a Ramallah Palestinian). Hope all goes well on that front.  

I am currently director of the first Theater Dance School in Palestine, my input in conflict transformation for youth and children within the Palestinian society.

I came back from the U.S. at the beginning of 2004. Immediately I focused my work on establishing a different approach, promoting the use of nonviolence by associating it with the Palestinian resistance movements. I developed a five-day nonviolence/conflict transformation training that focuses on the Palestinian culture and experience.  

During the past two years, I conducted more than 50 trainings in several locations in the West Bank , training more than 2000 persons. I really believe that I managed to create a different understanding of nonviolence wherever I worked. My experience was that this unique and special approach brought many people from different villages to request these nonviolence trainings.  

In the past two years, I assisted in planning and leading a number of non-violent activities, including one on Land Day, March 30, and another one on Palm Sunday. Both were based in Bethlehem . Both addressed the injustice of the Wall being built around Bethlehem and the land confiscated by the Israeli military force.  

Besides conducting the nonviolence trainings, I worked on developing a manual for training of trainers. I just finished the first training of trainers program that lasted for a year. This will help to spread the knowledge and expertise needed to promote the use of nonviolence. Currently there are more than 30 qualified nonviolence/conflict transformation trainers from different areas of the West Bank .  

One more interest: a group of Palestinians who had been Fulbright Scholars met and founded a Fulbright Alumni Association, and I was elected president for the first year. We plan to hold an annual meeting for networking and support.

HUSAM N. JUBRAN
FREE LANCE TRAINER& GROUP FACILITATOR. FREE LANCE POLITICAL & RELIGIOUS TOUR GUIDE.
Mobile: ++ 972 (0)599 674996 ++ 972 (0)547 550710  

I am working as a consultant with the World Bank in Gaza City. Now I am taking a new position coordinating the emergency services support project to the Palestinian Authority, and I continue coordinating the reform trust fund with the Bank.

The emergency project is administered by the World Bank, and many donors are supporting it. It aims at giving support to ministries of health, education, and social affairs to enhance their health services, purchase drugs, medical equipment, pay salaries for university professors, and help hardship cases.

It's good, but very technical and deals with huge numbers of money (which I dislike so much! Money is not the thing I wish to deal with all day!) But on the other hand, I'm still involved in the reform process of the Palestinian Authority, which makes the balance I need between technical issue and political ones!

As a volunteer, Rania also worked with a group of young people who had participated in Seeds for Peace activities to evaluate their experiences. An American organization called Social Impact was arranging the annual evaluation.

Huda Orfali is an MA graduate of Conflict Transformation from EMU, Harrisonburg, VA, 2006, and she has a second masters in Peace Studies from Bradford University, England, 2004. She received two prestigious scholarships: the British Chevening and Fulbright.

Orfali is a published author. She published her first book Blue Fire in 1999, her second book Flower in the Cold in 2000, and Fisher Prince in 2006. She also co-authored The Acorn Gathering, the proceeds of which go to cancer research. Her poetry is also included in different anthologies such as “A Treasury of American Poetry II” published by League of American Poets, 2006.

Having grown up in the Middle East, an area torn apart by war and violence, Orfali focuses her intense writings on the terrors of war and the struggle for peace.

Currently she is working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Syria, as a Media and political analyst, and she is looking for a scholarship to do her PhD in Jewish Studies.

Since December 2004, I have been living and working in the United Arab Emirates at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research as a conference coordinator.

I am now (Feb. '06) in the process of finalizing two events at the Center: the first one is a symposium about the Iran Nuclear Program and the Gulf Countries' Security. The second event is the Center's 11th annual conference about change and reform in the Arab world. This will take place in mid-March and will focus on social, political and economic reforms in the Arab countries.

Recently the Center asked me to chair a lecture about relations between Syria and Lebanon; the lecturer was a Lebanese journalist from Al Hayat newspaper in London. The event was covered by local media and my pictures appeared in a couple of newspapers in UAE. Last December the Center organized a symposium about the Iraq Constitution. One of our speakers was the current Iraq National Security Advisor and I was part of a team (I have five colleagues) that prepared the final report of this event for the decision makers in the UAE government.

So, my job includes responsibilities such as drafting proposals and writing reports about what needs to be addressed in our events, as well as organizational responsibilities.

January ' 06

I am currently working as a consultant for UNDP on the development of the first National Disaster Management Plan. The Plan is for the National Civil Defense Authority (National Disaster Management Unit). I prepared the first draft last month, and the draft was discussed in a two-day workshop with relevant ministry’s coordinators, Civil Defense, and local and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's).

The interesting thing is I added new topics to the plan: conflict transformation and post disaster trauma. These two topics are new in this part of the world and I had a difficult time to convince the participants of the importance of adding these two topics. I hope they will be in the final plan.

I attended two disaster management workshops of one week each, one organized by the OCHA of UN Geneva and the second organized by the Islamic Relief of England. Both were very good workshops.

I am also applying for two potential positions with two different organizations, and I am hopeful. In the first interview I realized that negotiation, mediation and conflict transformation would all be included in one of the positions.

I have also discussed with the president of the University of Science and Technology the possibility of establishing a class in conflict transformation. He asked me to come to make a presentation on the subject. I think there is good potential to convince him to develop a curriculum and I hope to teach this class.

April '06

From February to March, I prepared three proposals (health, education and water) for Islamic Relief-UK. The funds for the three program proposals in rural primary education, health and water and sanitation are secured, and the programs will start in Taiz governorate next month. Starting April 2006, I will be working as the program manager for Islamic Relief in Yemen .

I also managed to convince the Islamic Relief Representative to start working on the preparation of the first proposal on conflict transformation. I hope I will be able to finalize the proposal some time in June 06 and submit it to Islamic Relief Headquarters in London for potential funding.

Attached are pictures of the areas where the health and water projects will be implemented next month. As a program manager, I will be responsible for the implementation of the project activities which include:

1. Construction of one health center, and the renovation and repair of two other health centers.

2. Provision of basic health equipment to the three health centers, including furniture.

3. Nine months’ training for nine females in midwifery, laboratory, and health education.

4. Workshops on health education for health care workers, students, teachers, community leaders as well as members of the community in the regions.

5. Connect a water network to about eight villages and provide four water pumps and motors.  

We are excited about the project and its positive impact on the livelihood of the communities in the targeted districts.