CHANGE HAPPENS ON THE GROUND

Advocacy Fellows are the hands and feet of The Philos Project. Each one is a Near Eastern activist who represents a distinctive community, tradition, or perspective, and together they symbolize the likeminded friends (Greek, philoi) that Philos supports in the region. In addition to telling their unique stories, all Philos fellows oversee special projects that promote leadership and friendship between peoples.

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"No one takes on the hard questions like Philos. Traveling with them in the Middle East, I saw firsthand how they navigate the complex border between religion and politics and maintain relationships with real people on all sides of the issues. This is what constructive Christian engagement in the region should look like."

Walter Russell Mead

Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute
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"Philos is one of the most exciting, dynamic organizations working on religious pluralism in the Middle East. This isn't your grandmother's interfaith dialogue. Philos starts from the premise that religions are different and that pluralism and deep understanding come not from from papering over those differences but acknowledging and understanding them on their own terms... If you're looking for rich and challenging conversations about religion and politics in modern life, Philos should probably be at the top of your list... This isn't where you come to feel good about peace and love and unity. This is where you learn about the hard but necessary working of living and thriving with difference. That's after all what any true pluralism is about." 

Shadi Hamid

Senior Fellow | Brookings Institution
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“Philos excels at cutting through the noise and confusion to expose the fundamental issues that make the Middle East so challenging, frustrating, and captivating for people in and outside the region. There is no other organization that presents the Middle East's diversity and its complex interplay between religion, society, and politics in the way that Philos does.”

Mike Watson 

Research Associate | Hudson Institute
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"The trip I took to Israel with Philos was one of the most extraordinary experiences I’ve ever enjoyed as a reporter. The depth and richness of our encounters with people from across the politicaland religious spectrum has given me an entirely new appreciation of the complexities of Israel/Palestine, and food for thought that I will be chewing over for many years to come."

Megan McArdle

Columnist | The Washington Post
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"In my thirty years as a journalist, my travel experience with Philos was beyond doubt the best one I've ever had. I got to meet people from every corner of Israeli society: a Haredi rabbi, Palestinian refugees, West Bank settlers, Druze and Christian minorities, young Kibbutzniks nonchalantly looking on as a bomb exploded on the Syrian side of the border. In the process I was forced to rethink many of my beliefs about liberalism, nationalism, tribalism and the politics of identity that are transforming the world. Israel is a laboratory where the basic components of modernity are being remixed in exciting, unpredictable, thought-provoking, sometimes worrying ways. Thank you for showing me around."

Adrian Wooldridge

Political Editor | The Economist
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"The Philos study tour opened my eyes to new dimensions of the land, state, and people of Israel. The balanced yet provocative content and open-minded approach is exactly what’s missing from American discussions of the region."

Samuel Goldman, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Political Science | George Washington University
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“Philos packed more educational punch into a single week than I thought possible, introducing us to an extraordinary range of viewpoints and religious and cultural identities. I didn't leave with any definitive answers or strong opinions, except this one: Accommodating pluralism, in the West as well as the Middle East, is going to be a perpetual challenge with no easy solutions.”

Jason Willick

Assistant Editorial Features Editor | The Wall Street Journal
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"The Philos Project’s Israel trip for Catholic leaders provided a vital and unique opportunity to learn about the peoples of Israel and Palestine, to consider contemporary political, religious and cultural questions, and to reflect upon the history and the continued life of the region.
 
The trip was further enriched because its participants included so many U.S. Catholics who are deeply engaged in the life of their country.
 
As a working journalist, I particularly appreciated the broad spectrum of experts and commentators assembled through Philos and the opportunity to engage with Israelis and Palestinians on a personal level. The visit provided particular clarity about Jewish-Christian relations, the contemporary experiences of the Jewish people, the cultural richness of Jerusalem, the geography of Israel and the security situation in the country."

Kevin J. Jones

Senior Staff Writer | Catholic News Agency / EWTN News
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"I attended the Philos Leaders Conference in December, 2017. I was very much impressed with the Philos Project, with the staff, and with all the alums of the program. As a native Israeli, I felt like Philos has a very even-handed, direct analysis of the Middle East and the problems plaguing the region. What most impressed me was a group exercise in which each of our groups had around an hour to brainstorm solutions for the endemic political problems in the region. It was a real challenge, and I feel that it gave us an idea of the real stress and short deadlines policymakers usually have to face when dealing with these issues. Overall, it was a great experience, and I would highly recommend it to any Christians who have an interest in Israel specifically, or in the Middle East in general."  

Elad Vaida

Harvard University '16 | Middle Eastern Studies 
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“Nothing compares to being on the ground and meeting people. The experiences set up by Philos didn’t transform my assumptions  but it transformed the way I understand those assumptions: the trip deepened them, it added texture to them, and made it more intimate than it was before."

Joseph Capizzi

Professor of Moral Theology and Executive Director of the Institute for Human Ecology | Catholic University of America.
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“It is great to know that organizations such as Philos Project exist, because they teach about the reality and actual context of the Middle East."

Pastor David Herrera

President | Asocaciòn de Ex Becarios de Israel Shalom
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"I’m very thankful for The Philos Project for hosting this Catholic Leadership Trip and to the benefactors and supporters who helped bring this vision to life. The trip helped me to more fully understand the situations here in the Middle East like in Israel in such a personal way, one that highlights the important history of the religious sites and the geo-political climate that exists in a land steeped in such ancient times. The Holy Land is truly place for everyone, and I am very happy to have walked where The Holy Family themselves walked. I am deeply thankful for this tripand will continue to keep both The Philos Project and its benefactors in my prayers."

James Ramos

Staff writer | Catholic News Service
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“I read and follow news about the Middle East and religious minorities much more closely now. I have a group of friends now with that shared experience who I stay in touch with, and we support each other and our career goals. I am planning to go back to Israel next year with my graduate program and I plan to introduce them to a lot of the ideas and controversies we explored in Philos. I have become more attuned to how religious minorities shape the region, and how protecting their rights is both difficult and of utmost importance. And lastly, I plan to work in macroeconomic development and foreign policy, and this trip directly fueled my interest and opened my worldview to the complexity of the region.”

Alex Entz

Public Interest Fellow | Philos Leadership Institute '18
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"We met with Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian leaders, religious and secular Jews, Israeli settlers and Palestinian refugees, pollsters, military officers, water engineers, feminists, environmentalists, theologians from a plurality of Christian denominations, Bedouins in the Negev, Syrian refugees in the Za’atari Refugee Camp, Iraqi Christians in Amman, Aramean Christians in Jish, kibbutzniks, Arab citizens of Israel, and a professor of Sharia Law. Is there any other organization that provides the opportunity to listen to an Orthodox rabbi settler next to a young Palestinian refugee and then a Catholic priest next to a Sharia Law professor?"

Amanda Achtman 

Philos Leadership Institute '17
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Giulia Nembrini is the Advocacy Director of the Philos Project. She has a degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations, which she obtained at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, located in Milan, Italy. After her experience as a humanitarian worker in the town of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil), Giulia decided to continue her studies and moved to New York City, and then to Tel Aviv, where she graduated from the International Master's Program in Security and Diplomacy at Tel Aviv University (TAU). After serving on the Holy See Permanent Observation Mission to the United Nations in New York, Giulia returned to Rome, Italy. Her career has spanned topics such as international diplomacy, geopolitics of the Near East, religious freedom, human rights of refugees, peacemaking, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

MINA ABDELMALAK | egypt

Highlighting Christian persecution and advocating for religious freedom in Egypt.

JAWDAT Z. MICHAEL | palestine

Promoting pluralism and understanding in and around the Palestinian Territories.

KHALIL SAYEGH | palestine

Promoting pluralism and understanding in and around the Palestinian Territories.

ADENO ABEBE | israel

Advocating for equality for Ethiopian Jews in Israel.

NEVEEN MAKHOUL ELIAS | israel

Reviving the Aramean culture and language.

SHADI KHALLOUL | israel

To restore, sustain, and advocate for Aramean Christian flourishing in the Galilee.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR FELLOWS

Head over to our Youtube channel to watch short feature films on our fellows and their work.

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OUR INITIATIVES

CURRENT CAMPAIGNS

Past Campaigns

DIGITAL NINEVEH

Spring 2020

Education is one of the greatest needs of Christians who are still living in Iraq today. Digital Nineveh raised $25,000 USD to provide much needed computer labs for Christian schools in northern Iraq. It is the campaign’s objective to not only support these students who had to endure tremendous hardship, but also to promote change and pave the path for a brighter future.

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GAZA EXODUS

Winter 2020

Every year, people around the world gather together for the holidays during the winter season. Families across the Palestinian Territories-- from Bethlehem to Gaza City-- remain separated due to significant discrimination. Through our Gaza Exodus initiative, led by Philos Fellow Khalil Sayegh, The Philos Project raised $20,000 for four Gazan Christian families. 

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COPTIC LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

Summer 2019

The Coptic Leadership Initiative is an education-based advocacy campaign that celebrates the Coptic community's most prominent contributions to Christianity and Egyptian culture.

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TERROR & HOPE

Fall/Winter 2018

Terror & Hope: Christians of the Near East is a photography collection that provides a comparison of the lives of Christians living in the Near East.

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