Team & Contact

Mr. Islam Abdul Jabbar has been a project assistant at the FES office since March 2018. He holds a BA degree in Law and MA degree in International Relations from Birzeit University. He also obtained his attorney license in 2015 and worked as a lawyer and human rights defender.

Mr. Abdul Jabbar participated in the annual international parliamentary scholarship offered by the German Parliament (Bundestag) in 2014. He received an intensive training to familiarize himself with the democratic parliamentary system in Germany. During the program, he was trained in the office of Ms. Kerstin Griese, member of the Social Democratic Party.

Mr. Abdul Jabbar was also participating in the Young Leaders Program, which is organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in cooperation with WATC, until he started his work at the FES.

Rana Salamin joined the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung team in April/2023 as Project Assistant and Media Coordinator.

Rana holds a BA in Multimedia/Graphics. She has previously occupied several positions in several organizations in the field of visual content making, media, management and graphic design.
 

Firial has been working with FES since 2000. She completed her High School/ Tawjihi at Al-Ma’muniyyah High School in Jerusalem. Following that, she continued her studies at the Young Women’s Christian Association in the field of Health awareness for one year.

Firial has 2 girls and three boys and lives in Shu‘fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.

Ms Maria Dellasega assumed her position as Resident Representative for FES Palestine in 2025. Before that, she worked for the Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa with a strong focus on internationalism and socially just economic policies.

She holds a BA Degree in Political Science from Free University in Berlin, Germany and a MSc in International Politics from SOAS University of London. Her focus has been on Postcolonial Studies and Critical Theory. Alongside, she has been an activist in the higher education systems, both in Germany and the United Kingdom, organizing for a just access to education for refugees and students from disadvantaged societal backgrounds. She co-founded civil society initiatives in Berlin and Beirut, worked and lived in Brussels, Beirut and Tripoli, London and Cairo.

Dr. Usama Antar has served as project manager at the FES branch office in the Gaza Strip since 2005 and manages the local FES projects there. Before joining FES Dr. Antar worked as a researcher and lecturer at the Al-Azhar and Al-Aqsa Universities in political science and media studies.

In 1999 he completed his first degree in political science from the Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster in Germany. His thesis was entitled "The EG/EU and the Palestinian Question".

In July of 2004 he received his PhD following his dissertation entitled “Requirements for a Viable Palestinian State.” He speaks Arabic natively, German fluently and is proficient in English.

Tami Rafidi joined FES Palestine in 2022 as a Program Manager. She earned her Bachelors Degree in English Language and Literature and her Masters Degree in International Studies from Birzeit University – Palestine.

She got the Fulbright scholarship and traveled to the United States for her PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University – Fort Lauderdale – Florida. She was also granted a professional Diploma in Strategic Communication and Diplomacy from a joint program between Birzeit University and the British Council.

Tami has a long career path in women rights and politics. She participated in many conferences, training workshops and seminars in Palestine and abroad.

Nisreen Al Aref is FES’ Head of Administration and Finance and has been working with the foundation since October 2000. She has a BA in English language and a minor in education from the University of Jordan in Amman as well as two diplomas in office management and administration from Cambridge Tutorial College in Jersey, Great Britain.

Prior to joining the FES Nisreen was an office manager at a joint Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian environmental NGO called Friends of the Earth Middle East. She has experience as an English teacher in Jerusalem and has been an active volunteer for breast cancer awareness among rural Palestinian women.

At FES Nisreen is responsible for finances and follow up with FES partners in the West Bank and Gaza. She speaks Arabic natively and English fluently with reading knowledge of Hebrew and technical knowledge of German relevant to the FES work.

Tha’er Arafat has been working as a Logistics Officer for FES Palestine since 2013. He is an expert in logistics, security and traffic regulations and well informed about the political situation on the ground. Besides working for FES, Tha’er is a driver for locals as well as international visitor in the Palestinian Territories and Israel. He lives in East Jerusalem, where he graduated from Shufat school.

Tha’er is an Arabic native speaker, is fluent in Hebrew and has a good command of English.