Khader El-Yateem (Arabic: خضر اليتيم ; born October 20, 1968) is a Palestinian-American community organizer and Lutheran pastor. He is the Director for Evangelical Mission Assistant to the Bishop (South Region) Florida-Bahamas Synod, ELCA. El-Yateem was a candidate for

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

Early life and education

El-Yateem was born in

Beit Jala Beit Jala ( ar, ) is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude. In 2017, Beit Jala had ...

in the

Bethlehem Governorate The Bethlehem Governorate ( ar, محافظة بيت لحم, Muḥāfaẓat Bayt Laḥm) is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem. Accordin ...

in 1968, and emigrated to the United States in 1992. He holds a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

from the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), also known as the ''Philadelphia Seminary,'' was one of eight theological seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North ...

, and a bachelor's degree from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt.

Career

El-Yateem is the founder of Salam Arabic Lutheran Church. It is a congregation primarily consisting of recent immigrant Arab Christians, many of whom fled from the unrest in the Middle East. His work at the congregation has been praised by a fellow cleric, Bishop Gregory John Mansour, who has described him as "a great bridge builder."Farrell, Stephen
"As Lutherans Exit Pews In Brooklyn Church, Arab Christians Move In"
''The New York Times'', 23 December 2013. El-Yateem was a clergy liaison to the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

, acting as a connection between the community and law enforcement. He is a co-founder of the Bay Ridge Unity Task Force, formed in 2000 by Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religious leaders, civic activists, and business leaders to combat post-9/11 bigotry.Katinas, Paula
"Bay Ridge Unity Task Force Meet Trump"
''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', 17 December 2015. In 2012, the Bay Ridge Community Council presented the Civic Award to El-Yateem for his work at Salam Arabic Lutheran Church and the Bay Ridge Unity Task Force.Bredderman, Will

''Brooklyn Daily'', 12 June 2012. El-Yateem has served on

Brooklyn Community Board 10 Brooklyn Community Board 10 is a New York City community board that encompasses the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Fort Hamilton. It is delimited by Upper New York Bay on the west, Bay Ridge R.R. Yards and Long Island Ra ...

, and the boards of St. Nicholas Home and Lutheran Augustana Home for over a decade, and formerly worked at

Maimonides Medical Center Maimonides Medical Center is a non-profit, non-sectarian hospital located in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Borough Park, in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Maimonides is b ...

. In 2017, El-Yateem began a campaign for

in District 43. In August 2017, El-Yateem played a key role in getting the

Episcopal Diocese of Long Island The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the counties of Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk, which comprise Long Island, New York. It is in Province 2 and ...

to remove a plaque commemorating Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a cemetery in

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which is ...

, placed there by the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

, in the wake of the violence surrounding the

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

to protest a similar memorial's removal in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. In May 2018, El-Yateem announced he would be moving to Florida.

City Council

El-Yateem ran in the Democratic primary for

, District 43, covering

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and ...

Dyker Heights Dyker Heights is a predominantly residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is on a hill between Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Gravesend Bay. The neighborhood is bounded by 7th and ...

Bensonhurst Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

and

Bath Beach Bath Beach is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It is located at the southwestern edge of the borough on Gravesend Bay. The neighborhood borders Bensonhurst and New Utrecht to the northeast across 86th Street; Dyker Beach ...

. His campaign had been endorsed by organizations such as the New York State Immigrant Action Fund, the New Kings Democrats and the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

, of which he is a member. El-Yateem finished second in the primary with 31% of the vote to

Justin Brannan Justin Lee Brannan (born October 14, 1978) is an American politician and musician. A Democrat, he is the current New York City Councilmember for the 43rd district, based in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. A former musician, he was a founding member of the ...

's 39% in a five-way race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yateem, Khader 1968 births 21st-century American Lutheran clergy Palestinian emigrants to the United States American politicians of Palestinian descent Living people Members of the Democratic Socialists of America Palestinian Lutheran clergy People from Brooklyn 20th-century American Lutheran clergy