Rifat Odeh Kassis (Arabic: رفعت عودة قسيس) is a Palestinian Christian was born in Beit Sahour, in the West Bank. An active human rights and political and community activist, he was arrested and imprisoned several times by Israel.
In 1992 he founded the Palestinian section of the international child rights organization,[1] Defence for Children International (DCI) and in 2005 he was elected President of the international movement. In October 2008, during the International General Assembly meeting, held in Brussels, he was reelected President for another term.
In 1995 he helped to establish a rehabilitation programme in Chechnya targeting Chechen children who have been injured and traumatized in the war.
In 1996 he left Palestine to work in Central Asia for several years, helping to develop the NGO sector there.[2]
In September 2000 he came back to Palestine to become the Executive Director of the East Jerusalem YMCA. As a response to the second Intifada he founded the "Keep Hope Alive Campaign" and founded and run the YMCA/YWCA Joint Advocacy Desk.
In 2003, he co founded the Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative (OPGAI), a network works on contributing to establishing a social movement and advocating on ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Syrian Golan heights.
In 2004 he co founded the Palestinian National Coalition for Christian Organizations in Palestine (PNCCO), a network from several Christian related organizations works on enhancing the unity between these organizations and giving a national voice to the Palestinian Christians in their struggle on ending the Israeli occupation to their land.
In 2005 he joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva to run the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Currently he is the Special Adviser to the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches on the Middle East, .
Since September 2007 he is a Consultant at Dar Annadwa, the International Center of Bethlehem (ICB).
In March 2008 together with others he established “Badayl/Alternatives” an international consulting agency.
He is a co founder of the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages. It was established by five people from Beit Sahour, late Jamal Salameh, Ghassan Andoni (executive director), Dr. Majed Nassar, Dr. Elias Rishmawi and Rifat Odeh Kassis (President).
He was a member of ICCO International Advisory Group, the Netherlands from 2002 till 2009. He was also member of the Advisory Group of Dan Church Aid- Denmark from 2000 till 2008.
In January 2008 he became Member of Board of Directors of The Alternative Information Center, (AIC).
In April 2008 he was requested to become a member of the Peace for Life (PfL) subgroup on the Middle East, in Manila the Philippines
In June 2008 he was selected as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Welfare of Children, Switzerland.
He is a co-author and the general coordinator of Kairos Palestine which is the Christian Palestinians’ word to the world about what is happening in Palestine.
He is the author of several articles, study papers and researches and in 2006 he published his first book, Palestine: A Bleeding Wound in the World’s Conscience.
In 2008, together with Mitri Raheb he published his second book Christian Community, facts, figures and trends.
In 2011, he published his third book, "Kairos for Palestine".