The MiA Family

This section is dedicated to all the people that have helped to create this wonderfully supportive community. It is also an ode to our supporters who have worked with us since our foundation.

Meet the Team

Psychotherapist and international lecturer in the field of Mindfulness-based treatment of trauma and resiliency building; MBSE, CRM, DARe, SE, EMDR. Meditator and advanced instructor of mindfulness and compassion practices. MBSR, MSC, and more. Volunteered with Syrian and Kurdish refugees and their counselors since 2014.

Juditta Ben David,
MiA Project founder and director

Our Amazing Volunteers

Reem Othman

Translator and Meditation Facilitator

Reem is a student counselor. M.A in Human services from university of haifa. Research student of marriages between minors at the time of the Ottoman Empire at the University of Haifa.

Maya Leshkowitz

Researcher, Writer

I am a Phd student at the Cognitive Science department in the Hebrew University with background in mathematics and computer science. I am interested in understanding how people form opinions and make decisions, and how unconscious mechanisms affect these processes. I also enjoy painting, dancing and meditating.

Mazin Mahmad Ayub

A Father of 7, a Husband, an Elder

For 48 years was a high school principle, in ShefarAm, & a group work facilitator. Long time spritual student. Now a Mindfulness instructor in the jail system, a cross cultural civic society activist, & an Arabic teacher for peace and reconcilliation. A dedicated MiA volunteer.

Arafat Naamneh

Healer and Translator

Arafat has a M.A degree in political sciences, lives in Arrabah city and works as a freelancer in translation between Hebrew and Arabic in several fields. In addition Arafat is working with energy washout healing according to the Dr. Nader Butto method. He has been practicing meditations for many years now and is self taught.

Hider Shaaban

Psychotherapist and Translator

Hider is a therapist and a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA, USA. He is originally from Iraq, and moved to the United States as a refugee in 2009. Hider has a special interest in treating adults with trauma and anxiety disorders, identity development, and other issues related to multiculturalism, using mindfulness, among other therapeutic styles.

Ilana Meallem

Project Manager, Ceremonial Leader

Ilana has been active for 15 years in connecting people with one another, with the Earth and with themselves. She has worked throughout the Middle East, initiated and co-led retreats on personal growth, earth based spirituality, environmental sustainability, leadership and outdoor adventure. She is one of the co-founders of the EcoME Center for Peace and Sustainably, Jericho area.

Elias Bitar

Strategy and Product Analyst

Elias studied Business Administration with a specialization in Finance, and has worked in a wide variety of analytical roles. His curiosity about how the world works and our existence led him to dig deeper into Eastern philosophy. Consequently introducing him to powerful practices and tools like Mindfulness and Meditation. Elias has many different interests and creative pursuits in life, and a passion for technology, psychology, economics, and social innovation.

Afrayem "Fry" Morgan

MBBCh, MD

Fry is a psychiatry resident at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, USA. He received his MBBCh from the Cairo University School of Medicine, Egypt. He implements mindfulness extensively with his patients, both in the hospital and the outpatient settings, and works in research on the involvement of mindfulness in brain mechanisms of pain and health at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Fry has been practicing mindfulness meditation for the past three years, and is an outspoken advocate for its efficacy and benefits.

WhatsApp Image 2019-11-17 at 13.33.47 (1) (1).jpeg

Shirin Ghanadry-Elias

Meditation Narrator and Facilitator

Born in Rama Village, in the Upper Galilee of Israel/Palestine. Multi-disciplinary mind-body-spirit therapist, certified in the methods from the House of Access Consciousness. Director of Noral - A therapeutic spiritual center for individuals and families. My "mission" is to spread light and love in the world. Mindfulness has come to me in many places in my life - I studied Mindfulness in University and have incorporated it into my work and treatments. During the time that I ran a therapeutic boarding school for at risk teenage girls, I taught a Mindfulness course for school administrators while also bringing the practice more and more into my personal life. Today I facilitate group Mindfulness courses and include the practice in private sessions as well.