Father K's Story

Reverend Khader El-Yateem, “Father K”, is a New York community organizer and Arab American faith leader. For twenty-three years, he has ministered the community at the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church.

In 2017, he ran for New York City Council’s Democratic nomination. As reported by the Nation: "El-Yateem had surged close to the front of the five-person primary race, helping turn what might have been a sleepy, district-only affair into a vigorous contest with city-wide reverberations."

Father K was born in Beit Jala, a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank, 10 km south of Jerusalem. He emigrated to the United States in 1992. He is married and has four children.