Claudette Ayoub Habesch was born in Talbiyeh, Jerusalem. At age seven, she became a refugee, finishing high school at Our Lady of Zion in the Old City of Jerusalem, obtaining her BA from Beirut College for Women in Beirut and doing an internship in public health at the American University of Beirut. An activist, Claudette headed Caritas Jerusalem for 27 years, serving as vice-president of Caritas Internationalis and president of Caritas MONA. Highly decorated, she is a Dame Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, and Dame with Star of the The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great.