The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C. It focuses on educational and humanitarian work on behalf of Palestinians, particularly those living in the Occupied Territories and surrounding refugee camps. Since its formation in 1977, The Jerusalem Fund has invested in the potential of the Palestinian people through community development initiatives and direct financial assistance to primary health and basic education projects, grassroots and civil society initiatives, and educational programs in the United States about Palestine and the Palestinians. To implement its mission, The Jerusalem Fund maintains four programs: the Palestine Center, Gallery Al-Quds, the Palestine Diabetes Institute, and the Humanitarian Link. [1]
The Jerusalem Fund receives funding through investment income as well as from private individuals. Funds are used to support grants to organizations throughout Palestine and to offer quality speakers at The Jerusalem Fund's headquarters.
The Jerusalem Fund is composed of nine board members serving on various sub-committees. The three sub-committees are: the executive committee composed of the board chairman, secretary, and treasurer; the Grants and Finance Committee, composed of the board chairman, treasurer, and board members Dr. Mohayya Khilfeh, Dr. Tawfiq Ramadan, Walid Keilani and Dr. Sari Nabulsi; and the Palestine Center Committee composed of the executive committee, board members Dr. Mohayya Khilfeh and George Hishmeh, and noted scholars Dr. Edmund Ghareeb and Dr. Halim Barakat. [2]
The Palestine Center is an independent educational program committed to communicating reliable and objective information about the Palestinian political experience to American policy makers, journalists, students, and the general public. Established in 1991, it is the educational branch of The Jerusalem Fund.
The Humanitarian Link is the charitable wing of The Jerusalem Fund. The Humanitarian Link gives small grants to needy hospitals, schools, orphanages and nongovernmental organizations. According to The Jerusalem Fund website, "Strict reporting requirements and regular visits by Jerusalem Fund staff ensure the proper distribution of funds and project monitoring." [3]
The Palestine Diabetes Institute address the growing diabetes epidemic in Palestine through treatment, awareness, and education. It is the first such facility in Palestine. [4]
Since 2000, the Gallery Al-Quds has been the sole, full-time area showcase for the exhibition of contemporary art by Arab-American and Arab artists. The Gallery specializes in the work of Palestinian artists, with an additional emphasis on the work of contemporary artists whose art centers on issues of the Arab and Islamic worlds. The gallery exhibits work in a full range of media including painting, sculpture, photography, film, and mixed media. [5]
Arab–Israeli peace projects are projects to promote peace and understanding between the Arab League and Israel in different spheres. These are part of a broader attempt at a peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. Sponsors of such projects can be found both in Israel and Palestine.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the southern Levant region of West Asia. It encompasses two disconnected territories — the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as the Palestinian territories — within the larger region of Palestine. The country shares its borders with Israel to north, west and south, Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a combined land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while its population exceeds five million people. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem while Ramallah serves as its administrative center and Gaza City was its largest city until massive population movements began in 2023 due to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip. Arabic is the official language. The majority of Palestinians practice Islam while Christianity also has a significant presence.
Tubas is a city in Palestine in the northeastern West Bank, located northeast of Nablus, west of the Jordan Valley. A city of over 21,000 inhabitants, it serves as the economic and administrative center of the Tubas Governorate of the State of Palestine. Its urban area consists of 2,271 dunams. It is governed by a municipal council of 15 members and most of its working inhabitants are employed in agriculture or public services.
The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such institutes in the region. It is the only institute in the world solely concerned with analyzing and documenting Palestinian affairs and the Arab–Israeli conflict. It also publishes scholarly journals and has published over 600 books, monographs, and documentary collections in English, Arabic and French—as well as its renowned quarterly academic journals: Journal of Palestine Studies, Jerusalem Quarterly, and Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filistiniyyah. IPS's Library in Beirut is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab–Israeli conflict, and Judaica.
Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is 860 meters (2,820 ft) above sea level, covering an area of 22.4 square kilometers (8.6 sq mi). Al-Bireh is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority.
The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) is an organization founded in 2003 to advocate that it is in the American national interest to promote an end to the Palestinian–Israeli conflict through the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It has not been active since 2016.
Al-Walaja is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, four kilometers northwest of Bethlehem. It is an enclave in the Seam Zone, near the Green Line. Al-Walaja is partly under the jurisdiction of the Bethlehem Governorate and partly of the Jerusalem Municipality. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,671 in 2017. It has been called 'the most beautiful village in Palestine'.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the State of Palestine:
The Islamic Movement in Israel is an Islamist movement that advocates for Islam in Israel, particularly among Arabs and Circassians.
Hisham Sharabi was Professor Emeritus of History and Umar al-Mukhtar Chair of Arab Culture at Georgetown University, where he was a specialist in European intellectual history and social thought. He died of cancer at the American University of Beirut hospital on January 13, 2005.
Mujīr al-Dīn al-ʿUlaymī (1456–1522), often simply Mujir al-Din, was a Jerusalemite qadi and historian whose principal work chronicled the history of Jerusalem and Hebron in the Middle Ages. Entitled al-Uns al-Jalil bi-tarikh al-Quds wal-Khalil, it is considered to be invaluable, constituting "the most comprehensive and detailed source for the history of Jerusalem" written in its time.
The lives of Palestinian women have transformed throughout many historical changes including Ottoman control, the British Mandate, and Israeli control. The founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964 and the later establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 also played a role in redefining the roles of women in Palestine and across the Palestinian diaspora. Arab women have been involved in resistance movements in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.
Dr. Sufian Abu Zaida, also spelled Sufyan Abu Zayda, is a senior Palestinian leader, a member of Fatah and the PLO, and a former Minister of Prisoner Affairs at the Palestinian Authority. From February, 2005 until the establishment of the Hamas government, Abu Zayda served in the government of the Palestinian Authority as Minister of Prisoners and ex-Prisoners' Affairs and Minister of Civil Affairs. As Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (1999–2004), his responsibilities focused on coordination with the Israeli government regarding all the civil aspects of the agreements, especially the movement of Palestinians, international crossing points and coordination between Palestinian ministries and their Israeli counterparts. Among many other activities, he has been active in the Israeli-Palestinian Geneva Initiative, in which "moderates" from both sides argue that it is possible to find a just two-state solution. Dr. Abu Zaida is also an academic scholar and lecturer at several Palestinian and International Universities and the Director of the Masters programs at Al-Quds University.
Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh is a Palestinian politician, academic, and economist who served as Prime Minister of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority from 2019 to 2024. On 26 February 2024, he and his government announced their resignation, remaining in office in a demissionary capacity until a new government was formed on March 31, 2024.
Gershon Baskin is an Israeli columnist, social and political activist, and a researcher of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and peace process. In 2022-2023,, Baskin was running three separate secret back channels between significant Israelis and Palestinians mainly looking toward the "day after" political changes would take place in Israel and Palestine.
The Palestinian Museum is a museum in Birzeit, in the West Bank, State of Palestine, that was inaugurated on 18 May 2016. It is a flagship project of the Welfare Association, a non-profit organization for developing humanitarian projects in Palestine. Representing the history and aspirations of the Palestinian people, the museum aims to discuss the past, present, and future of Palestine.
Mohammed Shihad Dajani Daoudi is a Palestinian professor and peace activist. Dajani gained international recognition for his work in helping to raise awareness concerning the Holocaust through a variety of media. Dajani has also been active in forming relationships with Jewish and Christian religious leaders and peace activists to spread the Wasatia message of understanding, tolerance, coexistence and brotherhood. Dajani is tackling the ideological roots of extremism. In 2014, he became the center of a controversy when he led a group of students from Al-Quds University to Auschwitz.
Al-Quds University is a Palestinian public university in the Jerusalem Governorate, Palestine. It is the largest Palestinian university in the city of Jerusalem. The main campus is located in Abu Dis town of Jerusalem, with three more such campus in Jerusalem and other campuses in Ramallah and Hebron.
Al-Quds Committee, also known by its affiliated arm name adopted in 1995, Bayt Mal Al Quds Agency, is an intergovernmental organization and one of the four standing committees of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation established in July 1975. It is focused on cultural, political, social, religious and human rights issues in Jerusalem caused by the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Its principles are predominantly focused on the protection of Al-Aqsa, and cultural heritage of the city in addition to serving as an advocacy agency specialized in humanitarian and social works, concerning health, education housing children's as well as women's rights.