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2000 Grantees 2001 Grantees 2002 Grantees 2003 Grantees 2004 Grantees 2006 Grantees Arab Children Friends Association (ACFA)
Al Basma Club for the Disabled (ABCD) With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the ABCD assisted person with disabilities to participate in recreational and competitive sports. The ABCD also looked to raise awareness in the community about athletes with disabilities while forging different sports teams for disabled athletes, thus giving them the opportunity to participate in sports competitions at the local, regional and international level. Arab Women’s Union of Ramallah With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Arab Women’s Union of Ramallah renovated three rooms in the basement of their old aged home in order to provide housing for elderly men. In addition to providing facilities for the elderly, the Arab Women’s Union of Ramallah runs a center that teaches women in Ramallah and the surrounding villages how to sew. Atta Services: Aid to the Aged With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, Atta Services, together with the local and non-local partners, established and upgraded support services and centers in Broqeen, Ramallah, Taybe and Bethlehem. The centers provide services to the elderly according to their needs, with day programs and community outreach services. ATTA also provided training programs and hosted lectures for community members on job skills, social gerontology and other pertinent topics. Ayyam Zaman Center With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, Ayyam Zaman Center distributed food baskets to 200 poor families in the Kufur Naima and Beliin villages. Each basket contained non-perishable food items and cooking supplies, at a price of 200 NIS each. With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, Digital Visions worked with fifty youth over a month-long period to create short digital pieces based on their families’ oral histories. The Digital Storytelling Project included three week-long workshops designed to help youth document the oral histories and experiences of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the West Bank, and as Palestinians living in Israel. Following each workshop, Digital Visions, working together with the local community, screened the final product in each village. Upon completion of the project, Digital Vision interviewed the youth and created a DVD about the project and the stories collected, to share with numerous groups throughout the United States. With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, the Institute for Middle East Understanding identified 44 Palestinian-Americans accomplished in the arts, literature, academia, business, and other professions and community service. IMEU held interviews with, and created profiles for these individuals. The profiles were then used to proactively pitch these individuals in the news media and on the internet in order to highlight their achievements in a compelling human interest angle. Additionally, the organization provided whatever training necessary for the selected individuals to succeed in their interactions with journalists. This was the first compilation of prominent Palestinian-Americans, captured in one place and backed by the concerted effort of experienced public relations professionals to promote them. International Middle East Media Center With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, the International Middle East Media Center created an internet radio station with real time reports and interviews, in English, from Palestine. The web stream was made available at www.imemc.org, receiving over 1 million visitors per month and provides only real-time, up-to-date and comprehensive newswire reporting from occupied Palestine. The content was archived daily and was made free for public distribution in order to allow rebroadcast in as many places as possible in various parts of the world. Material was also made available via podcast. Palestinian Association Memory With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, Palestinian Association Memory oversaw a project that provided assistance to school students in the Rafah area at the beginning of the school year. Many of the children’s families live suffer intense economic hardship. This project provided 250 children with school bags, uniforms, and stationary materials as they began their fall 2006 term. Reach Out and Care Wheels, Inc.
With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, RJCA and BaJeS created a Toys Library for disabled children. The project enabled handicapped and special needs children to improve and increase their learning skills through adapted toys, games and activities, which facilitate their social integration with non-handicapped children and the rest of the community. More then 200 children benefited from the project, as did members of their families and 50 local youth trainees (who became trainers). Sindyanna of Galilee With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, Sindyanna of Galilee trained 10 women to become professional beekeepers and then purchased the honey the women produced on a fair trade basis, marketing it at home and abroad. The project provided a source of income to the women and their families while also empowering them by offering a framework of learning to suit their needs. The project also aimed to change attitudes in Arab society that discourage women from earning a living, setting an example for more women to become wage earners in other villages. Spafford Children’s Center With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, the Spafford Children’s Center now provides remedial teaching, psychological counseling, speech therapy and artistic activities for children in need of it. After psychological and educational evaluations, students are placed in groups of up to 4 children or treated individually for parental-reinforced courses following school hours for up to 13 weeks. Over 350 children a year benefit from this project as it improves their academic performance and behavior, thereby raising their self-esteem, thus allowing them to remain in school. Sunbula With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, Sunbala produced a photography exhibit by artist Steve Sabella, featuring various photographs, stories and information on the heritage of Palestinian arts & crafts from over 1,600 Palestinian contributors. Viewers witnessed the economic and cultural role of arts & crafts in Palestinian life today. The specific photo panels of Sabella will be utilized in future opportunities to further education and awareness of Palestinian life. The World Computer Exchange With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, the World Computer Exchange provided 200 Pentium III computers and 10 Pentium III laptops to over 130,000 Palestinian refugee elementary school students in Jordan, offering them access to Jordanian online learning programs and other Internet-related capabilities. Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, UPWC was able to further education opportunities for female Palestinian high school graduates and integrate these women into the public work force despite the constraints of daily life under the occupation. More than 50 women are now involved in such UPWC programs, helping improve the overall Palestinian economic situation and setting a precedent of higher education and employment for their families. Wi’am-Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, Wi’am was able to continue to provide short-term jobs and new skill-sets to almost 130 Palestinian apprentices through organizations such as King Hussain Hospital in Beit-Jala, Bethlehem mental hospital, Women’s Union of Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Museum, and a senior citizen’s home in Al-Shyukh. These apprenticeship projects increase the income of impoverished Bethlehem families and provide potential long-term employment opportunities, while simultaneously strengthening civil society by providing public and private social institutions with free labor. YMCA of Jordan
With the support of the Jerusalem Fund, the Young Artists Forum held an art exhibition in the village of Ba’leen, Ramallah after conducting 12 art workshops under the supervision of two professional artists. Through this art exhibition, children of Ba’leen were able to tell their stories of the hardships of the Wall and Israeli occupation through art work, thereby improving their psychological well-being, furthering new, non-violent forms of resistance to the occupation for the Palestinians, and providing talented young artists with opportunities for continued work in art. American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, ANERA's Milk for Preschoolers program combats malnutrition by providing 12,000 preschoolers at over 100 preschools in the Gaza Strip with fortified milk and high-energy biscuits every day at school. The milk is purchased from a local dairy in Nablus and delivered to the schools, which are located in the poorest communities in the Gaza Strip. In 2004, the program reached 21,000 children. ANERA’s work improves the life of Palestinians throughout the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, and Jordan. Its projects are coordinated in conjunction with local institutions, such as schools, universities, health facilities, cooperatives, municipalities, grassroots committees, and charitable associations. Ayyam Zaman Center With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Ayyam Zaman Center (the “center of past days”) distributed winter clothing for the children of two villages and gathered them for a special new year’s celebration, both assisting in their well being and relieving the economic burden that holidays and winter months put on an already disadvantaged community where approximately 40 percent of villagers are unemployed. The Arab Women’s Union of Ramallah With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Arab Women’s Union of Ramallah renovated the five bathrooms and dilapidated exterior of their old aged home as well as purchasing four wheel chairs for the elderly. In addition to its elder care home, the Union runs a center that teaches women in Ramallah and the surrounding villages how to sew. The Annahda Women’s Association With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Annahda has expanded its services on behalf of mentally disabled children and adults. This grant enables the acquisition of a new bus to transport the 60+ students and their families from their homes throughout Ramallah to the Annahda Center. Currently students depend on a dilapidated bus purchased in 1989 that cannot accommodate even two dozen students at a time. Through the work of the Rehabilitation Center, the Annahda Women’s Association of Ramallah seeks to encourage Palestinian families to allow their mentally disabled children to travel outside the home and to participate in the Center’s academic, vocational and rehabilitative programs on a regular basis. Atta Services: Aid to the Aged With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, Atta Services set up supportive eight day care centers; provided medical care, social activities and well-balanced hot meals to the home-bound; provided counseling and trauma care; and trained staff and volunteers to better respond to the urgent needs of the elderly. Serving approximately 600 elderly Palestinians from five major West Bank areas, this project is a critical lifeline to those made vulnerable by not only the natural effects of their declining age and health, but also by the loneliness, shock and trauma of the ongoing conflict; the inability to provide for themselves because of the poor economy and low family income; the inadequate psycho-social support and housing conditions in besieged areas; and the inaccessibility of medical, hospital and emergency facilities caused by checkpoints and the Wall. The Bir Zeit Club With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Bir Zeit Club built an educational training center and computer lab that serves the children and youth of Birzeit and the 1,500 students of Birzeit University. The project expanded the activities and services of the Bir Zeit Club. Over two-thirds of the Birzeit community is under 30 years of age and depend on the Palestinian educational system and local civil society organizations such as the Bir Zeit Club to mediate the effects of a military occupation and widespread economic hardship. The Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation was able to address several serious structural problems in its six-room Habilitation Preschool in the Mar Elias refugee camp. This project involved renovating and insulating the building’s ceiling, expanding its storage space, and better equipping the organization to educate preschoolers with disabilities in a healthy and safe environment. Known for its exemplary educational work with Palestinian children in refugee camps throughout Lebanon, the Beirut-based foundation supports a variety of public libraries, kindergarten arts projects, and specialized preschools for refugee children with mental and physical disabilities. The Hope Flowers Secondary School With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Hope Flowers Secondary School was able to renovate, expand and reequip its outdated school library, acquire new books and audio-visual technology, and establish a language laboratory and cultural center. This project aimed at enabling students to learn about other societies, master a foreign language, and gain important skills for being a leader on behalf of Palestine. The school encourages foreign language skills and cross-cultural awareness among its students and provides library access for the surrounding community as a public service. In’aash: The Association for the Development of Palestinian Camps With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, Inaash renovated and expanded the Baalbeck Kindergarten and Youth Center building in the Wavel Palestinian Refugee Camp. Built in 1976, the building suffered from structural, heating, plumbing, spatial and functional problems that inhibited its ability to house the 125 children ages 3-5 that attend kindergarten classes. This project secures a better, healthier and safer educational atmosphere for Palestinian refugee children by waterproofing and insulating the exterior walls of the building; enlarging and increasing the number of classroom spaces; and adding a kitchen, art room, multipurpose hall and technologically-equipped library. Al-Jana: The Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the scholars at al-Jana were able to build on the archival and oral history research already collected from the refugees of 1948, to fill in the gaps of information about the expulsions from 1947-51. Focusing on the memories of Palestinian approximately 400 elderly men and women living in the 300+ Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, this project aimed at expanding the breadth of available research on al-Nakba while providing a more detailed analysis of what happened during the expulsions. The Local Committee for the Disabled and Rehabilitation With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Local Committee for the Disabled and Rehabilitation transported the handicapped from their homes to the community center and provided them with breakfast and lunch, physiotherapy activities, training exercises to build muscular strength and improve coordination, and teacher supervision. Facilitators of the project also reached out to family members of the handicapped in order to challenge the social stigmatization and bolster morale and support for their disadvantaged family member. Middle East Children’s Alliance With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Middle East Children’s Alliance brought the Ibdaa Dance Troupe to America. Consisting of 20 boys and girls from the Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank, the troupe’s traditional folkloric dance and theatrical choreography introduced Americans to the rhythm and beauty of Palestinian culture and the dabkeh. This project enables Americans to put a human and child’s face on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and while assisting one of the most successful children’s organizations in the occupied West Bank. Proceeds from the ticket sales supported the new Ibdaa Women and Children’s Center in the Dheisheh refugee camp. North Park University Center for Middle Eastern Studies With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at North Park University hosted a two-day conference focusing on Christian Zionism in American culture and Christian thought. Preceded by a pre-conference seminar analyzing the political effect on Palestinians that the prevalence of Zionist thought within the Christian Right in America, the conference presented the research of 8 scholars and attracted over three hundred evangelicals, mainline Protestants and reform Jews. It resulted in the establishment of an Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism that will develop teaching resources and curricula for churches and synagogues. Palestinian Progressive Youth Union With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the PPYU hosts classes for youth aged 13-40 after the school day has finished. This program includes tutoring programs in information technology, English, mathematics, physics and chemistry in addition to popular activities such as dabkeh dancing and scouts. It aims at empowering youth, developing art and scout groups, and integrating boys and girls in a meaningful and stabilizing educational program. Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center established a children’s library that, in addition to being a significant educational resource, is a safe haven for children to read, research and study away from the stresses of daily life. This project focuses on early education and aims to spark an interest in literacy for children of all ages in the Aida refugee camp. By providing educational opportunities and helping to install a love of learning in the children of the camp, the library is investing in the future of the camp, Bethlehem and Palestine. Social Development Committee of Haifa With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Social Development Committee of Haifa renovated and equipped its “Al-Farah” pre-school facility, which was used as the primary location for an early education training program co-coordinated with the Arab Community Center in Lod and the Center for Early Education in Ramleh. The project focused on 50 Palestinian children between 4-5 years old from the five economically disadvantaged Palestinian neighborhoods in Haifa, and included the development of early educational materials in Arabic, weekly workshops for children and parents, and capacity-building experience for the Palestinian facilitators and early education professionals. Society Voice Association for Community and Civil Work With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Society Voice Association develops the capacity of children with learning disabilities through targeted activities and basic learning exercises to address the challenges they face, from frustration and an attention-deficit to feelings of insecurity, low self-worth and continued failure. Facilitators of this project worked with over 600 children between the ages of 6-12 from the Gaza Strip, particularly the poverty-stricken areas of Mogragah, Swarha, Msadar and Zawida. In an area where violence regularly disrupts school life, public transportation is costly and erratic, and personal incomes are well below the international standard, cost-free educational rehabilitation programs such as this one are crucial to educating children and developing the capacity of the local community. The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees has assisted dozens of rural Palestinian women who have high school degrees to obtain a higher education degree by providing the funding they need to attend college, continue their education, and seek and secure professional employment. This program empowers women and fosters young female leaders, and makes an important contribution to the development of Palestinian society. Its reach has expanded from 10 students in 2003 to 46 in the first semester of 2005. Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center alleviated the impoverishment of Bethlehem families by creating new short-term jobs, providing vocational training, increasing the long-term earning potential of participants, and matching laborers with employers in the area. This project seeks to strengthen civil society by providing free labor for public and private institutions in need of building upkeep and/or renovation, such as hospitals, schools and community centers. Drawing on the apprentice model that has proved successful elsewhere, this project provides meaningful assistance to unemployed Palestinians and, by leading to permanent placements, fosters a stronger Palestinian society and economic situation for all. The YMCA of Jordan With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the YMCA of Jordan hosted a summer camp for 175 orphaned boys aged 8-12 and 25 public service youths age 13-16 from the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. This project hosts educational trips and lectures to convey the importance of environmental conservation, strengthens the identity and sense of belonging among the boys, and promotes a healthy and cooperative lifestyle through recreational programs and camp counseling. The 200 campers participated in a beach-cleanup, studied the effect of trash on the marine habitat, took boating trips on the Gulf of Aqaba, and made arts and crafts from local foliage, dyes, pebbles and sand. 2004 Grantees Rafah Schoolchildren Assistance Project - Rafah, Gaza. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights is a Palestinian non-governmental non-partisan organization based in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip whose aim is to 1) promote, protect and prevent violations of human rights in general; 2) to provide effective aid to those victims of such violations, and 3) to enhance the quality of life of the community in marginalized sectors of the Gaza Strip. The Jerusalem Fund worked with Al-Mezan to distribute humanitarian aid for the school children in the town and refugee camp of Rafah in light of the deterioration of the living and economic conditions in the area due to the increasing Israeli incursions. The Jerusalem Fund purchased schoolbags, clothing, winter uniforms, classroom materials, books, and other supplies for the devastated community. Working with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and UNWRA, these supplies are being distributed to the children of Jabalia Camp and the Rafah community through March/April 2005. The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of Jordan. The YMCA-Jordan has become a beacon for growth through the development of educational programs for the youth in order to help realize their maximum potential. The program aims to promote cooperative and community spirit amongst orphan boys and girls from Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan during the summer school holidays. The Jerusalem Fund sponsored a summer camp at the YMCA Center at Yadudeh Village, Amman for 350 boys and girls. The three-week camp trains youth in leadership, responsibility, and volunteerism as well as spiritual, mental and physical development. Additionally, they are taken on trips to various historic and religious sites around the region. The camp serves to keep children off the streets during the summer holidays and to place them in an environment of love, care, and kindness to bolster their spirit of belonging in a wider community, despite their orphan status. Electronic Intifada - USA
American Near East Refugee Aid - West Bank, Gaza, USA. The ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict has devastated hundreds of thousands of families - physically, emotionally, and economically. Without argument, the most vulnerable are the children. Malnutrition continues to be a growing problem for Palestinian families. In Gaza, over 30 percent of children screened suffer from chronic or acute malnutrition. Children, whose developing bodies are especially sensitive to a lack of needed protein, vitamins, and minerals in their diet are most at risk for long-term health problems. The Jerusalem Fund has provided funds to ANERA to begin distributing a free box of milk and high-energy biscuits to each child in 27 kindergartens. The milk is purchased from a local dairy in Nablus and delivered to the schools, which are located in the poorest communities in Gaza. In 2004, the program reached 21,000 children. Latin Patriarchate Area Development Program (ADP)
New Educational Documentaries "El Sana" - The Jerusalem Fund provided a grant to support the production of a documentary film exploring the impact of the Israeli government's illegal wall on the daily lives of Palestinian communities. The construction of the Separation Wall has resulted in the physical division of communities from one another often putting families on opposite sides of the fence. Farmers and shepherds have found themselves disconnected from their crops and animals, only allowed to watch them wither from lookouts meters away. The film takes a humanistic approach by telling a series of stories directly from villagers of Qalqilya, one of the most dissected communities affected by the separation wall. Everyday problems and impossibilities of getting to and from work, school, grocery stores, and healthcare centers are relayed firsthand from the people who live the reality of "the wall." Rather than getting overly involved in political or military discourses, "Qalqilya" discusses the most important factor - the human element. Peacefund Canada Peacefund Canada's goal is to encourage and support adult peace educators and other learners in their efforts to build a more humane, non-violent and de-militarized world. The Jerusalem Fund supported the International Women's Peace Service - Palestine Project (IWPS), an international team of 16 women who work with the media and attorneys to document human rights abuses and encourage non-violent direct action. Located in Salfit, the organizers train and support an international team of volunteers to work throughout Palestine to provide written and photographic evidence of human rights abuses, develop village profiles, and challenge the destruction and confiscation of property and cultivated lands throughout the West Bank and Gaza. The group operates under the guise of international law and consistently calls upon civil society to censure Israeli actions against the occupied population. Birzeit University Library Birzeit University - Palestine. Birzeit University, which began as an elementary school in 1924, faces great obstacles in carrying out its mission in spite of the Oslo peace agreements between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Violations of human rights continue unabated and students are often arrested and detained sometimes for being members of the student council. Student from Gaza are often barred to travel to the West Bank to enroll at Birzeit. Moreover, the University is facing prolonged financial crisis due to the stalled peace process and the resulting poor economic situation. Despite such hardships, the University continues to expand in new and creative ways in order to better meet the needs of the Palestinian society. Currently 53 percent of the student body, which totals over 7,000 students, is female; 15 percent are pursuing graduate or post-graduate degrees. An annex to the University Library is currently under construction to provide greater space for books and student patrons. The Birzeit University Library provides vital access to information on academic, scientific, technological, cultural and social issues to students and faculty. In addition, the library serves students from other Palestinian universities, high school students from private and public schools, and individuals and local institutions in the community. The Jerusalem Fund is one of the financiers of the automation process of the library, which will link the main library to the new annex, as well as to specialty libraries. Palestine Media Watch Palestine Media Watch - USA. Anti-occupation activism on US campuses is vibrant; however, the media aspect of the movement is often an afterthought, when in fact media is the heart of any successful campaign. Palestine Media Watch (PMWATCH) is a network of 42 chapters in US cities that identify students interested in media activism. PMWATCH provides and trains the students with the tools and expertise to build chapters in their respective universities. The aim is to link a network of sophisticated media campus activists who can help various anti-occupation groups effectively get their message to fellow students as well local media outlets. The Jerusalem Fund provided a seed grant for PMWATCH-CAMPUS, which is the mechanism to support this cross-sharing of techniques and lessons learned.
The Ramallah Friends Schools have served the youth of Palestine and witnessed to Quaker values in the midst of conflict and adversity for more than a century. Today, on the Schools' campuses in Ramallah and el-Bireh more than 950 students from kindergarten through grade twelve receive a rich and rigorous education in Arabic and English. During the 2003 Israeli incursion on the Ramallah area, the both campuses suffered tremendous and unprecedented physical damage. The Jerusalem Fund helped to rebuild the Playcenter on the el-Bireh campus, which included the repairs to the damaged structure, purchase of destroyed furniture, toys and books. U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights aims to provide a resource pool of alternative, critical and progressive information and analysis on the question of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons. The organization was established to support the development of a popular refugee lobby for the right of return through professional research and partnership-based community initiatives. BADIL ('badeel') is an Arabic word that means 'alternative'. BADIL's alternative approach to the question of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons is based on international law, relevant UN resolutions, and the participation of refugees themselves. The Jerusalem Fund provided BADIL with a grant to perform a study on refugee compensation and the right of return. Atta Services to the Aged Atta Services seeks to address issues affecting elderly Palestinians, including their mental and physical health as well as social well-being. Atta Services' Meals on Wheels Program, for example, provides hot meals to the aged in the Ramallah area at least three times a week. This program is an integral part of Atta's outreach program, which also facilitates doctor visits, house cleaning, and visits by Atta Services' staff. In the midst of the harsh Israeli occupation regime, Atta proposed an emergency relief program to alleviate the critical conditions that Palestinians have had to face. Re-starting its Outreach Community Services after the invasion of the Israeli army into the already occupied West Bank, Atta focused on a triad of activities: (1) medical and psychological support; (2) food and sanitation; (3) home repairs and care. The Jerusalem Fund supports the breadth of its programs, but in particular, the Meals on Wheels program to at least 300 beneficiaries on a monthly basis.
The American Society of the Order of Saint John Eye Hospital - Jerusalem. The principle aim of the priory in the United States is support of the Ophthalmic Hospital of Saint John in Jerusalem, which mainly serves the Palestinian Arabs living in the Israeli occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Because of health conditions in the Middle East, they are particularly susceptible to eye disease. Following in the traditions of the Hospitaller Knights, the hospital aims to fulfill an important and historic responsibility towards the people of the Holy Land, whom it continues to serve without reference to race, religion or ability to pay. 45, 000 patients are seen annually in the Outpatient Department, and 4,000 major operations are performed. 25 percent of the patients are children and many of those suffer from congenital eye diseases such as Cataracts and Glaucoma, as well as a large number of trauma cases caused by domestic accidents in the home, and more recently from the civil and military disturbances in the area. 2003 Grantees Summer 2003 Jerusalem Fund Observation Trip to Palestinian Grantees
Located in a large building on the outskirts of the city of Jenin, in close proximity to the Jenin refugee camp, the Jenin Charitable Society (JCS) boasts a wide variety of services and facilities. All of these are provided to the needy populations free of charge. The JCS is the sole provider of many specialized services for the 200,000 residents of the northern West Bank. An ongoing project that JCS provides to the community of Jenin is remedial classes for students studying for the tawjihi matriculation exams. Due to the disruptions in schooling caused by Israeli attacks and military closures, many students have been prevented from completing their full school programs. The JCS remedial classes, both in Jenin and a nearby location, seek to make up for the class time and educational opportunities lost at the hands of Israel's occupation forces. Classes are free, with teachers' salaries paid by the JCS, and feature all of the major subjects of the tawjihi. Approximately 200 students come to the JCS location in Jenin for this service. There is another location that serves more than 60 students who are unable to regularly attend classes in Jenin. The Jenin Charitable The only center for hearing and speech-impaired children in the Northern West Bank is located at the JCS. Currently the facility is in the process of being transformed into a boardingschool, to alleviate the difficulties that the children face travelling to school from various increasingly isolated villages and towns in the area. One of the upcoming projects for the JCS is opening a computer center to service the greater Jenin area. Once again, this would be the first and only such facility in the area. Currently the JCS has obtained 5 computers for its lab, but has outfitted adequate facilities to accommodate 20-25 computers. The JCS has specially wired labs waiting for computers to fill them. Another nascent undertaking is a library suitable for students, from the youngest up to University level, and open to the public. Currently the library's holdings amount to only a few shelves of mostly children's books. But the JCS is seeking additions to the collection.
Baladna Baladna was formed to compensate for the lack of organizations specifically directed towards Palestinian youths growing up in Israel. Though the founders of Baladna saw many Zionist youth organizations designed to instill a sense of identity and purpose in Jewish Israeli youths, Palestinian citizens of Israel were deprived of a similar service. Consequently, no unified Palestinian identity has taken root in the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Most identify themselves either with their local community or with their religion, but the lack of a unified national sentiment is apparent. Baladna hopes to rectify this situation.
The problem begins in the Israeli educational system. Although there are separate facilities for the education of Israel's Palestinian minority, even these are not controlled by Palestinians. Palestinian children are not allowed to learn about any Palestinian nationalists or nationalist literature. According to Nadim Nashaf, Director of Baladna,
the Palestinian teachers in the Israeli school system are scared. They are concerned for their jobs and will not exceed the limits placed on them by the oppressive Zionist ideology Israel's schools push. Although private schools are better, most students can't afford them. Altogether, there is more freedom of thought in the Jewish Israeli school system than for the Palestinians. For instance, Jewish Israeli students might be allowed to discuss Palestinian nationalist poetry, but Palestinian children would not. The Israeli government delayed the registration of Baladna for 14 months, eventually prohibiting them from officially using the name Baladna. The organization is legally known in Israel as the Association for Arab Youth. Baladna is pursuing many projects at this time. One of their most important is a three-month training session provided to potential youth leaders. Youths are selected from all over the territory of what is now Israel and given a scholarship and a training course focusing on instilling values of national identity in their peers. Each year the courses extend to more villages and cities, with the hopes of covering as much of Israel as possible. This program has been very successful and Baladna is hoping to expand the scope of the training sessions. The grant provided to Baladna by the Jerusalem Fund was used to buy a projector and other equipment to show films directed toward an Arab and Palestinian audience. At one film festival of Jordanian and Palestinian films from the West Bank Baladna drew almost 700 people, largely university students, to see the films. In giving these films a wide public viewing, Baladna is performing a service that is invaluable to the Palestinian citizens of Israel. This same audio-video equipment has been used to lend out to other organizations with similar goals and projects, thus further expanding the usefulness of the grant. Some upcoming projects for Baladna include a large summer concert featuring Arab music and a Palestinian book fair. In the book fair Baladna will offer more than 5,000 books obtained from various sources but all concerning Palestine to the public. And finally, in November there will be a 5 day conference in Nazareth featuring Palestinian and European organizations and activists meeting to discuss a whole range of topics. Baladna hopes in the near future to be able to implement a student exchange program with American and European students. The aim will be to bring students who are either Arab, Muslim, or from other minority groups, like African-Americans, to travel to 1948 Palestine and to experience life in Israel as an ethnic minority. Charitable Societies The Right to a Home ...and a Homeland - Redwood City, California Middle East Children's Alliance - Berkeley, California Clinics and Health Projects Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association - Nablus Patient's Friends Society - Hebron Taha Hussein Association for the Blind - Um El-Fahem Atta Services: Aide to the Aged - Jerusalem Community Resources Hanitzotz Publishing House - Jaffa International Jewish Peace Union - Tel Aviv Palestine Happy Child Center - Ramallah Baladna: Association for Arab Youth - Haifa Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute - Ramallah Legal Resources Badil Resource Center - Bethlehem Schools and Universities Sameh Zoabi's Film Project - Columbia University, New York Prof. May Seikaly - Wayne State University, Michigan Ramallah Friends School - Ramallah Birzeit University - Birzeit 2001 Grantees Charitable Societies Beit Jala Charitable Society for the Aged - Beit Jala Palestinian Youth Women Society - Gaza Save the Children Foundation - Gaza Clinics and Health Projects Augusta Victoria Hospital - Jerusalem * Palestinian Counseling Center - Jerusalem Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association - Nablus St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital - Jerusalem Union of Health Work Committees - Gaza City * Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees - Jerusalem * Al-Amaree Women's Programme Center, Al-Amaree Refugee Camp - Ramallah * Community Resources Arab Cultural Association - Nazareth Arab National Club - Jaffa Hanitzotz Publishing House - Jaffa International Palestinian Youth League Palestinian Working Women Society - Nablus * The Social Development Committee - Haifa Yoad Foundation for Development of Local Art - Rama Legal Resources Badil Resource Center - Beit Jala Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group - Jerusalem Schools and Universities Al-Anwar Library for Children - Hebron Ramallah Friends' School - Ramallah * Society of Remedial Education Center Charitable Societies Atfaluna Society for the Deaf - Gaza City Clinics and Health Projects Augusta Victoria Hospital - Jerusalem Community Resources Al-Amaree Women's Program Center - Al-Amaree Refugee Camp, Ramallah Legal Resources Association of Forty - Eid Hod Schools and Universities Arab Evangelical School - Ramallah Computer labs |
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With the support of The Jerusalem Fund, the ACFA’s Literary Bridge project enhanced the libraries and kindergartens in Gaza and the West Bank, provided support for teachers & librarians at these institutions, and held activities for children in at least 80 local youth centers. The ACFA supplied folk books, encyclopedias, stories, games and song cassettes to boost local libraries while encouraging the improvement of children’s reading level. The ACFA also prepared free kits of their publications, Al-Hayat Lilasafeer (“Life for Birds”) and Al-Hayat Lilatfal (“Life for Children”) and distributed them to libraries, youth centers and hospitals in rural areas of the West Bank and Gaza.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. 
Electronic Intifada - USA. One of the key obstacles faced by advocates for Palestinian rights is the lack of accurate, accessible, and professionally produced media resources and educational tools. Over the past three years, The Electronic Intifada has built of a wealth of experience using the latest multimedia techniques to present information about Palestine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a compelling and effective manner. The Jerusalem Fund helped to fund the creation and distribution of a CD-ROM for use as a promotional educational tool in media, academic, activist and diplomatic communities. The CD-ROM contains and introduction to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel's West Bank Barrier, Life in Rafah, and a variety of photos and testimonies targeted to explain on-the-ground realities for the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories.
American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)
Latin Patriarchate Area Development Program - Jerusalem. During the past three years, the villages of Aboud, Ain Arik and Jifna have been affected directly by the political situation prevailing in the West Bank and Gaza. Most of the villagers have lost their jobs and have no income to sustain their families. Thus, alternative income generating projects are vital. The three villages are in desparate need of development and lack services that are ordinarily present in larger populated areas. There are eight schools in the ADP area serving 1,025 students. Primary schools are overcrowded. School supplies are limited, and modern educational tools, such as computers, are almost nonexistent. In order to prepare students for the future workforce, the Jerusalem Fund assisted the Latin Patriarchate and World Vision to establish a computer lab in Aboud. Besides the acquisition of computers, chairs, and desks, the Fund purchased internet licenses and subscriptions as well as software to make the lab functional. Additionally, upgrades were made to the UNWRA boys' school and girls' school in the villages of Ain Arik and Jifna.
Arab Children Friends Association - Khan Younis / Haifa. With the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and the consequent dispersion of the Palestinian population, Palestinians have had to live as a people split by political and physical boundaries. The Arab Children Friends Association (ACFA) aims to close this divide through the Brotherhood for Youth Program. With donations from the Jerusalem Fund, ACFA is developing and building children's libraries and kindergartens in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and the Galilee to support educators, nursery teachers, and librarians in these regions to keep Palestinian traditions and culture alive. ACFA publishes and distributes Palestinian children's literature and provides children's and youth books, folk encyclopedias, song cassettes, oral histories, and teaches traditional dance for children in these communities. Also, in 2005, they will attempt to institute an educational exchange program between Palestinian schools in the Occupied Territories and Israel. 
"Fútbol Palestina" - The Jerusalem Fund supported the production of Fútbol Palestina 2006, a documentary that chronicles a soccer team's unique challenge of representing Palestine in their quest to reach the World Cup Final. With soccer as the storyteller, the film reveals that despite the situation in their homeland, Palestinian identity remains alive. This identity is examined as players from Chile, Turkey, Lebanon, France, Uzbekistan, the United States and the Occupied Territories unite to claim a stake on the international playing field in the name of "Falasteen." Their very participation in the community of nations exposes the irony of their problems, recognized by fellow athletes but shunned by officials and tournament sponsors, each match becomes a contest of not only physical vigor but also emotional endurance as travel permits, team legitimacy, and entry requirements are called into question. Regardless of their final standing in the upcoming World Cup championship games, the Palestinian National Team has already made sports history. 
Ramallah Friends School - Playcenter
The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation was created in 2001 to hold the US government accountable for its policies towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead of US support for military occupation, the US Campaign seeks to promote the application of human rights and international law as a viable road to resolution. The coalition's diverse membership is united by a passion to see justice and peace in the region. The group is rich in its ties to a range of communities, its levels of expertise, and the resources of member groups. The Jerusalem Fund provided a grant to support the US Campaign's annual strategy meeting, which was held at George Washington University. 
BADIL
The American Society of the Order of Saint John Eye Hospital - Jerusalem
