The Jerusalem Fund works to educate the United States’ public and policymakers about Palestine’s past, present and future, and provide community development support to communities in Palestine.
Our Mission
The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development is an independent, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It aims to foster greater awareness about Palestine, in the United States and abroad, and to ameliorate the lives of Palestinians in Palestine and the diaspora. The Fund accomplishes these goals through three programs: the Humanitarian Link raises funds to provide relief, medical services, and community development support; the Palestine Center hosts educational and policy analysis lectures and conferences in the DC area and disseminates information online; and the cultural arm features an active art gallery called Gallery Al-Quds, a film series, and musical and literary offerings.
Our History
The Jerusalem Fund was founded in 1977 to provide scholarships to Palestinian university students. Our work evolved over the past four decades to meet the needs of Palestinian communities and contribute to the struggle for liberation.
Today, the Jerusalem Fund operates educational, policy analysis, and cultural programs, and provides emergency and humanitarian grants to medical, charitable, and other human rights groups in Palestine.
Our Board of Directors
We are fortunate to have many distinguished activists and professionals serve on our Board of Directors. The eleven-person Board of Directors governs The Jerusalem Fund and its humanitarian, educational, and cultural programs. The Board has four committees.
Meet Our Staff
Jehad Abusalim
Executive Director
Jehad is completing his PhD in the History and Hebrew and Judaic Studies joint program at New York University. His main area of research is Palestinian and Arab perceptions of the Zionist project and the Jewish question before 1948. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Hebrew language and teaching methods from Al-Azhar University in Gaza, Palestine.
An accomplished speaker and writer, Jehad combines his passion for history with his commitment to activism and policy change work. Jehad recently edited the book “Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire” published by Haymarket Books in 2022. He has been published in +972 Magazine, Al-Jazeera English, Palestine Square, Journal of Palestine Studies, and Vox, and contributed to the anthology Gaza as Metaphor with a chapter entitled “From Fence to Fence: Retelling Gaza’s Story.” Jehad’s family continues to live in Gaza.
Ruqyah Sweidan
Assistant Director
Ruqyah is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in Anthropology. A student of the social sciences, Ruqyah is passionate about story sharing, international politics research, and developing problem-solving plans. While at university, her research focused on the experiences of Arabs in the diaspora of America and across the Middle East. She also worked closely with peers, visitors, and department heads at UNC as a student staff member. Moreover, Ruqyah has interned with cultural research, entrepreneurial, and communications firms. Ruqyah often consults intersecting identities, experiences, and future goals of people in creating impact for various causes. The history, causes, and people of Palestine are the main subjects of her campaigns.
Mohammad Abou-Ghazala
Program & Communications Manager
Mohammad received his MA in Middle East and Islamic Studies at George Mason University (GMU) and worked at the Arab Studies Institute where he conducted intensive research on political economy and the Syrian uprising, in addition to producing various programs for the Institute. He is currently involved in Arab and Palestinian community organizing on local and national levels.
