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Non-profit

Jerusalem Fund

Location:

Washington, DC
Tax ID:

52-1238142
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $1,191,372
Expenses: $1,482,864
Assets: $6,069,387
Type:

Pro-Palestinian Advocacy Group
Formation:

1977 (as American Palestine Educational Foundation)
Board Chair:

Subhi Ali

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The Jerusalem Fund is community advocacy group that claims to contribute to “the movement for Palestinian liberation” through culture, education and humanitarian support. The group has given grants to organizations such as the media outlet Mondoweiss and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). 1 Jerusalem Fund board member Ahlam Muhtaseb was co-director and executive producer of the anti-Israel film 1948: Creation & Catastrophe. 2 Another board member, Samera Sood, advocated for dropping charges against convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh. 3

The group calls Israeli’s response in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war a “genocidal war” by the State of Israel. The war followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks against the State of Israel in which roughly 1,200 were killed and over 250 were taken hostage. 4 5

Background

Hishan Sharabi founded the American Palestine Educational Foundation, which later became the Jerusalem Fund, in 1977. The Center for Policy Analysis in Palestine was created in 1991 and became the Palestine Center in 2002. 6

The Jerusalem Fund claims to educate both the public and policymakers about “Palestine,” and assists with community development in the West Bank and Gaza. 7 It also claims to contribute towards building “the movement for Palestinian liberation” through cultural preservation, educational events and humanitarian support. The group granted nearly $25,000 to media outlet Mondoweiss and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 2022. 8

Initiatives

The Jerusalem Fund has provided and received grant applications from group within the Middle East as well as the United States. Past grantees have included American Friends of UNRWA, Islamic Charitable Society – Beit Sahour, and several educational institutions. 9

The Jerusalem Fund’s initiatives are divided into three areas: The first is The Palestine Center, which houses educational programming and is the face of the Jerusalem Fund’s Twitter account. This initiative claims to provide “objective and reliable” information about “the Palestinian experience.” 10

The second is the Humanitarian Link, a community development program that claims to fundraise for regional institutions including schools, hospitals, orphanages and civil society groups such as the Palestine Diabetes Institute. 11

The third is Gallery Al-Quds, which showcases regional art by local artists while hosting several annual events. 12

Finances

In 2022, the Jerusalem Fund reported revenue of $1,191,372 13 and expenses of $1,482,864, 14 for a deficit of $291,492. The organization had a deficit of over $137,000 the previous year. 15

The group granted $15,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), earmarked for “Food aid & health SV,” $9,300 to the online publication Mondoweiss for “technology,” and $6,000 to the American Palestinian Women’s Association for “building project” in 2022. 16

The Jerusalem Fund is a beneficiary of several funds, including the Farouk Shami Foundation for Peace, the Pinkerton Foundation, and the Drs. Subhi & Maysoon Ali Foundation. Subhi Ali is also the chairman of the Jerusalem Fund’s board of directors. 17 The group received $25,000 from the Farouk Shami Foundation for Peace; 18 $16,000 from the Ali Foundation; 19 $10,000 from the National Arab-American Medical Association for “medical aid” 20 and $5,000 from the Pinkerton Foundation in the fiscal year ending in December 2022. 21

Leadership

Jehad Abusalim served as executive director of the organization up to June 2024 after their resignation from the position. As of September 2024, the position remains unfilled. 22 Subhi Ali serves as chairman of the board, Eid B. Mustafa is the treasurer and Mohayya H. Khilfeh as the secretary. 23 Board members include Ahlam Muhtaseb, Walid Keilani, Omar Fayez, Dr. Rajai Khoury, Tawfik Z. Ramadan, Samera Sood and Osamah Khalil. 24

Ahlam Muhtaseb was co-director and executive producer of the anti-Israel film 1948: Creation & Catastrophe. 25 In a May 2024 interview with a Jordanian TV station, Muhtaseb said she is a member of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP), the faculty counterpart to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and that faculty are strategizing “to continue the [anti-Israel] campus protests into the summer break and fall semester.” 26

Samera Sood previously served as president of Palestinian American Women’s Association’s (PAWA) Southern California chapter and an Al-Awda board member and represented the group at the UNESCO conference in Paris in 2008. 27 She co-signed a statement on August 18, 2014 entitled “Solidarity from Palestine to Ferguson,” that claims “Although Ferguson and Palestine are two different contexts, both places and their people are fighting against white supremacist regimes of oppression which continue to view them as “disposable others” and act accordingly.” 28

Sood also signed a letter calling on then-President Barack Obama and the Department of Justice to drop charges against Rasmea Odeh, a former Palestinian militant and convicted terrorist. 29 30 31

Osamah Khalil is a co-founder of Al-Shabaka/The Palestinian Policy Network. 32 After Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against the State of Israel, the Switzerland government stopped collaborating with Al-Shabaka due to its “breaching the code of conduct and the anti-discrimination clause.” 33 Khalil also signed a letter in July 2014 to then-President Obama and members of Congress urging the suspension of military aid to Israel, accusing Israel of war crimes. 34

References

  1. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full, Schedule I, Part II, Lines 1-2
  2. “Crew,” 1948: Creation & Catastrophe, 2023, https://www.1948movie.com/crew.html.
  3. “Feminist Scholars Call on Obama to Drop the Torture-Based Charges against Rasmea Odeh,” Mondoweiss, October 23, 2014, https://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/feminist-scholars-against/.
  4. “Jerusalem Fund Executive Director Resigns,” June 17, 2024, The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/2024/06/jerusalem-fund-executive-director-resigns-2/.
  5. “Urgent Appeal: Stand With the People of Gaza,” The Jerusalem Fund, October 13, 2023, The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/2023/10/urgent-appeal-stand-with-the-people-of-gaza/.
  6. ​​“Our History,” The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/who-we-are/our-history/.
  7. “Who We Are,” The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/who-we-are/
  8. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full, Schedule I, Part II, Lines 1-2
  9. “Grants,” The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/what-we-do/grants/.
  10. The Palestine Center, X, Accessed September 30, 2024. https://x.com/palestinecenter
  11. “What We Do,” The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/what-we-do/
  12. “What We Do,” The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/what-we-do/
  13. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full part 1, line 12.
  14. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full part 1, line 18.
  15. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full part 1, line 19.
  16. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full
  17. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full
  18. Farouk Shami Foundation for Peace, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/815108618/202313199349106436/IRS990PF Part XIV Section 3a.
  19. Ali Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/621784711/202440319349101019/IRS990PF Part XIV Section 3a.
  20. National Arab American Medical Association Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/382911556/201933199349312103/IRS990ScheduleI
  21. Pinkerton Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/136206624/202333199349106738/IRS990PF.
  22. “Jerusalem Fund Executive Director Resigns,” June 17, 2024, The Jerusalem Fund, https://thejerusalemfund.org/2024/06/jerusalem-fund-executive-director-resigns-2/
  23. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full
  24. The Jerusalem Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521238142/202333119349304403/full Part VII Section A.
  25. Crew,” 1948: Creation & Catastrophe, 2023, https://www.1948movie.com/crew.html.
  26.  California State University, San Bernardino Professor Ahlam Muhtaseb on Jordanian TV: We Are Strategizing with Students to Continue Campus Protests into Summer Break and Fall Semester,” MEMRI, May 10, 2024, https://www.memri.org/reports/california-state-university-san-bernardino-professor-ahlam-muhtaseb-jordanian-tv-we-are
  27. “Our Team,” Arab American Civic Council, August 13, 2024, https://aaciviccouncil.org/our-team/.
  28.  Rana Baker, “Palestinians Express ‘Solidarity with the People of Ferguson’ in Mike Brown Statement,” The Electronic Intifada, June 7, 2015, https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rana-baker/palestinians-express-solidarity-people-ferguson-mike-brown-statement.
  29. “Feminist Scholars Call on Obama to Drop the Torture-Based Charges against Rasmea Odeh,” Mondoweiss, October 23, 2014, https://mondoweiss.net/2014/10/feminist-scholars-against/.
  30. “Convicted Palestinian Terrorist Loses Appeal for Us Immigration Retrial | The Times of Israel,” Times of Israel, February 17, 2015, https://www.timesofisrael.com/convicted-palestinian-terrorist-loses-appeal-for-us-immigration-retrial/.
  31. Developer, “Rasmea Odeh Will Continue Her Struggle,” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, July 20, 2022, https://uscpr.org/rasmea-odeh-will-continue-struggle/.
  32. “Osamah Khalil: Al-Shabaka,” Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, February 23, 2024, https://al-shabaka.org/authors/osamah-khalil/.
  33. “Switzerland Cuts Ties with Three Palestinian Ngos,” SWI swissinfo.ch, November 24, 2023, https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/switzerland-cuts-ties-with-three-palestinian-ngos/49006288.
  34. “Historians’ Letter to President Obama and Members of Congress, July 31, 2014,” Historians Against the War, July 31, 2014, https://historiansagainstwar.org/gazapetition.html.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: February 1, 1982

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2022 Dec Form 990 $1,191,372 $1,482,864 $6,069,387 $252,494 N $918,939 $413,920 $59,226 $41,121 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $1,412,390 $1,549,495 $7,179,772 $272,834 N $804,604 $377,178 $195,239 $64,071
    2020 Dec Form 990 $2,722,099 $1,360,667 $6,803,602 $274,421 N $1,909,788 $305,133 $105,147 $69,509
    2019 Dec Form 990 $2,033,828 $1,522,333 $5,137,612 $239,264 N $1,508,217 $339,583 $64,327 $54,958 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $1,044,661 $1,422,143 $4,123,814 $205,987 N $539,700 $348,416 $127,906 $67,209 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $1,101,411 $1,219,988 $4,659,850 $160,304 N $558,996 $346,569 $81,859 $62,666 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $1,025,660 $1,233,247 $4,491,792 $160,943 N $742,509 $275,552 $38,439 $76,327 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $925,120 $1,275,899 $4,438,119 $112,476 N $509,364 $278,785 $87,880 $74,171 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $1,249,441 $1,268,058 $5,045,031 $125,190 N $575,387 $272,457 $132,760 $76,159 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $1,101,691 $1,020,261 $5,254,235 $233,057 N $724,291 $183,119 $82,567 $73,648 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $713,317 $884,939 $4,579,434 $48,720 N $432,388 $114,881 $74,722 $71,062 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $600,005 $835,766 $4,516,469 $41,774 N $436,056 $105,930 $99,471 $73,693 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Jerusalem Fund

    2425 VIRGINIA AVENUE NW
    Washington, DC 20037-2637