United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) disburses resources, funds, and undertakes construction projects for the benefit of populations in the Palestinian territories as well as refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and other countries. UPA also makes donations to advocacy organizations, such as A.M. Qattan Foundation.

Background

United Palestinian Appeal is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was formed in 1978 by Palestinian-Americans in New York as a relief and development group for people in the Palestinian territories. ¹

Activities

United Palestinian Appeal provides aid and funds to people in the Palestinian territories as well as refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and other countries. It claims to work in four program areas: Health and Wellness, Community and Economic Development, Education, and Outreach. It purports to specialize in education scholarships, sustainable agriculture, emergency relief and humanitarian aid, children’s and community development, small business development, and solar energy. ²

From 1985 to 1990, UPA undertook the construction of a nursing college in the Palestinian territories, costing $2.4 million. From 2002 to 2004, it used a grant given to it by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to fund unemployment aid programs in partnership with Welfare Association. ³

From 2010 to 2014, it spent more than $25 million on materials for Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria, on books for schoolchildren, and on pharmaceuticals for people in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. ⁴

Since 2014, UPA has undertaken several construction projects: a surgery center, a children’s library, sports fields, solar energy systems, and multiple harbors as part of its “Illuminating Gaza: One Harbor at a Time” project. ⁵

Funding

In 2019, United Palestinian Appeal reported revenue of $34,153,359, expenses of $34,347,245, and net assets of $4,778,488. ⁶ In 2020 it reported revenue of $5,547,000, expenses of $5,705,388, and net assets of $5,061,082. ⁷

UPA was not obligated to detail its grant recipients for the year 2020, only the global regions in which those recipients were located. These included the “Middle East and North Africa” and “Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt.” ⁸

UPA has funded A.M. Qattan Foundation, which advocates for liberal democratic principles and that operates in both the United Kingdom and the Palestinian territories. ⁹

People

In August 2002, then-chairman of the board of United Palestinian Appeal Haidar Abdel Shafi delivered a C-SPAN talk titled “Humanitarian Situation in the West Bank and Gaza.” Shafi was born in Gaza, earned an M.D. at the University of Beirut in 1953, and served as a medical serviceman on the Gaza strip. In 1964, he aided the founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and served as a negotiator in Israel-Palestinian peace talks in the 1990s. ¹⁰ At the time, he was also serving as the chairman of the Red Crescent Society in Gaza and a member of the board of trustees of Birzeit University in Ramallah. ¹¹ Abdel Shafi died in 2007. ¹²

As of 2023, its board of advisors included engineer Samir Abdulhadi, Ghassan Abu-Sittah, George Araj, Eman Shafiq Assi, Sam Bahour, Khalil Barhoum, Iman Bulbul, Zuhdi Dajani, Maha Freij, Laila El-Haddad, Adnan Hammad, Shehadeh “Shawki” Khalil Harb, and Maher Hashweh. ¹³ Its executive director was Saleem Zaru, who was based in Washington, D.C. ¹⁴ Its chairman was Isam Salah, former senior partner and head of the Middle East Practice at the King and Spalding law firm. He sat on the boards of several nonprofits including the Global Board of Education for Employment. ¹⁵

1. “United Palestinian Appeal.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/company/upaconnect.
2. “United Palestinian Appeal.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/company/upaconnect.
3. “About.” United Palestinian Appeal. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://upaconnect.org/about/mission/.
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5. “About.” United Palestinian Appeal. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://upaconnect.org/about/mission/.
6. United Palestinian Appeal. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part I, Lines 12, 18, 22.
7. United Palestinian Appeal. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I, Lines 12, 18, 22.
8. United Palestinian Appeal. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Schedule F Part II – Grants or Entities Outside the United States.
9. “Co-funding Partners.” A.M. Qattan Foundation. Accessed April 17, 2023. http://qattanfoundation.org/en/qattan/partners/co-funding-partners.
10. Kershner, Isabel. “Haidar Abdel Shafi, Who Led P.L.O. and Red Crescent, Dies at 88.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 26, 2007. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/world/middleeast/26abdelshafi.html.
11.   “Humanitarian Situation in the West Bank and Gaza.” CSPAN. August 5, 2002. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.c-span.org/video/?171760-1/humanitarian-situation-west-bank-gaza.
12. Kershner, Isabel. “Haidar Abdel Shafi, Who Led P.L.O. and Red Crescent, Dies at 88.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 26, 2007. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/world/middleeast/26abdelshafi.html.
13. “Advisors.” United Palestinian Appeal. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://upaconnect.org/about/advisors/.
14. “Staff.” United Palestinian Appeal. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://upaconnect.org/about/staff/.
15. “Director.” United Palestinian Appeal. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://upaconnect.org/about/directors/.