Difference between revisions of "Jerusalem Foundation"

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===Projects in Occupied East Jerusalem===
 
===Projects in Occupied East Jerusalem===
Under international law Israeli construction beyond the Green Line and continued settlement of Israeli citizens is illegal. The Jerusalem Foundation has been deeply complicit in Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem from the start since it has carried out numerous projects in this part of the city including in settlements such as Gilo, Neve Ya'akov, Pisgat Ze'ev, Ramot Eshkel, East Talpiot and French Hill.
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Under international law Israeli construction beyond the Green Line and continued settlement of Israeli citizens is illegal. The Jerusalem Foundation has been deeply complicit in Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem from the start since it has carried out numerous projects in this part of the city including in settlements such as Gilo, Neve Ya'akov, Pisgat Ze'ev, East Talpiot and French Hill.
  
 
It has also built in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem including Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, which have both been targeted by settlers and are seen by some as areas that the Israeli authorities are assisting settlers to slowly ethnically cleanse of Palestinians<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/01/2011122115026642898.html The front line of ethnic cleansing], Al Jazeera English, 10 Sept 2012</ref> . The JF built a medical centre and sports field in the former and a school and kindergarten in the latter, projects it presumably would defend as being philanthropic and for the benefit of 'Israeli Aarbs'. In Silwan, the JF has also 'pioneered much of the archaeological discovery and preservation projects including the City of David excavations'<ref>[http://www.jerusalemfoundation.org/uploads//Annual%20Report%202008.pdf Annual Report 2009, p.7] Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012</ref>, a notorious dig interpreted by many commentators as a means to strengthen Israel's control of East Jerusalem.<ref>Scott Wilson, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120101944.html A Dig Into Jerusalem's Past Fuels Present-Day Debates,] Washington Post, accessed June 6</ref>
 
It has also built in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem including Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, which have both been targeted by settlers and are seen by some as areas that the Israeli authorities are assisting settlers to slowly ethnically cleanse of Palestinians<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/01/2011122115026642898.html The front line of ethnic cleansing], Al Jazeera English, 10 Sept 2012</ref> . The JF built a medical centre and sports field in the former and a school and kindergarten in the latter, projects it presumably would defend as being philanthropic and for the benefit of 'Israeli Aarbs'. In Silwan, the JF has also 'pioneered much of the archaeological discovery and preservation projects including the City of David excavations'<ref>[http://www.jerusalemfoundation.org/uploads//Annual%20Report%202008.pdf Annual Report 2009, p.7] Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012</ref>, a notorious dig interpreted by many commentators as a means to strengthen Israel's control of East Jerusalem.<ref>Scott Wilson, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120101944.html A Dig Into Jerusalem's Past Fuels Present-Day Debates,] Washington Post, accessed June 6</ref>

Revision as of 14:38, 11 September 2012

The Jerusalem Foundation was founded in 1966 by the former Israeli mayor of the city Teddy Kollek. It claims to work toward 'creating an open, equitable and modern society by responding to the needs of residents and improving their quality of life' and has carried out thousands of projects - such as building community centers, sports complexes, parks, children’s playgrounds, libraries, theaters and museums - across the city including in East Jerusalem.

It works closely with the Jerusalem Municipality and regards the city as having been 'unified', stressing that Arab citizens of Jerusalem can also benefit from its projects but ignores the fact that under international law East Jerusalem is considered illegally occupied territory. The JF refers to Jerusalem as 'Israel's capital city'[1] - a status not recognized by the international community which regards East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state.

History

Above: screenshot of some of the Jerusalem Foundation's projects in and around the Old City from the interactive map on its website. Below: Map showing the Green Line indicating that all JF's projects to the east of this line are on illegally occupied territory

In 1965 Teddy Kollek was appointed Mayor of West Jerusalem and he established the Jerusalem Foundation the following year with the aim of 'raising funds in Israel and around the world to promote the social and physical development'[2] of Jerusalem. In 1967 Israel captured and occupied East Jerusalem and extended the city's municipal boundaries so that Kollek became de facto mayor of all Jerusalem.

Ruth Cheshin, co-founder and current President Emeritus of the JF, served as President for 45 years from its inception. The JF claims that over $1.5 billion was raised during this time. In October 2011 Mark Sofer was appointed as the new president. He was formerly Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel's Ambassador to Ireland and then to India.[3]

Since being founded in Jerusalem, the foundation established international boards in the USA, UK, Austria, Canada, France (and French speaking countries), Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Brazil.

Mitt Romney speech 2012

On July 29 2012 the Republican American Presidential candidate Mitt Romney addressed the Jerusalem Foundation during his visit to Israel. His speech praised Israel's achievements as a 'wonder of the modern world' and pointedly called Jerusalem 'the capital of Israel', in defiance of international law and numerous UN resolutions. He did not mention Palestinians or the occupation once.[4]

Activities

The Jerusalem Foundation claims it has worked on over 4000 projects and states that its work 'touches every population – Jewish, Muslim and Christian – of every social group of every age, in every neighborhood of the city'. It boasts that the 'landscape of Jerusalem has been immeasurably enriched' by its work and declares that it 'has an unmatched track record in creating and nurturing philanthropy projects in Israel'.[5]

In 1978, JF founder Teddy Kollek initiated the establishment of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS) which conducts research on three core topics: Jerusalem, conflict resolution and environmental policy.[6][7]

Public Relations

According to the client list of Finn Partners Israel, formerly called Ruder Finn Israel, the company has worked for Jerusalem Foundation as well as a series of government agencies and Israeli lobby groups and NGOs.[8]

Projects in Occupied East Jerusalem

Under international law Israeli construction beyond the Green Line and continued settlement of Israeli citizens is illegal. The Jerusalem Foundation has been deeply complicit in Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem from the start since it has carried out numerous projects in this part of the city including in settlements such as Gilo, Neve Ya'akov, Pisgat Ze'ev, East Talpiot and French Hill.

It has also built in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem including Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, which have both been targeted by settlers and are seen by some as areas that the Israeli authorities are assisting settlers to slowly ethnically cleanse of Palestinians[9] . The JF built a medical centre and sports field in the former and a school and kindergarten in the latter, projects it presumably would defend as being philanthropic and for the benefit of 'Israeli Aarbs'. In Silwan, the JF has also 'pioneered much of the archaeological discovery and preservation projects including the City of David excavations'[10], a notorious dig interpreted by many commentators as a means to strengthen Israel's control of East Jerusalem.[11]

Affiliations

People

Israel

Jerusalem Foundation
Leadership
Teddy Kollek- founder (deceased) Mark Sofer - President Mayor Nir Barkat - Honorary Chairman
Ruth Cheshin - Co-founder and President Emeritus Sallai Meridor - International Chairman
Board of Directors
David Brodet - Chairman Ronit Abramson Zvi Agmon
Yoram Belizovsky Tamar Ben-David Ruth Cheshin
Ruth Diskin Alan Hassenfeld Stuart Hershkowitz
Prof. Meir Heth Gary Leibler Sallai Meridor
Harry Sapir Dr. Yoni Shimshoni Dan Suesskind
Yossi Vardi Moshe Vidman
General Assembly
Yaron Angel Avraham Asheri Tamara Barnea
Shlomo Belkind George Birenbaum Amnon Eisenberg
Dr. Moshe Eliash Michael Federmann Prof. Ruth Gavison
Ralph Goldman Ruth Gorenstein David Hacohen
Nechama Hillman Richard Hirsch Ya'acov Hirsch
Julia Koschitzky Amos Mar-Haim Lewis G. Mitz
Raphael Molcho Shlomit Molho Jacob Ner-David
Doron Rechlevsky Yaron Sadan George Saman
Micha Shagrir Imad Telhami Ran Tuttnauer
Prof. Menachem Ya'ari
Staff
Daniel Mimran - General Director Alan Freeman - Vice President, Major Gifts & U.S. Desk Head Hedva Foguel - Legal Advisor
David Kindler - Chief Financial Officer Ariella Bernstein - Chief of Staff Nadim Shiban - Projects
Eyal Sher - Arts and Culture Sagit Avitan - Personnel Daniel Feuchtwanger - Asset Management and Maintenance
Haim Barimboim - Project Construction Roi Singer - Architect Liat Rosner - Marketing Communications
Nomi Yeshua - Director of Overseas Development and Coordination Steve Solomon - Canada Desk Neil Greenbaum - U.K. Desk
Irene Pollak-Rein - German Speaking Desk Gabriele Appel - National Director in Germany Arie Zahavi - Spanish Speaking Desk
Tamar Millo - Italian Desk Nurit Braun - French Speaking Desk Ariella Bernstein - Communications and Publications

[12][13]

International

USA

The Jerusalem Foundation, Inc., 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1645, New York, NY 10170. In 2010 the organisation reported a revenue of $11,445,904.[14]

Leadership

Moshe Fogel - Executive Director | Alan G. Hassenfeld - Chairman | Kenneth J. Bialkin - Vice Chairman | Mark Sofer - International President | Stephen R. Reiner - Secretary/Treasurer | Nahum Bernstein (deceased) - Founding Chairman | Alvin Einbender - Honorary Chairman | Ambassador Max M. Kampelman - Honorary Chairman | Sallai Meridor - International Chairman | Harvey Rothenberg - Founding Secretary/Treasurer | Steven Scheinfeld - General Counsel |

Directors

Isaac Appelbaum | David N. Bottoms, Jr. | Daniel Crown | Lester Crown | Neal Goldman | Linda Jesselson | Jordan Kassalow | Robert Kraft | Nathan Leight | Isidore Mayrock | Theodore Mirvis | Allen Model | Ambassador Lyndon Olson, Jr. | Bernard M. Plum | Bernard Rapoport | David Recanati | Craig Reicher | John Shapiro | Herbert Wander | Leonard A. Wilf | Honorable John C. Whitehead - Director Emeritus |[15]

UK

The Jerusalem Foundation in the UK (registered charity number: 258306) is administered by Prism the Gift Fund ((Number: 1099682), registered to 20 Gloucester Place,London, W1U 8HA. In 2010 the JF's UK arm reported an income of £1,196,030.[16][17].

Leadership

Peter Halban, CBE - Chairman of Board of Directors | Leslie Paisner- Founder (deceased) | Lois Sieff, OBE - Chairman Emeritus | Peter Sheldon OBE - Treasurer | Howard Leigh - Executive | Guy Naggar Executive |

Trustees

Janet Wolfson de Botton | Dame Vivien Clore Duffield, CBE | Jack Livingstone,OBE | Lord Moser | Martin Paisner CBE | Ninette Perahia | Lady Jane Rayne | The Hon. Robert Rayne | Anthony Rosenfelder | Mak Sofer | Lord Weidenfeld | Lord Woolf | Michael Ziff

Former

Lord Bernstein - former President of the UK Board | Nurit Gordon - former UK Desk Head in Jerusalem | Michael Phillips - former Excutive | Fred Worms, OBE - former Executive | Anthony Bloom - former Executive | Jane Biran- former trustee | Ruth Cheshin - former trustee | Sir Harry Djanogly, CBE- former trustee | David Pannick, QC - former trustee | Lord Stone of Blackheath - former trustee | Sheila Ford - former Administrator| [18]

Other overseas branches

The Jerusalem Foundation also has boards internationally in the following countries:

Funding

Since 2003, the JF has had a regular annual income averaging more than $25 million. Its 2011 annual report puts its income that year at $26.8 million. Of this, 39.8% was raised in the United States, 9.9% in Israel itself, 9.4% in the UK and the rest from other international sources. Private donors contributed 75% of this income, foundations provided 18% and 'Governments and Public Support' 6.6%.[20]

Contact

Address: 11 Rivka Street, P.O.B. 10185 Jerusalem, 91101 Israel
Tel: 972 - 2 - 675 1711
Fax: 972 -2 - 673 4462
Email: info@jfjlm.org
Website: www.jerusalemfoundation.org

Notes

  1. JERUSALEM FOUNDATION APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT, MARK SOFER, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  2. JERUSALEM FOUNDATION APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT, MARK SOFER, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  3. JERUSALEM FOUNDATION APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT, MARK SOFER, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  4. Mitt Romney's Remarks to the Jerusalem Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  5. About the Jerusalem Foundation, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  6. Our History, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 10 Sept 2012
  7. Our Mission, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 10 Sept 2012
  8. Past Clients - NGO/NPO, Finn Partners Israel, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  9. The front line of ethnic cleansing, Al Jazeera English, 10 Sept 2012
  10. Annual Report 2009, p.7 Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  11. Scott Wilson, A Dig Into Jerusalem's Past Fuels Present-Day Debates, Washington Post, accessed June 6
  12. Israel Board of Directors, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  13. Staff, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  14. The Jerusalem Foundation, Charity Navigator, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  15. The Jerusalem Foundation, Inc. (USA), Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  16. The Jerusalem Foundation, Charity Commission, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  17. Prism the Gift Fund,Charity Commission, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  18. UK Board of Directors, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  19. Israel and International Boards, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012
  20. Annual Report 2011, p.26, Jerusalem Foundation, accessed 10 Sept 2012