The Jerusalem Foundation ( he, הקרן לירושלים, ''HaKeren LiYerushalayim''; ar, مؤسسة صندوق القدس) is a

nonprofit foundation A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that typically provides funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may also engage directly in charitable act ...

that promotes the development of the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, by raising funds for social, cultural and beautification projects. Established in 1966 by West Jerusalem mayor

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek ( he, טדי קולק; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 197 ...

, it has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the city's budget and established parks, gardens, forests, recreational sites, theaters, and museums; restored ancient sites,

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s, and churches; funded community and social centers, preschool centers, and health clinics; and sponsored archeological excavations, scholarships, and cultural events. The Jerusalem Foundation is unique in its structure and mission, as it funds municipal projects with private donations from international sources.

History

When Kollek became mayor of Jerusalem in 1965, it was a divided city, separated into Arab and Jewish sectors as a result of the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,The Jerusalem Foundation
was to use it to build world Jewry's support for the development of Jewish Jerusalem. At the same time, the city suffered from poverty and overcrowding, with much of the population living in housing projects. Hardly any neighborhoods had a park or playground. The Jerusalem Foundation's first initiative was the establishment of public parks in a few of the city's poorest neighborhoods, with funds donated by New York supporters. Since its inception, the Foundation has furnished playgrounds and flower gardens for nearly every Jerusalem neighborhood, contributing 350 out of the more than 1,000 parks, gardens and green spaces in the city. Politically, Kollek viewed the Foundation as a tool for pushing projects past a city council that was unable or unwilling to support them. Kollek also

leveraged In finance, leverage (or gearing in the United Kingdom and Australia) is any technique involving borrowing funds to buy things, hoping that future profits will be many times more than the cost of borrowing. This technique is named after a lever ...

matching funds Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used interc ...

from the municipality, government ministries, and

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s for Foundation projects. Henry Crown Auditorium-Jerusalem

While the Foundation is chaired by the mayor of Jerusalem, it is independent of the Finance Ministry and state-related charities such as the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

and

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

. From the donors' point of view, this means more transparency for their contributions. Unlike state-sponsored charities like the

United Jewish Appeal The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Cou ...

, for example, in which donations are funneled directly into Finance Ministry coffers, donors know exactly what they are supporting with their contributions to The Jerusalem Foundation. This transparency has given the name to such projects as the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, the Walter and Elise Haas Promenade, the Vivienne and Maurice Wohl Rose Park, and the Rebecca Crown Auditorium and Henry Crown Symphony Hall at the

Jerusalem Theater The Jerusalem Theatre ( he, תיאטרון ירושלים, The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts) is a centre for the performing arts in Jerusalem. The theatre opened in 1971. The complex consists of the Sherover Theatre, which seats 9 ...

, among many others. The Jerusalem Foundation became a model for the Tel Aviv Foundation, which

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

mayor

Shlomo Lahat Shlomo "Chich" Lahat ( he, שלמה להט; November 9, 1927 – October 1, 2014) was a major general in the Israel Defense Forces and former Head of the Manpower Directorate. He served as the eighth mayor of Tel Aviv in 1974–1993, for four co ...

established in 1977 upon the advice of Kollek. Similar models have been established by other Israeli cities.

Organizational structure

The President of the Jerusalem Foundation in Israel is Shai Doron, formerly the Director General of the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens and the head of Mayor Teddy Kollek's office during his last term. The organizational structure of The Jerusalem Foundation includes a General Assembly staffed by leading business and academic figures in Jerusalem and around the world. The General Assembly meets biannually to discuss the financial outlays and work plan of the Foundation. It also elects the members of the Board of Directors, which convenes every four to six weeks to supervise activities in the areas of overseas/fundraising, projects, technical and finance. The Jerusalem Foundation's Israeli leadership can be foun
here
and leadership can be foun
here
The Jerusalem Foundation is politically unaffiliated. Based in Jerusalem, it maintains fund-raising desks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Canada. It holds regular fundraising events in major Jewish centers. It has awarded its Teddy Kollek Award annually since 1999 to those who have "made outstanding contributions to advancing the social, cultural, educational, and physical development of the city of Jerusalem". Founding president Ruth Cheshin served in this capacity from 1966 to 2011. She was succeeded in October 2011 by Mark Sofer, a former Israeli ambassador to Ireland and India followed by Yohanna Arbib-Perugia.

Nir Barkat Nir Barkat ( he, נִיר בַּרְקָת; born 19 October 1959) is an Israeli businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Jerusalem between the years 2008–2018. Biography Nir Barkat was raised in Jerusalem. His father, Zalman, was a ...

, while mayor of Jerusalem, was an honorary chairman of The Jerusalem Foundation, and Israeli politician

Sallai Meridor Sallai Meridor ( he, סלי מרידור; born 1955) is an Israeli politician. He was the List of Israeli ambassadors to the United States, Israeli Ambassador to the United States between 2005–2009, appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Car ...

is the international chairman.

Revenues

Between 1966 and 1980, revenue from The Jerusalem Foundation accounted for 16 to 20 percent of the municipal budget. Between 1966 and 1991, The Jerusalem Foundation contributed $245 million to the city's development. Between 1991 and 1996, its income from contributions was estimated at $20 million per year. In the early 2000s, this figure increased to $30 million per year. In 2011 revenue was $25 million. The Jerusalem Foundation's 2010 annual report stated that it has raised over $800 million between 1966 and 2010. The Jerusalem Foundation's Annual Reports can be found on its websit
here

Projects

As of 2018 The Jerusalem Foundation has funded over 4,000 projects. It has built many gardens, parks and woodlands throughout the city, as well as recreational sites. It has sponsored restorations of ancient and historic sites – notably the Jewish Quarter in the

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

– and renovated synagogues, mosques, and churches. It has funded community and social centers, preschool centers, and health clinics; provided studios and housing for visiting artists and intellectuals; and sponsored archeological excavations, scholarships, artists workshops, and a wide variety of cultural events. The Jerusalem Foundation has also contributed to Arab neighborhoods, though not to the same extent as Jewish ones. As mayor, Kollek often solicited overseas donors through The Jerusalem Foundation to pay for projects in the Arab sector that the city could not sponsor and the national government refused to fund. The Jerusalem Foundation sponsored the

Sheikh Jarrah Sheikh Jarrah ( ar, الشيخ جراح, he, שייח' ג'ראח) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, north of the Old City, on the road to Mount Scopus. It received its name from the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Ja ...

Health Centre, "a

Beit Hanina Beit Hanina ( ar, بيت حنينا , he, בית חנינא) is an Arab Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It is on the road to Ramallah, eight kilometers north of central Jerusalem, at an elevation of 780 meters above sea level. Bei ...

sports field, playgrounds in several Arab neighborhoods, and improvements at Abdallah Ibn Hussein Technology School, which enabled the school to become an accredited technical college". It also sponsored Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel, which promotes coexistence between Jews and Arabs.

Flagship projects

Bloomfield Science Museum Bloomfield Science Museum is a science museum in Jerusalem, established in 1992. The museum is located opposite the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in the Givat Ram neighborhood. The museum is named for its principal donor, Neri Bloomfield. The ...

* Haas Promenade *

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

Jerusalem Music Centre The Jerusalem Music Centre is an institute for Music education, musical education in Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem. The centre helps young Israeli musicians to develop their talents through multi-annual programs and courses, master classes, and ...

Jerusalem Cinematheque The Jerusalem Cinematheque is a cinematheque and film archive in Jerusalem. History The Jerusalem Cinematheque was founded in 1973 by Lia van Leer. It was originally located in Beit Agron in the center of Jerusalem. A new building overlooking the ...

*Jerusalem Park, a

greenbelt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

encircling the walls of the

Mishkenot Sha'ananim , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = שכונת משכנות שאננים וטחנת הרוח. צולם מכיוון העיר העתיקה.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = View of Mishkenot ...

Konrad Adenauer Conference Center *

restoration and infrastructure upgrades *Rebecca Crown Auditorium and Henry Crown Symphony Hall at the

Teddy Stadium Teddy Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טדי) is a sports stadium in the Malha neighborhood of Jerusalem. Three football teams currently use the stadium: Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem, and the Israel national football team for select home match ...

Tower of David The Tower of David ( he, מגדל דוד, Migdál Davíd), also known as the Citadel ( ar, القلعة, al-Qala'a), is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates t ...

Museum * Tisch Family Zoological Gardens (the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo) *

Wohl Rose Park Wohl Rose Park (Hebrew: גן הוורדים, ''Gan HaVradim'') is a public garden in Givat Ram, Jerusalem, located opposite the Knesset and government precinct, at the foot of the Israeli Supreme Court. The park was established in 1981. Over 400 ...

References

External links

2009 Annual Report 2010 Annual ReportJerusalem Foundation tour of Jerusalem (video)
{{Authority control Foundations based in Israel Organizations established in 1966 1966 establishments in Israel Organizations based in Jerusalem