Rula Halawani

Growing a deeply rooted and expansive movement—of people, resources, and hope.

By design, Rawa is fueled by and in turn continuously expands and strengthens an ever-growing local and global network of people who want to support new solutions for Palestinian society.

As our support cycle begins, our Community Cluster members from different sectors and geographic areas will draw from their unique networks to seek out community development initiatives for prospective funding, and will collaboratively and democratically select from simple concept notes describing these initiatives. This highly collective process benefits from community members’ existing affiliations and varied perspectives, as well as carries the potential to create new partnerships and exchanges.

Since our funding model encourages projects that are cross-sector and draw from and/or generate local resources (including capital), Rawa grants will further strengthen the local Palestinian social fabric. The funding process will incentivize new, creative affiliations and collaborations amongst and between established institutions, local businesses and industry, small unregistered groups, and so on. And, as we reach out to global foundations and donors to offer an alternative platform for supporting Palestinian communities, Rawa’s model also creates new connections between global and local people, without unnecessary bureaucratic roadblocks. 

As the pilot model progresses, this page will continue to map and visualize the expanding affiliations and connections of the Rawa network.

Advisory Committee

We are an oversight group made up of 2 Team members, 4 Community Cluster members (1 from each cluster), and 4-6 individuals from our large network of Friends & Supporters. We ensure 360-degree communication, oversee fiduciary, legal, and administrative responsibilities and development, and serve as strategic thought leaders who assume responsibility for the well-being of the fund, represent and share their specific knowledge areas and experiences, and serve as an advocate for Rawa and the Palestinian communities it serves. Our term limits ensure a dynamic process and prevent gatekeeping.

Advisory Committee Chairperson

Fadya Salfiti              

Fadya was born in Kuwait to parents from Nablus. She studied International Relations in San Francisco while working as a grassroots activist on women and youth empowerment, advocating for and working on a myriad of issues pertaining to the Palestinian cause. In 1992, she returned to Palestine and settled down in Jerusalem, holding posts with several international, regional, and Palestinian organizations, including the UNDP Rural Development Programme, the Italian Cooperation Agency, the Swedish International Development Agency, the Tamer Institute for Community Education, and the Palestinian Planned Parenthood Association, among others. Her experience in multiple developmental issues; engagement with youth; and work with several outfits as a program specialist on education, health, and the Palestinian private sector have enabled Fadya to work on a wide range of cross-sectorial needs. She is married and the proud mother of her daughter Sarouna.

 

Rabab Tamish          

Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Bethlehem and  has been working for years as a consultant in training programs for professional cadres in the field of community work based on emancipating thought. She holds an M.A and PhD from the University of Cambridge, where her study focused on the identity of the Palestinian educationalist and the influence of political, cultural and social factors on it. The first to establish and manage the Center for differentiation in Teaching and Learning at Bethlehem University, which aimed to provide an atmosphere that supports the professional development of the teaching staff. Rabab believes that the position of the Palestinian academic cannot be confined to the classroom, but rather that it consists of community work and an atmosphere of dialogue and critical action. So she seeks through her work at the university and with local,regional and universal institutions to raise awareness about the vital role of education (in all its forms) in the process of liberation from all forms of oppression that prevent societies from exercising their right to live with justice, equality and dignity.

              Advisory Committee Members

Nidaa Nassar , from the ’48 Community Cluster 

Alaa Abu Saa', from the West Bank Community Cluster 

MK, Rawa Team member

Jamileh Sahlieh, from the East Jerusalem Cluster

Amal Sabaawi, from the Gaza Community Cluster 

Advisory Committee

We are an oversight group made up of 2 Team members, 4 Community Cluster members (1 from each cluster), and 4-6 individuals from our large network of Friends & Supporters. We ensure 360-degree communication, oversee fiduciary, legal, and administrative responsibilities and development, and serve as strategic thought leaders who assume responsibility for the well-being of the fund, represent and share their specific knowledge areas and experiences, and serve as an advocate for Rawa and the Palestinian communities it serves. Our term limits ensure a dynamic process and prevent gatekeeping.

Advisory Committee Chairperson

Fadya Salfiti              

Fadya was born in Kuwait to parents from Nablus. She studied International Relations in San Francisco while working as a grassroots activist on women and youth empowerment, advocating for and working on a myriad of issues pertaining to the Palestinian cause. In 1992, she returned to Palestine and settled down in Jerusalem, holding posts with several international, regional, and Palestinian organizations, including the UNDP Rural Development Programme, the Italian Cooperation Agency, the Swedish International Development Agency, the Tamer Institute for Community Education, and the Palestinian Planned Parenthood Association, among others. Her experience in multiple developmental issues; engagement with youth; and work with several outfits as a program specialist on education, health, and the Palestinian private sector have enabled Fadya to work on a wide range of cross-sectorial needs. She is married and the proud mother of her daughter Sarouna.

 

Rabab Tamish          

Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Bethlehem and  has been working for years as a consultant in training programs for professional cadres in the field of community work based on emancipating thought. She holds an M.A and PhD from the University of Cambridge, where her study focused on the identity of the Palestinian educationalist and the influence of political, cultural and social factors on it. The first to establish and manage the Center for differentiation in Teaching and Learning at Bethlehem University, which aimed to provide an atmosphere that supports the professional development of the teaching staff. Rabab believes that the position of the Palestinian academic cannot be confined to the classroom, but rather that it consists of community work and an atmosphere of dialogue and critical action. So she seeks through her work at the university and with local,regional and universal institutions to raise awareness about the vital role of education (in all its forms) in the process of liberation from all forms of oppression that prevent societies from exercising their right to live with justice, equality and dignity.

              Advisory Committee Members

Nidaa Nassar , from the ’48 Community Cluster 

Alaa Abu Saa', from the West Bank Community Cluster 

MK, Rawa Team member

Jamileh Sahlieh, from the East Jerusalem Cluster

Amal Sabaawi, from the Gaza Community Cluster 

Community Clusters

We are influential Palestinian community members who have years of experience working on the ground with Palestinian communities and organizations. We are the heart of Rawa.

We belong to four Community Clusters (numbering 25-30 total at any time), which represent geographic areas fragmented by Israeli military occupation and diverse in needs and perspectives, including in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and ‘48.

We have strong links and connections to our communities, and access to wide networks from diverse fields. We have a history of support to Palestinian communities and organizations, and are inspired by alternative and participatory funding mechanisms; we bring knowledge, experience, and/or a desire to learn and contribute. We understand that new collective participatory structures are a means to channel democratic principles, alternative governance, civic engagement, and respect and tolerance for diverse opinions and beliefs. We are strategic thinkers who respect divergent opinions and cultivate leadership qualities in ourselves and others.

Current members work in diverse, multi-sector community development fields, including: youth engagement, women’s rights, arts and culture, agriculture, cultural heritage and preservation, political advocacy, environment and sustainable economies, local governance and civic engagement, and education. Many of us are engaged in the new wave of youth initiatives, or in place-based popular resistance initiatives. Cluster members currently committed to serving for a 3-year term are independent activists and cultural practitioners, and affiliated with a number of local organizations:

To maintain a balance between group continuity and a dynamic, fair, and innovative process, we have term limits, with a handful of new members rotating every year after the 3-year pilot.

Current cluster members are (* indicates individuals who are also on the Advisory Committee):

WEST BANK CLUSTER

 

Alaa’ Abu Saa’         

Alaa’ is a musician, artist, activist, and community organizer. For six years he was affiliated with Theatre Day Productions, and later ran programs and services at the Popular Art Center in Ramallah. He co-founded Dar Qandeel in Tulkarem, a youth-focused culture and development association which promotes volunteerism, cultural expression, campaigns and coalition building. He is presently consultant for several grassroots youth centers in Palestine, supporting them in developing youth empowerment initiatives and programs.

 

Jamal Juma’*            

Jamal, born in Jerusalem, holds a bachelor degree in Arabic literature from Bir Zeit University and a Master of Business Administration (MMBA) from the City University-London. Jamal co-founded many civil society organizations, such as the Palestinian Agriculture Relief Committee (PARC), the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE), and the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), where he contributed to the establishment of the Popular Campaign against the Wall and today still coordinates Stop the Wall (STW). He contributed to the founding of the grassroots National Committee for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) in 2005 and is a member of the secretariat of the Committee on behalf of STW. In 2013, he helped establish the Land Defense Coalition (LDC), an umbrella working to enhance coordination and cooperation between grassroots movements, initiatives, and organizations and expand the popular grassroots base. As part of these efforts, and in collaboration with colleagues and the Popular Committee in the Jordan Valley, STW and LDC founded the Popular Council for the Protection of the Jordan Valley to unify the efforts of the residents.

 

Bisan Al-Jaafaari    

Bisan is a researcher and a social activist who won the National and Diaspora Creativity Challenge Award for Youth Initiatives as part of the Masahat (Spaces) initiative, which seeks to sustain social relations through public spaces. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media from Al-Quds University and Refugee Studies from Bard College. She researched and wrote several papers assessing the political situation through the Palestinian National Archive, and on women and asylum with SOAS university. She also worked as a project coordinator for the southern refugee camps in Gaza with UNRWA and GIZ.

 

Alia Al-Rosan           

Alia Al- Rosan, Palestinian-Jordanian, received her BA in Fine Arts from An-Najah National University in Nablus, also she studied the fundamental of Theater at The Freedom Theater in Jenin Refugees camp. She worked in several Palestinian and international NGOS, in particularly those institutions that pursue arts and culture in the community work, such as ActionAid Agency In the Participatory Training through the Arts project at The Global Platform Amman, Jordan, Freedom Theatre, and The A. M. Qattan Foundation. She believes importance of art and culture role in bringing the required societal change in its liberating context.  Believing in the necessity of our social solidarity that organized  by the cooperative approach as an essential source of our steadfastness, adorned with a comprehensive liberation vision.

Samah Saleh          

Samah is an Assistant Professor at An-Najah National University. Her  PhD in Sociology from Goldsmiths, London focused on the experience of Palestinian women’s incarceration in Israeli colonial prisons, following their lives before, during, and after imprisonment. She has finished two master’s degrees: the first in social work from McGill University in Canada (2007-2008), and the second in gender and development from Birzeit University in Palestine. She was the head of the Social Work department at An-Najah National University, and is the coordinator of the Women Studies master’s degree program. She had many experiences as a community worker and social worker and is a board member of the Palestine Monetary Authority. 

 

 

 

   EAST JERUSALEM CLUSTER

 

Jamileh Sahlieh*      

Jamileh is a seasoned supporter of Palestinian civil society. She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation and Development. She currently works with UN Women as the Women Human Rights Projects Manager, contributing to the organization's work to protect, empower, and promote women’s rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. For several years she managed programs and strategies for the NGO Development Center (NDC) the leading organization of support and re-granting in Palestine. She has also worked with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for more than 17 years, where she has managed relief, development, and civic engagement programs in the West Bank and Gaza. She is a volunteer organizer for support services for the poor and the elderly in Jerusalem, and a board member of the Four Homes of Mercy under the auspices of the Arab Orthodox Association of Homes and Shelters.

 

GAZA CLUSTER

 

Ali Abd Al Bari        

Ali Abdal Aabri, social activist, volunteering within different groups and campaigns, like yaraat in Tamer institute, sharek youth forum, and mitharkeen for Palestine team, also he have experiences working with different local and international organizations working in Palestine, in different sectors like social and economic development and advocacy and campaigning, he have bachelor degree in information systems and currently continuing master studies in economic in Al Azhar University in Gaza.

 

Amal Sabaawi       

Amal has worked for more than 20 years managing and leading community and development programs, along the way acquiring deep knowledge and experience around issues related to youth development and civic participation. She was honored to lead the Palestine Youth Program in Gaza for over 12 years; a program supported by   the American Friends Service Committee. She holds an MA degree in Public Health from Al Quds University, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution Skills from Coventry University in the UK. She is a member of several NGO Boards and currentlys work for Municipal Development and Lending Fund as s Social Specialist.

Abdallah Al Sayyed 

Abdallah is a youth activist, community organizer, and trainer. He is affiliated with the Culture and Free Thought Association in Gaza and a founding member of Ahel youth coalition.

Moheeb Shaath       

Moheeb has extensive experience supporting youth development programs and services. He currently leads initiatives at the Palestinian Centre for Youth Economic Empowerment. Previously associated with the United Nations Volunteer (UNV) in the Gaza Strip, he later managed Sharek Youth Forum’s programs and management. In 2014 he completed a fellowship in Democracy and Leadership at Syracuse University, and he is currently completing a Master’s degree in development. Moheeb is also affiliated with the Ma’an Development Center and Engineering Association Gaza.

Ahmed Sourani*  

Ahmed holds a Master’s degree in Participation, Power, and Social Change from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Currently a policy and institutional development advisor at OXFAM in Gaza, Ahmed previously managed programs at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and advised and directed the Palestinian Agriculture Relief Committee (PARC). He has participated in a number of civil society organizations and regional and international initiatives, as a member of Advisory Board of Grassroots International’s Resource Rights for All and the ESCWA Regional Expert Group on Development under Crises, founder of Gaza Urban & Peri-Urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP), founding member of the Arab Network for Urban Agriculture, the Arab Network for Food Sovereignty, and the Palestinian Strategic Group for Conflict Transformation. 

Ramadan Abu Luli  

Ramadan holds a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Islamic University of Gaza, and a Master’s degree in economics from Al-Azhar University, focusing on Gaza agricultural solutions. Ramadan is an activist in the field of humanitarian work and youth initiatives with more than 12 years experience in project management. He has worked with local and international institutions on improving livelihoods, early recovery projects after the war, and psychological support for children. Currently he works for the municipality of Rafah in an employment program.

Salwa Almana'ama  

Salwa works as a program manager with the Union of Health Care Committees (UHCC) in Gaza, and is a Partial Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Fares Al Arab Association. She has more than eight years of experience working with NGOs and the local community, with a focus on project management, NGO development, and strategic planning. She has worked in many local organizations such as the Education Forum, Press House, MAAN and PFI.

 

’48 CLUSTER

 

Nidaa’ Nassar        

Nida has been a central figure in various popular committees and movements: the movement against the Prawer-Begin Plan; the committee against civil service (for Palestinian citizens of '48); the committee against murder of women; and a founding member of the Palestine Forum of Solidarity Movements with Palestine. Nidaa’ is a Research Assistant at Mada al-Carmel Arab Center for Applied Social Research, and holds both a BA degree in Social Work and an MA in Conflict Research, Management and Resolution from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Nidaa’ has worked in several Palestinian civil society organizations, particularly relating to youth and women. She is currently a board member and was a project manager at Baladna Association for Arab Youth and is a member of the Political Bureau of Balad. She has also worked with Association for Arab Youth; Al-‎Manarah Association for Persons with Disabilities in the Arab Community; Women Against Violence (WAV) and Assiwar: The Feminist Arab Movement; and Elhawakeer: Association for Society, Agriculture and Environment Development based in Nazareth. Nidaa also contributed and published guiding materials on working with youth in various social and political venues. 

Basel Tannous          Basel Tannous

Born in Nazareth, Basel received his Master's Degree in Journalism and Media from the Television Department at the Institute of Jerusalem at Moscow State University. He previously worked as a director of documentaries and was a member of the Coalition Against Racism in the Palestinian Community in '48. He served as Director General of the Association of Russian and Soviet Alumni, active for decades in organizing in his village of Tarshiha in the Upper Galilee, especially in empowering the emerging generations around national consciousness and researching the history of destroyed villages. 

Raafat Abu Ayesh       Majd Nasr Allah

Raafat is a journalist and socio-political activist in al-Naqab (the Negev). He holds a bachelor’s degree in law and is a founding team member of the movement (Hirak) against Prawer plan which will result in the displacement of up to 70,000 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel, and the dispossession of their historical lands in the Naqab.

 

 

Team

We are people with decades of experience in international philanthropy and activism. We are responsible for administration, management, outreach, operations, fundraising, public relations, and evaluation.

From September 2014 to September 2016, independent consultants MK (full bio below) and Terry Greenblatt lead the groundwork for developing and establishing Rawa. Terry has played a role in Middle East and US women’s, racial, and peace and justice initiatives; she is the current Senior Development Advisor at Ploughshares Fund. We also thank Areej Daibas, who joined Rawa in 2015 as co-coordinator and has worked on NGO and public sector development projects in Palestine for the past 18 years, for her effort during Rawa's development and for her continued support with translation. 

Rawa Team Members 

Khalil Gharra             

Operations and Community Relations. Khalil has volunteered in cultural, political, and social youth projects and movements across Palestine—in his village Jatt, Jerusalem, Palestine 48, and the West Bank—working on issues such as violence, civil service, and house demolitions. He is a published author, with articles in various local and Arab Palestinian websites. He participated in the 2014-2015 Youth for Change project, organized by four local Palestinian institutions, and in 2016 he served as the coordinator of the "Continuity and Return" project between Baladna—Arab Youth Association and the Badil Foundation in Bethlehem. He holds a BA in Political Science and Philosophy and a BA in Social Sciences and Anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is interested in studying Palestinian place and history, and specifically the Nakba as a central event for understanding the social, political, economic and cultural layers in Palestine. He currently lives in Jerusalem.

Colleen Jankovic     

Development & Communication. Colleen works on development and communication projects for Rawa and for alQaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, as well as consults on writing projects for professors and scholars around the world. She received a doctorate degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and for nearly a decade published, won research grants, taught, and gave public lectures on Palestinian and Israeli cinema, with a focus on gender and sexual politics. Her chapter on Palestinian animated cinema was recently published in Animation in the Middle East: Practice and Aesthetics from Baghdad to Casablanca (2017; edited by Stefanie van de Peer). She lives on a boat in Seattle, WA.

MK                             

Strategy & Partnerships. MK is an independent advisor and consultant with expertise in media, philanthropy and cultural and civil society development. His most recent partners and clients include International Media Support, Danish Center for Culture and Development, Salzburg Global Seminars, Open Society Foundations, Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace Network, Hivos, and Sundance Institute. His professional skills range from facilitation and creative brainstorming to strategic restructuring and institutional and stake-holder learning processes. From 2004 to 2012, he was Program Officer at the Ford Foundation’s regional office in Cairo. During his tenure he worked on the development and sustainability of arts and culture spaces, networks and service infrastructure. He also programmed and managed a cluster of grants that supported alternative and emerging media platforms and media reform initiatives, as well as a cluster of grants that supported the development of local philanthropy in the MENA region.

 

Mais Al Saqaa           

Gaza Liaison. Mais has possess many years of progressive experience in community-based projects. She has participated in many campaigns, community initiatives and summer camps with people with disabilities and cerebral Palsy. She was previously an interpreter works with foreign journalists and has a BA degree in English Language and Translation from Gaza University. Mais is affiliated with Tamer Institute for community Education in Gaza.

Najwan Berekdar                            

Communication & Media. Najwan has over 8 years of experience in advocacy and debate. she was a founder, an active member and spokes person of several Palestinian and international campaigns, and has has worked for more than 6 years in developing Debate in the Arab world with a number of International organizations focusing on conflict and post conflict countries and Human Rights motions and has worked with all Palestinian universities and many civil society organizations in establishing debate programs and curriculums and curating public debates around current controversial topics. In addition, Najwan has worked in outreach and media support for several festivals and international campaigns and coordinates political tours for international solidarity delegations such as Dream Defenders. Currently Najwan works in communication and international advocacy at Zochrot and acts as a freelance debate and advocacy consultant. Furthermore, she is active with different international groups, especially in the U.S, in building a global movement around Palestine and its intersectionality with other struggles.  

Josie Shields-Stromsness,*  Fiscal Sponsor Liaison 

Josie co-leads Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) and has lived and worked in Palestine. She is the in-house MECA representative at Rawa. She volunteered with the Palestinian Environmental NGO Network (now the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign) in Jerusalem and the Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh Refugee Camp. She has also lead delegations to Palestine/'48. Josie is married and has a son. 

Al Daira - Philanthropy Steering Group

We are a group of international philanthropy colleagues, friends, and allies who bring Rawa increased international recognition and opportunities.

Al Daira members includes:

Filiz Bikmen, philanthropy consultant

Noha El-Mikawy, Ford Foundation (personal capacity)

Terry Greenblatt, philanthropy advisor 

Rama Halaseh, Open Society Foundations

Christopher Harris, philanthropy consultant

Atallah Kuttab, SAANED for Philanthropy Advisory

Sharry Lapp, philanthropy consultant

Hope Lyons, Rockefeller Brothers Fund  

Ariadne Papagapitos, Localized.world

Chandrika Sahai, Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace  

Fadya Salfiti, Rawa Advisory Committee  

Gerry Salole, European Foundation Centre  

 

Fiscal Sponsors

 

 

Rawa functions as a basket fund under the institutional and nonprofit fiscal umbrella of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) located in Berkeley, California. As the fiscal sponsor for Rawa, MECA provides charitable receipts for contributions, keeps records and accounting of all funds donated, and sends grant funds to Palestinian organizations.

Rawa also has a secondary fiscal sponsorship with Network of European Foundations (NEF), for donors and foundations that prefer to donate through a European entity.

We thank all community leaders and others who have provided valuable insight, advice, and effective recommendations throughout Rawa’s  journey, giving us contextual analysis and a clear sense of various communities’ needs and priorities. A diversity of opinions and perspectives have shaped Rawa since the early days of its establishment. However, Rawa is solely responsible and accountable for its own actions and work; opinions and quotes cited in Rawa materials do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of Rawa, its activities, or objectives.