middle east resources

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) is a USAID-managed program funded through ESF, MERC is an open-topic, peer-reviewed competitive grants program that funds joint Arab-Israeli research covering the water, agriculture, environment, and health sectors.

The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is an office within the Bureau for Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department that specifically supports political reform, women’s and youth empowerment, quality education, and promoting economic opportunity in the Arab world. MEPI fosters meaningful and effective partnerships between citizens, civil society, the private sector, and governments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to resolve local challenges and promote participatory governance and economic opportunity and reform. They focus on funding initiatives to enhance economic opportunity and participatory governance. 

Middle East Regional (MER) is a USAID-managed program funded by ESF, MER supports programs that work in multiple countries on issues such as women’s rights, public health, water scarcity, and education. 

The State and Peacebuilding Fund (SPF) is the World Bank’s largest global trust fund supporting interventions in contexts of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). In 2020, the Fund approved 20 new grants for a total of $15.3 million in new commitments and an active portfolio of $65.7 million.

Threshold Foundation seeks to support a nonviolent transformation of the conflict and conditions in Palestine and Israel into an enduring peace with full civil rights, dignity and security for all. They fund initiatives that realize the lives of Palestinians and Israelis are entwined and their goal is for Palestinians and Israelis to perceive each other as neighbors and allies, and not as existential threats to each other's cultures and communities, and to create a region where everyone enjoys freedom, security, dignity and opportunity.

The International Peace Research Association seeks to advance the field of peace research that can inform peace activities through rigorous investigation into the causes of conflict and examination of alternatives to violence. 

B8 of Hope is a Swiss registered non-profit association that supports a pool of peace-building and change-making Palestinian and Israeli civil society and grassroots initiatives. It gives them visibility, funds, networking possibilities and capacity-building opportunities.

Yad Hanadiv seeks innovative opportunities to address the needs of Israeli society.

Schusterman Family Philanthropies works to advance racial, gender and economic equity in the U.S., as well as to foster a more joyful and diverse Jewish community. In Israel, it works toward a secure homeland for the Jewish people, a thriving democracy and an inclusive society that cares for its most vulnerable. 

Children of Peace is a non-partisan children’s charity organization dedicated to building trust, friendship and reconciliation between Israeli and Palestinian children, aged 4 – 17, and their communities. They act as a non-partisan intermediary, building alliances with like-minded organizations. These are in Bahrain, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey and the West Bank.

The Carter Center's activities aim to bring about sustainable peace between Israel, its neighbors, and other regional actors, including fostering inclusive democratic societies and advancing human rights, accountability, and rule of law.

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues raises awareness and ensures North American Jewish communities have access to trusted learning opportunities about Arab citizens of Israel and Jewish-Arab relations. Today, the Task Force convenes more than 100 North American Jewish organizations and foundations committed to learning and educating and serve as a non-partisan resource, providing a range of programs and materials.

Boston Partners for Peace believe that a fundamental component of resolving the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is to invest in partnerships among the two societies. Their work amplifies the voices of people who are doing this work in four critical areas – economic cooperation, civic engagement, education, and people-to-people. 

American Friends of the Parents Circle-Families Forum (AF-PCFF) shares the human side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the American public in order to foster a peace and reconciliation process. The Parents Circle – Families Forum is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of more than 600 bereaved families. Their common bond is that they have lost a close family member to the conflict. But instead of choosing revenge, they have chosen a path of reconciliation.

The Interfaith Encounter Association invites people from different traditional and cultural backgrounds and faiths to join their groups, where participants have meaningful encounters which bring them closer to each other.

Sustainable Israel Palestine Projects involve diverse communities in Israel and the West Bank, including Jews, Muslims and Christians, Bedouin, Druze and immigrant communities, and may be located in Israel and the West Bank. These projects include work where they have provided expertise and/or funding. Their partners include organizations that they have been or are currently working with, and organizations with which they are discussing future opportunities. 

EcoPeace Middle East is an organization that Brings Together Jordanian, Palestinian And Israeli Environmentalists. Their primary objective is the promotion of cooperative efforts to protect shared environmental heritage in order to advance both sustainable regional development and the creation of necessary conditions for lasting peace in their region. EcoPeace has offices in Amman, Ramallah, and Tel-Aviv.