Home | Email Signup | Contact Us | Sitemap

ANERA History in Brief

The Arab-Israeli War of 1967 left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians homeless and impoverished. As various international entities struggled to respond, representatives from a small group of charities and emergency relief committees met in Washington, DC and Detroit, Michigan to galvanize efforts to provide immediate assistance to the victims of the conflict.

The result was the creation of American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), with seed funding provided by the founding charitable organizations and a matching grant from Near East Emergency Donations (NEED), a consortium of U.S. corporations working in the Middle East.

From these modest beginnings, ANERA began decades of committed work responding to the critical needs of the Palestinian people and others caught in regional conflicts. Initially supported entirely by private gifts, our efforts over the years have consistently attracted new sources of funding, including grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as well as partnerships with numerous private foundations, corporations, non-governmental organizations, and civic and religious groups in the United States and other countries.

Private gifts have continued and multiplied to now include support from thousands of individuals.

ANERA has led the way on many fronts, with innovative projects in health, education, and job creation that benefit thousands of people in virtually every village and town. Understanding the importance of positive civic engagement in mitigating the effects of protracted conflict, we have applied our resources and expertise in strengthening the service capabilities of key Palestinian municipalities, educational and health institutions, charities, and agricultural cooperatives.

Continuing our ambitious precedent of responding effectively to the region’s humanitarian crises, ANERA delivered emergency relief to poor families and communities during the Lebanese civil war, and conducted similar efforts in Jordan during the first Gulf War. We have spearheaded a number of long-term projects in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza, aimed at lessening the negative and lasting effects of war on people’s lives.

ANERA operates from our headquarters in Washington, D.C. with a streamlined staff of 13 who raise funds and direct projects and programs. We also have many offices in the Middle East, staffed by 65, primarily locally hired, highly trained professionals, who implement ANERA projects in partnership with local institutions throughout the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan.