Anera Mourns Death of Hasib Sabbagh

January 12, 2010 — It is with sadness that Anera announces the death today of Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and founder of the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).

In 1943, with four other contractors, he founded the CCC in Haifa. In April 1948, Sabbagh fled Palestine and moved to Lebanon. CCC was reestablished there in 1950, becoming the region’s largest multinational company. Sabbagh was born in Palestine, graduated from the Arab College of Jerusalem in 1938, and earned a civil engineering degree, in 1941, from the American University of Beirut.

Through the Diana Sabbagh Foundation, one of the largest Arab charitable foundations, Sabbagh has supported institutions of higher education across the Arab world.

Sabbagh bestowed on Anera a generous gift of $1 million to build the Hasib Sabbagh I.T. Center of Excellence in Jenin, West Bank. Since opening its doors in November 2005, the Center has contributed in countless ways to the growth of the Palestian economy. Thousands of students have learned invaluable I.T. skills and innovative businesses have been launched. Sabbagh’s generosity has left a legacy in the Jenin area that will endure for many years to come.

“His devotion to Palestinian youth was so strong that he was willing to invest in them with significant sums of his own money,” said Anera President Bill Corcoran. “That initial kindness has had a huge return in the form of young graduates entering the job market with refined skills and truly commercial application. Anera and the people of the West Bank owe Mr. Sabbagh a great debt of gratitude.”