Rahm Emanuel and brothers donate £406k to programme training Palestinian doctors at Israeli hospital
US diplomat, Hollywood super-agent and oncologist siblings commit to connecting Israelis and Palestinians through medical care
Former White House chief of staff and potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel and his two brothers are donating $550,000 (£406k) to train Palestinian paediatric staff at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, (also known as Ichilov Hospital).
The donation, worth about NIS 1.64 million, was announced Monday in New York by Project Rozana, a medical non profit organisation that promotes medical cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.
The initiative aims to help establish the first dedicated children’s hospital in the northern West Bank and provide training for 11 paediatricians and 36 nurses from An-Najah National University Hospital in Nablus.
It will include specialist training in medical fields including neurosurgery, neurology, hemato-oncology, orthopedics and respiratory care, as well as pediatric and neonatal intensive care, fellowship programmes and leadership development.
Visiting Rozana’s training programme for An-Najah hospital professionals at Tel Aviv Ichilov Hospital in July, Rahm Emanuel called it “one of the most inspiring examples of coexistence I saw in Israel.”
The donation is being made in honour of the brothers’ parents, the late Dr. Benjamin Emanuel and Marsha Emanuel.
Rahm’s older brother, Ezekiel (Zeke) Emanuel, is an oncologist and health policy expert at the University of Pennsylvania whilst younger brother, Ari Emanuel, as co-founder of Endeavor Talent Agency and chief executive of William Morris Endeavor, is a major Hollywood talent agent, with clients including Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, and Dwayne Johnson. Rahm Emanuel himself is a former White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, as well as a former Mayor of Chicago. It is widely believed that he is considering a run at the Democratic nomination for President in 2028, although it is unclear whether he has the breadth of support from within the party needed to succeed.
In a statement the brothers said: “Our late father was a paediatrician and our mother was a radiology technician and later a therapist, and both believed that no child should be left without medical care,” adding that their donation would provide “better and improved care for Palestinian children, while harnessing health care to build relationships of trust between Israeli and Palestinian medical professionals and bridge the divide.”
Posting on Twitter/X on Monday 31 August, Zeke Emanuel wrote: “This is a different kind of post for me. It’s not about the implications of AI, my classes at Penn, or longevity. It’s personal. My brothers @RahmEmanuel and @AriEmanuel and I are donating $550,000 to support the training of pediatric doctors and nurses from An-Najah National University Hospital in Nablus at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center through the nonprofit Rozana. We made the gift in honor of our parents, Dr. Benjamin and Marsha Emanuel.”
Kenneth Bob, chairman of Project Rozana USA, described the Emanuel family’s contribution as the largest private donation the organisation has ever received and called it “a strategic investment in health care in the West Bank, as well as in our mission to advance medical diplomacy and create hope during a challenging period.”
Founded in 2013, Rozana has branches in Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the UK and the US, all dedicated to promoting access to quality healthcare.