WhatsApp Founder Jan Koum Makes Historic $200 Million Donation to Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Hospital

The Landmark Philanthropic Gift

Jan Koum, the Ukrainian-born co-founder of WhatsApp who sold the company to Facebook for 19 billion dollars, has directed 200 million dollars through the Koum Family Foundation to Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center. This sum represents the largest single contribution ever recorded to any Israeli medical institution and exceeds the previous benchmark of 180 million dollars given in 2025 by Anat and Shmuel Harlap to the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva.

Shaare Zedek's Century of Service in Jerusalem

Founded in 1902 by Dr. Moshe Wallach on Jaffa Road with only 20 beds and a small grazing field for cows that supplied milk to patients, the institution has grown into a 1,000-bed campus opposite Mount Herzl. It now operates 30 inpatient departments, 70 outpatient clinics, and the capital's busiest emergency department. The new tower will stand beside the facility opened in 1979 under then director-general Dr. David Maeir.

Scale and Timeline of the Planned Tower

The 24-story structure will add 800 beds, cover more than 140,000 square meters, and feature extensive underground facilities plus a rooftop helipad. Construction is scheduled to span six years, with full occupancy expected within a decade. The overall project carries an estimated cost of 750 million dollars, of which 300 million dollars are already secured from the Koum gift and prior reserves.

Leadership Perspectives and Project Oversight

Shaare Zedek Medical Center president Prof. Jonathan Halevy credited the hospital's 6,000 staff members and noted a decade-long relationship with the foundation, including recent work with its head Yana Kalika. Incoming director-general Prof. Ofer Merin described the donation as one of the hospital's most important milestones. Both leaders called Koum the greatest Jewish philanthropist of the current generation.

Jerusalem's Growing Healthcare Needs

With Jerusalem's population projected to reach 1.5 million by 2035, current medical infrastructure faces mounting pressure. The tower is designed to ease overcrowding, double emergency-department capacity, and support the city's expanding role as a hub for medical care serving diverse Jewish, Arab, and international communities. Such private philanthropy complements public funding from the Treasury and Health Ministry while reflecting longstanding cultural traditions of communal support for health services in Israel.

Koum's Broader Commitment to Jewish Causes

Now 50 and dividing his time between California and Europe, Koum has previously funded a catheterization center at the same hospital after an initial 15-million-dollar grant ten years ago. His foundation's decision follows consistent delivery on earlier projects, underscoring a pattern of sustained investment in Israeli institutions that resonates with the country's emphasis on innovation and resilience.

By Hannah Berg, Staff Writer