Sha’are Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem announced today (Friday) the largest donation in the history of the health system in Israel: the Koum Family Foundation from the USA will donate 200 million dollars to the construction of the hospital’s new inpatient tower. Following the donation, the official name of the medical center will be changed to “Kum Sha’are Tzedek Medical Center”.
The new hospital tower is expected to rise to a height of 24 stories and be, according to Shaare Zedek, the largest and most innovative hospital tower in Israel. The hospital says that this is significant news for Jerusalem and the entire healthcare system, and that the new tower will improve the conditions of hospitalization, treatment and medical research at the medical center.
Behind the donation is the Jewish philanthropist Jan Koum, one of the founders of WhatsApp and the founder of the Koum Family Foundation, which supports medical and academic projects in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. The relationship between Kom and Shaare Tzedek has been going on for more than eight years, during which time the foundation has donated millions of dollars to various projects at the hospital. The children’s hospital building in Shaare Zedek is also named after Jan Kum.
“I am proud of the opportunity to collaborate with a center of advanced medicine, whose legacy is important to the city of Jerusalem, to the Land of Israel and to the Jewish people as a whole,” Koum said. “This is our biggest contribution ever. Our contribution will lead to better medicine, to innovation and development of treatments and medical research, to better conditions for patients. This is the best return we will receive.”
The president of Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Prof. Yonatan Halevi, said that this is a “historic and exciting day in the 124 years of Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s existence.” According to him, “Yan Kum’s special and exciting contribution is an expression of trust in Shaare Zedek, the city of Jerusalem and the State of Israel. We are privileged that one of the greatest Jewish philanthropists in the world will associate his name with the excellence of Shaare Zedek.”