Koum Family Foundation Donates $200 Million to Shaare Zedek Medical Center

The Koum Family Foundation has donated $200 million to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, the largest single donation ever made to an Israeli hospital, the hospital announced in a statement on Sunday. The gift will fund construction of a new medical tower at the hospital and will lead to the official renaming of the institution as Koum Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

The foundation was established by Jan Koum, the co-founder of WhatsApp. The hospital said the donation followed months of strategic discussions between its leadership and the foundation. The partnership was led by the hospital’s president, director-general and director of special projects together with the president of the Koum Family Foundation.

>"We are proud to partner with Shaare Zedek Medical Center, an institution that defines medical excellence in Jerusalem and beyond," Koum said in the statement. The tower is expected to include expanded surgical and emergency care facilities, significant underground protected spaces, and a rooftop helipad for direct helicopter access.

The project is in advanced planning stages and has been approved by the Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipality. It is being designed and planned by Mochly-Eldar Architects, with Margolin Bros. Engineering and Consulting serving as the project manager.

The hospital treats more than one million patients annually and has expanded in recent years to more than 1,000 inpatient beds. Officials said the expansion was intended to meet growing medical needs in Jerusalem and the surrounding region. “This is truly a special moment in Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s 124-year-old history,” the hospital’s president said in the statement.

The president added that the donation reflects confidence in the hospital, its staff, the city of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, and what he described as a heartfelt embrace of Zionism. The hospital’s director-general said the donation was a mark of honor for every employee and would allow the facility to set a new standard for Israeli healthcare while establishing its position as a national and global leader in advanced and compassionate medicine.