Haifa, from many aspects, is one of the most special cities not only in Israel, but in the world.  Topographically speaking, Haifa is surrounded by sea and beaches on three sides with the Carmel mountain on which Haifa is built, rising above them complete with woods and groves.

Historically speaking, Haifa contains remnants of old settlements from the second century BC (Tel Shikmona), through the ancient Persians, the Helenistic-Romans, the medieval Byzantines, the Arab-Muslims, Crusaders  and Mamluks, the Ottoman Turks and Mandate-era British – all have left their historical imprint on the city.  As for the historical-religious aspect, the prophets Elijah and Elisha operated in Haifa and there are various sites important to the main faiths.

Economically speaking, Haifa is the capital of the north of Israel providing different services to the areas from Israel's coastal plain to the upper Galilee.  The main port of Israel is in Haifa.  The city also boasts an important hi-tech park (Matam) specializing mainly in R&D, that contains some of the largest companies in the world such as Microsoft, Intel, Google, Yahoo, Sisco, Elbit and many others.

As for the academic aspect, the city contains academic institutions such as the Technion, the Haifa University, Gordon and Tiltan Colleges and the WIZO academic college for photography and art.

Haifa prides itself on its multi-cultural and inter-religious tolerance that has been typical of the city for many years.  It is a city of some 270,000 people where Jews, Muslims, Christians of different churches, mainly Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Anglicans and Armenians live side by side. The Bahai World Center is in Haifa, a religion originating in Persia of the 19th century and its members are persecuted in Iran till today. The Ahmedian world center is also located in Haifa.  The Ahmedian religion originated in Pakistan and its members are also persecuted by their Muslim brothers. Many of the Druze reside in the Haifa area as well. In addition, 70,000 new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and about 10,000 Ethiopian Jews found a home in Haifa. 

In the summer of 2006 the citizens of Haifa were exposed to the horrors of the war in Lebanon, when hundreds of missiles and rockets were aimed at the city, killing and wounding many.  Many buildings were hit and damaged in different neighborhoods in the city including an Arab neighborhood, Wadi Nisnas requiring major reconstruction following the war.

The Haifa Foundation (est. 1983) is a public, non-profit charitable organization. Its mission is to advance educational, cultural, community and environmental projects.  In our web site you'll be able to see projects that have already been carried out by the Haifa Foundation for the benefit of Haifa's residents.  Our goal today is to meet the many needs of various populations in the city, strengthen weak populations and cultivate sites and areas that will improve the quality of life for all.  With your help we could fulfill many of them, be it better education for immigrant children, or cultivating excellent athletes or musicians from low socio-economic families, or helping out afternoon centers and education facilities for the handicapped or strengthening the technological education and medical centers in Haifa.

The residents and youngsters of Haifa deserve to live in a city that provides a promise for a better future and a more satisfying  present.  You can help, and I urge you to do the best you can to fulfill the vision of the future in Haifa today, for "the future is now".

Thanking you for your assistance,

Cobie Brosh

Executive Director