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JAMAL JUMAA was born in Jerusalem. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic Literature from Birzeit University in the West Bank, and an MBA from City University in London. Through his work and activism, both in civil society organizations and grassroots movements in Palestinian society for the past thirty years, together with many colleagues and starting from small initiatives, he was able to contribute and build, starting significant organizations and grassroots movements, most of them still in operation and having an impact on Palestinian civil society and the Palestine cause. Most of these initiatives arose from a serious need for the services provided, or as a response to critical situations that were created as a result of occupation policies.

He co-founded many civil society organizations such as the Palestinian Agriculture Relief Committees (PARC), the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE) and the Palestinian environmental NGOs Network (PENGON). Through his work at PENGON, he contributed towards the establishment of the Popular Campaign against the Wall and Settlements (STW) in 2002.

Within his work in the grassroots campaign and as part of the urgent need to organize international support for the Palestinian struggle, he contributed within STW efforts to the foundation of the National Committee for BDS in 2005 and he is still a member of the secretariat of the Committee on behalf of STW. In 2013, he worked with activists and grassroots organizations on the establishment of the Land Defense Coalition (LDC) to function as an umbrella for a number of grassroots movements, initiatives and organizations to enhance coordination and cooperation among them and work to expand the popular grassroots base.

At the same time, and as part of these efforts, STW and LDC—in collaboration with colleagues and the Popular Committee in the Jordan Valley—founded the Popular Council for the Protection of the Jordan Valley as a framework for the unification of the efforts of the Jordan Valley residents, especially the targeted communities, to meet the challenges they face.