Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center in Yerushalayim is set to undergo a historic expansion after WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum donated $200 million through the Koum Family Foundation, funding a new inpatient tower and staff housing on the hospital campus.

The gift is being described as the largest philanthropic donation ever made to Israel’s healthcare system, surpassing the $180 million donation made last year by Shmuel and Anat Harlap to Rabin Medical Center for its Tower of Hope.

Shaarei Tzedek currently operates about 1,000 beds and serves patients from across Yerushalayim and beyond. The new expansion is expected to nearly triple the hospital’s physical footprint and patient capacity, making it one of the most significant hospital infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Eretz Yisroel.

The centerpiece of the project will be a 24-story inpatient tower adding more than 1.5 million square feet to the medical campus. The tower is expected to include new surgical and emergency care facilities, significant underground protected spaces, reinforced areas for emergency threats, and a rooftop helipad for direct helicopter access.

The donation will also help fund on-site housing for medical staff, addressing a major challenge for hospital employees in Yerushalayim’s high-cost housing market. Hospital officials said the project is already in advanced planning stages, with approvals moving quickly through government and municipal channels.

The hospital will be renamed Koum Shaare Zedek Medical Center in recognition of the gift.

“This is truly a special moment in Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center’s 124-year-old history,” said Dr. Jonathan Halevy, president of Shaarei Tzedek. “This record donation by The Koum Family Foundation reflects remarkable confidence in our hospital, our staff, the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel.”

Dr. Ofer Merin, director general of Shaarei Tzedek, called the donation “a mark of honor for every employee of our hospital.”

Jan Koum, 50, was born in Kyiv, then part of the Soviet Union, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager with his mother and grandmother. His family arrived in California with little money, and he later worked his way into the technology world before co-founding WhatsApp in 2009.

Five years later, WhatsApp was sold to Facebook, now Meta, for approximately $19 billion, making Koum one of the most prominent Jewish tech philanthropists in the world.

In recent years, the Koum Family Foundation has become a major supporter of Jewish and Israeli causes, including healthcare, education, and assistance for Jewish communities from the former Soviet Union. The foundation previously pledged $50 million to Soroka Medical Center after the hospital was hit during the war, and has supported a range of Jewish communal and humanitarian projects.

Shaarei Tzedek, founded 124 years ago, is one of Eretz Yisroel’s major independent nonprofit hospitals and has long relied on private donors to support expansion and medical development. The new gift will allow the hospital to move forward with a project expected to reshape medical care in Yerushalayim for generations.