The San Francisco Ramallah Club Story

In the very beginning, the Ramallah people in the San Francisco Bay Area informally gathered in their grocery store stock rooms and homes. In the early 1950s a group of Ramallah college students along with other fellow Arabs met to formally start the Arab-American Club. This club functioned for two years when in 1952, coincident with the formation of the Ramallah Federation, the San Francisco community elders met with the Arab-American Club students to discuss dissolving their original club in favor of forming a club to function as a Ramallah Federation entity. This marked the founding of the Ramallah Club of San Francisco organization with Khalil Jadallah elected as the first president.

The Ramallah Club organization had no formal home so the membership continued to meet in their homes and later at the Orthodox Church on Green St. Stories about some of the early financial challenges included one relayed about Nusrallah Mogannam and Mansur Dudum being voted down for seeking reimbursement for the costs of the first newsletter which cost $3.00!!! In 1955, when Audie Dudum and Leila Saleem Totah were planning their marriage, the couple had difficulty booking a hall for their wedding reception. After their wedding, Saleem Totah approached Nasrallah Mogannam and said “Abu Mogannam, the Ramallah Club needs a hall!” Nusrallah told Saleem that he and many of the younger generation members were just finishing college and getting started on their lives in the community and could not afford anything like a hall. The next day Saleem Totah handed Nasrallah two checks for $500 each and told him that the funds were towards the goal of raising funds for a hall. This gesture started a movement that raised an initial $2000 seed which in turn started a heated discussion by the San Francisco Ramallah Club board to establish a fund for the purpose of purchasing a hall. The discussion was ultimately supported and by 1959 the founding members collected some $25,000 towards their goal. The group finally started looking for a hall settling on a property at 1951 Ocean Ave which was purchased for $48,000. The site was a ice skating rink and during the 1960s it was remodeled into a meeting and party hall formally called the Ramallah Hall. Our elders in the 1950s had a dream and the accomplished it with the hope that we will accomplish our dreams. Today the Ramallah Club of San Francisco membership has flourished to over 600 families and continues to promote our lasting heritage, cultural, and social messages.