The first known Ramallah resident to emigrate abroad was Ibrahim al-Hassasneh and his son Khalil, who left the town between 1660 and 1700. His reasons for leaving Ramallah remain unknown, but his progeny today have grown to number more than 400 people.

In 1882, when the Religious Society of Friends built their first building in Ramallah, they brought well-known contractors from Bethlehem to work with the Ramallah builders. The workers from Bethlehem spoke much of a far away land called ‘America’, and were proud of their children’s success there, and how they sent them money.

Yousef Odeh al-Dibini became very enthusiastic and departed for the US in 1895. Following 1903, the immigration rate increased, as most of those who had left had succeeded abroad and returned to Ramallah, investing in new businesses and demonstrating the possibilities. The 1948 war was another impetus for new emigration.

There are now approximately 30,000 people from Ramallah in the United States of America currently, residing mostly in San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, Florida, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Washington, Greensboro, Birmingham, Cleveland, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Hempstead.

• The American Federation of Ramallah , Palestine