It is difficult to come home from a hard day of work to hear the news from Palestine. A new Israeli settlement is built, another Palestinian family is left without a home in Jerusalem, and a Palestinian mother dies in an ambulance stuck at a checkpoint en route to the hospital. For those of us living here in the United States, this news is even more heartbreaking when we consider our hard-earned tax dollars are consistently sent to Israel to support the Israeli occupation. This reality has often many of us feeling discouraged and powerless.

Palestinian boys stand near the ruins of a home that was razed in East Jerusalem’s A-tur neighborhood November 24, 2010. A spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry said there was a court order for the demolition of the house which was built without a permit. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

But this does not have to be the case. As the end of the year approaches and you begin thinking about year-end tax-deductible contributions, you can take this opportunity to direct your tax dollars in support of Palestinians in every aspect of their lives. Think about it: Billions — that’s right, billions — of our tax dollars go to support Israel and its occupation every year. Yet, since we can choose to make tax-deductible contributions for charity, you can direct some of your tax dollars, which would normally be sent to Israel by our staunchly pro-Israel Congress, to Palestinians in need through The Jerusalem Fund’s Humanitarian Link program. The Humanitarian Link consistently supports Palestinian charities, clinics and schools to positively impact lives.

Imagine this:

Instead of your tax dollars going to send white phosphorus bombs to Israel, like the ones used against Gaza’s civilian population during the war that left nearly 1,500 dead, your tax-deductible contribution to The Jerusalem Fund can go to projects like the summer camp we supported in Gaza for disabled children, or the food-distribution program we supported that delivered boxes of food and supplies to Gaza’s most needy.

Instead of your tax dollars going to build Israeli settlements which continue to gobble up Palestinian land every day, you can direct your tax-deductible contribution to the new Palestine Diabetes Institute that is working to combat the rising epidemic of diabetes in Palestine and regularly treats patients at little or no cost.

Instead of your tax dollars being used to settle immigrants from the former Soviet Union into what is today Israel, an experience Palestinian refugees have been denied for over 60 years, your tax-deductible contribution to The Jerusalem Fund’s Humanitarian Link program can go to the various aid organizations we support in refugee camps. This includes charities in refugee camps in Lebanon like the Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Center which rehabilitates disabled Palestinian refugee children.

We can’t expect United States policy toward Palestine to change overnight, and it is likely that U.S. tax dollars will continue to be sent in support of Israeli occupation, but this doesn’t mean you can’t have a say in how your tax dollars impact the region today. As a registered 501(c) 3 organization, donations to The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development are deductible to the full extent provided by U.S. law, and 100% of donations for the Humanitarian Link program and the Palestine Diabetes Institute go directly to those projects.

Take this moment to feel empowered and say “no” to sending tax dollars to Israel by making your tax-deductible contribution to The Jerusalem Fund today. The people of Palestine, who are touched by charities supported by The Jerusalem Fund throughout the region, will be better for it.

Subhi D. Ali, MD is Jerusalem Fund chairman and Eid B. Mustafa, MD is treasurer and chief financial officer. The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that maintains three programs. The Palestine Center hosts educational briefings and publishes analysis of the Palestinian experience and U.S. policy in the region. The Humanitarian Link provides short-term grants on a quarterly basis to humanitarian organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and surrounding refugee camps. The Jerusalem Fund Gallery hosts art exhibits, workshops, film screenings, concerts and more that showcase the rich artistic heritage of the region. To donate go to https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=6085.