Abdel-Jawad Saleh was born in 1931. He worked in the political and social arenas in Palestine and was known as one of the national and local political leaders who contributed to the establishment of the National Front during his tenure as the mayor of al-Bireh. The Israeli Occupation Authorities expelled him from Palestine during the period from 1973 to 1993. Following his return to Palestine, he served as the first minister of agriculture in the first government of the Palestinian National Authority.

The Abdel-Jawad Saleh Collection contains personal photographs of him that reflect his career as a Palestinian freedom fighter and social activist, in addition to documents, which mostly cover his meetings with the Israeli Military Governor during his work as mayor of al-Bireh in the 1970s. It also contains a lecture written in a notebook, a published letter, a property document and a newspaper clipping.