Palestinian donors pour millions into US universities: report

Palestinian donors have pumped millions of dollars into several American universities that have ties to academic institutions in the region, according to a new report.

Harvard University, Brown University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania have collectively received nearly $10 million from entities in the Palestinian territories, sometimes with undisclosed identities, between 2017 and 2023. seconds to a new report from Open The Books. The trio of universities have academic associations with universities in Palestine, with professors from one of the institutions praising the terrorist attacks of October 7 where Hamas dead approximately 1,200 people.

Brown, an Ivy League university in Rhode Island, received $643,000 from a source in the Palestinian territories in February 2020 to “support a chair in Palestinian studies within Middle East studies.” seconds in federal records. The University announced in May 2020 that Beshara Doumani would fill the role due to support from Palestinian donors, some of whom were not disclosed by the university.

Doumani, shortly after his appointment at Brown, became the president of Birzeit University in the West Bank, a role he held from 2021 to 2023. seconds in his university biography. Hamas-affiliated 'Islamic Bloc' wins majority of university student council seats in both 2022 and 2023, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Doumani told Palestinian media after the 2022 elections that “we are also proud of the participation of all spectrums of Palestinian national action in these elections” and that the Birzeit “is not only a reflection of political currents outside the university, but should be a compass for the Palestinian community,” seconds to the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis.

Harvard received $1.5 million in funds from the Palestinian territories and, like Brown, has ties to Birzeit University, according to federal disclosures. Harvard's receipt records do not include a description of what the funds were spent on.

François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard associate with Birzeit University in its Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights, which is “an academic center that is engaged in a broadly collaborative justice- and rights-based approach to the study of health Palestinian through knowledge production, education and multidisciplinary community engagement,” according to its website.

The program “uses a decolonial framework in program development, leadership and participation,” the website says.

Union of Professors and Employees of the University of Birzeit released a statement days after the October 7 attack that says “2023 will go down in history as the year Palestinians bravely stood up to colonial fascism and cried out in defense of their homes, humanity and their lives”.

“Our resistance shows us the way forward, we stand firm and we will succeed,” the statement continued.

Doumani's term at Birzeit expired in July 2023, seconds to the University.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania was the largest recipient of Palestinian funds, with $7.3 million, according to Open The Books analysis. Most of the scholarships were disbursed to pay tuition Palestinian studentsalthough some were also meant to pay the tuition of Indian studentsaccording to federal disclosures.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania partners with Arab American University in the West Bank for doctoral and master's programs in business administration, seconds on the website of the latter institution.

According to the analysis, some of the previous cases of foreign funding originating in the Palestinian territories are said to have come from the “State of Palestine”. The United States does not recognize Palestinian state

Other American universities have it associate with Palestinian universities praising the October 7 terrorist attacks. Georgia State University finished his partnership with Al-Quds Open University in the West Bank after the Daily Caller News Foundation reported that he had praised Hamas militants.

Doumani, Harvard, Brown and Indiana University of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to DCNF's requests for comment.

Latest messages from Robert Schmad (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.