"Terrorism University" Bankrolled by American Taxpayers
U.S.-based foundations are funding pro-terrorist education in the Middle East in the name of "charity"
A West Bank university famous for its ties to terror is bankrolled by tax-exempt philanthropies in the U.S. to the tune of millions of dollars each year. Birzeit University in the eponymous West Bank City received nearly $4 million from the United States in between 2022 and 2023. The school’s affiliates have ties to terror and its student council is dominated by a Hamas bloc.
That includes George Soros' Foundation to Promote Open Society, based in New York City, which gave $143,333 to Birzeit University. The FPOS is Soros' primary grant-making entity and also advocates for the legalization of prostitution, among other far-left causes.
The Birzeit University Fund, the university's fundraising arm in the U.S., donated nearly $1.2 million in 2023 to the university for “building fund donations, stadium naming rights donation, scholarships and general donations.” But in 2022, it gave far more to the university—over $2.7 million, aided by many donors.
A key donor to the fund is Cultures of Resistance Network Foundation, which gave $125,000 earmarked for a “50 Cultures of Resistance scholarship fund.” The Cultures of Resistance Network, originally named the Caipirinha Foundation, is a far-left group whose recipients include Code Pink and other groups that delegitimize Israel.
Donors also gave $200,000 through the Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund, $30,000 through the Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc., and $25,000 through the American Online Giving Foundation, Inc.
While Birzeit University promotes radicalism, its U.S. fundraising arm downplays it to donors, calling the university “unique in its liberal atmosphere and history of political activism.” The fund also claims that the university “fosters democratic values and is firmly committed to freedom of thought and expression, intellectual pluralism, and democratic practices.”
Yet Birzeit University affiliates—from students to the board of trustees—appear to support terror and, in some cases, even participate in it.
Birzeit University’s Board of Trustees Chairwoman Hanan Ashrawi denied that Hamas committed sex crimes against Israeli civilians during its Oct. 7, 2023 attack. She also defended Hezbollah and supported the lynching of Israeli soldiers. Possibly as a consequence, U.S. officials denied her visa application.
A group of Birzeit University student council members from the Hamas bloc was planning a shooting in the West Bank, before Israel’s Shin Bet forces foiled their plans in July 2024.
In September 2023, less than two weeks before Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, Israel arrested 8 Birzeit University students following “an investigation into Hamas cells in Palestinian educational institutions.”
Three days post-massacre, the university tweeted “Glory for martyrs.” In December 2023, Birzeit University tweeted to memorialize the First Intifada, calling it a “perfect example of national unity in the face of the oppression,” in reference to a period of heightened violence against Israeli civilians.
In May 2023, Birzeit University student council candidates linked to Hamas won a plurality of seats—25 out of 51. The next highest party was Fatah, with 20 seats. The Palestinian Authority is dominated by Fatah, whose “pay for slay” program provides stipends for those who murder Israeli civilians.
Birzeit University’s students have been arrested on multiple occasions in connection with Hamas—an internationally recognized terrorist group—and its student council is dominated by an affiliate bloc of that same terrorist organization. This abuse of U.S. charity laws to support a group promoting radical Islamic terror under the guise of education should be considered a serious threat to national security.