How Brown University’s ties with Birzeit University influence campus attitudes on Israel, Gaza
August 6, 2024
Brown University’s ties to Birzeit University in the West Bank have resulted in significant influence from pro-Hamas perspectives on campus attitudes towards Israel and Gaza. This reverse takeover highlights how academic connections can shape faculty and student viewpoints.
Brown offers a partnership for students studying Palestinian Studies or Arabic to study abroad at Birzeit University, located near Ramallah in the West Bank. The university also recommends Birzeit as a resource for research on Palestine.
Although Birzeit is in the West Bank, not under Hamas control, the student organization Islamic Bloc, closely associated with Hamas, has won student elections there. This indicates a strong pro-Hamas influence at Birzeit.
This goes far beyond the support for Hamas seen on college campuses across the U.S. In fact, five Birzeit students, “all members of the student council, were arrested for planning a ‘significant terror attack’ at the behest of Hamas,” JNS reported. “They were caught with an assault rifle and thousands of dollars provided to them by the terrorist organization.”
Rather than Brown elevating educational standards at Birzeit, the flow of influence appears to be the opposite. The attitudes at Brown towards Israel and Gaza are increasingly dictated by pro-Hamas perspectives emanating from Birzeit.
Beshara Doumani is a key scholar in Middle Eastern and Palestinian studies at Brown. He founded Brown University’s Center for Middle East Studies and has been part of the Brown faculty since 2012. Doumani was given permission to serve as the president of Birzeit from 2021-2023 while maintaining his role at Brown.
Brown has received $11.6 million from sources in “Palestinian Territories,” including a $643,000 gift “to provide support for a Professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies,” GoLocalProv reported. Doumani, the Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies at Brown, was supported by those gifts.
Doumani’s pro-Hamas stance significantly influences academic perspectives and campus attitudes at Brown.
During his time as Birzeit president, when those five Hamas-affiliated Birzeit students were arrested, “Doumani’s administration responded by suspending ‘all disciplinary measures against student activists over activities during the previous weeks,’ rather than effectively counsel against involvement in terrorist organizations,” according to CAMERA.
Birzeit also celebrated terrorists under his leadership. In 2022, “the university’s graduation ceremonies began with the administration granting a master’s degree to two imprisoned terrorists.”
Before his tenure at Birzeit began, a ban was put in place barring students from “activity of a military nature.” But “student factions regularly held military-style parades celebrating violence against civilians” under Doumani, and those activities were “commonplace.”
After returning to Brown, Doumani was scheduled to speak on “Running a University under Conditions of Settler Colonialism.” That speech was postponed because it was scheduled just nine days after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Faculty members at Brown, respecting Doumani’s expertise, often align with his views on Palestine, the Middle East, Gaza, and Hamas. This dynamic has led to a shift in campus attitudes, contributing to student protests and faculty support for divestment from Israel.
The reverse takeover at Brown University highlights the significant impact of its ties to Birzeit University. The pro-Hamas perspectives at Birzeit have permeated Brown’s academic environment, influencing both faculty and students. This situation underscores the importance of critically examining academic affiliations and their broader implications.
This influence underscores the necessity for universities to maintain a balanced approach, encouraging independent thought and diverse perspectives within academic discourse.