EXCLUSIVE: Brown University Has Received Over $11M in Funding From Palestine
GoLocalProv News Team
EXCLUSIVE: Brown University Has Received Over $11M in Funding From Palestine
The United States Department of Education “requires institutions of higher education that receive Federal financial assistance to disclose semiannually to the U.S. Department of Education any gifts received from and contracts with a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year.”
According to the “College Foreign Gift and Contract Report” — Brown University has received $11,692,251 from sources in “Palestinian Territories” over an indeterminate amount of time.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFederal records show that the biggest gifts include separate $2,000,000 donations — including one to “support an assistant professorship at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, with preference for Security Studies.”
In addition, records show two entries from "Palestinian Territories" of $643,000 which state “the purpose of the Fund is to provide support for a Professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies.”
When Doumani was named to the Presidency at Birzeit, the American conservation publication the American Spectator wrote, "Palestine’s ‘Terrorist University’ Picks Ivy League Prof as New President."
The Birzeit University was raided in September of 2023, and eight students were arrested by Israeli Defense Forces for suspected ties to a terror plot.
The Times of Israel reported in September, "The students, from Birzeit University near Ramallah, were nabbed following an investigation into Hamas cells in Palestinian educational institutions, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet said. They were allegedly recruited by Hamas operatives in Gaza, receiving weaponry intended for the attack."
Doumani was the featured speaker at the Brown University vigil on Tuesday -- an event closed to the press.
According to the federal database, Brown reported gifts and contracts from countries including England, Spain, Thailand, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and more.
It did not report any donations from Israel to Brown.
Foreign Funding -- and Campus Activities -- in Focus
In total, Brown reported 484 entries for foreign gifts, restricted gifts, and contracts in the federal database.
The most recent dated entries were from June of 2023; the earliest dated entry was 2015.
There were dozens of entries with no dates, however, which included the twenty contributions from “Palestinian Territories.”
According to the entries, none of the funding was from the Palestinian government.
SLIDES: See Reported Funding From "Palestinian Territories" to Brown University BELOW
"What are Arab donors to universities buying for $10 billion?" wrote Mitchell Bard in the Jewish News Syndicate in June 2023.
"Out of more than 10,000 donations, only three were identified with a political purpose—two $643,000 contributions to Brown in 2020 from a giftor in 'The State of Palestine' to provide support for a professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies and one for $67,969 for the same purpose from the UAE," wrote Bard.
"The report did not identify the donors, but an official from Brown acknowledged the Palestinian contributor was the Munib and Angela Masri Foundation. Beshara Doumani, a supporter of the anti-Semitic BDS campaign, was named the first occupant of the position. Doumani has since also become the president of Birzeit University, which is known for the activism of students associated with terror groups such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)," he continued.
At the November 8, 2023 rally at Brown, more than a hundred protesters turned out — and called the United States and Israel “complicit" in what they allege is genocide in Gaza. The groups have repeatedly called on the university to divest its endowment from Israel.
On Monday, Brown University blocked the press from attending a vigil for Palestinian-American student Hisham Awartani, who was shot along with two other Palestinian students in Vermont over the weekend.
“The vigil is intended as a space where our students, faculty and staff can have the comfort of community with hopes of encouraging healing. It’s considered a private University event for this reason," said Brown. “Reporters are not permitted to film or conduct interviews on campus.”
Late Monday afternoon, Brown announced that it dropped charges against 20 Brown students arrested for trespassing on November 8.
“Dismissing the charges against the students certainly won’t heal the rising tensions on campus from the ongoing violence in the Middle East – or the hurt and fear from Islamophobia, antisemitism and acts of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian violence – but perhaps it can help refocus attention on other issues that are important for the Brown community,” reported Brown.
"Section 117 of the Higher Education Act establishes the requirements for universities to disclose foreign gifts and contracts. We adhere to those requirements and submit our disclosures annually. All of that information is accessible publicly on the U.S. Department of Education website. If you look at the entries for Brown, you will see that we have no government funding related to Palestine. We do of course have alumni and donors all over the world, many of whom give Brown in support of our annual fund or other campaigns," said Brown University Spokesperson Brian Clark in a statement to GoLocal. "
We have a detailed set of policies and practices in place to guide our work with donors, including written gift agreements that formalize all commitments made by both the donor and the university – in no case do we accept gifts that impinge on academic freedom or obligate Brown in any way to act counter to its values," he added.
This was first published 11/28/23 12:00 PM
Brown Funding From Palestinian Territories -- U.S. Department of Education
$2,000,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: At the discretion of the President, this fund will be used to support innovative proposals and research programs for climate solutions activities.
$2,000,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide support for an assistant professorship at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, with preference for Security Studies.
$1,015,942
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to support the Groos Family Assistant Professorship in Economics. The title of the individual appointed to the Professorship will be referred to as the Groos Family Assistant Professor of Economics.
$1,000,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The Fund will support the Christopher Chan P'20 and Michelle Ma P'20 Professorship. Preference is for appointments in the Department of History of Art and Architecture.
$700,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide support for a professorship with a preference for an appointment to a professor in macroeconomics.
$643,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide support for a Professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies.
$643,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide support for a Professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies.
*There were two separate and identical entries in the federal database.
$530,269
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The fund will support undergraduate scholarships, with a preference for international students who are not US citizens.
$500,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The fund will support undergraduate scholarships, with a preference for international students who are not US citizens.
$466,908
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The Fund will support costs of meeting the increased needs of students resulting from Covid-19 health crises, including financial aid increases, summer earnings waivers, and other initiatives supporting the well-being and education of our students.
$350,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide scholarship support, with preference for international students.
$271,876
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The Fund is to provide support for a Professorship in Palestinian Studies within Middle East Studies.
$250,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: General suspense fund to record gifts and pledges awaiting allocation by the donor.
$250,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to support the Michael Wu '92 Assistant Professorship in Economics.
$250,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide scholarship support for undergraduates, with preference for international students, particularly those concentrating in Business Economics.
$250,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The Fund will support costs of meeting the increased needs of students resulting from Covid-19 health crises, including financial aid increases, summer earnings waivers, and other initiatives supporting the well-being and education of our students.
$250,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide long-term support for the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship to develop and accelerate Brown-based student ventures and to create a vibrant ecosystem for venture creation, including funds to sponsor Breakthrough Lab.
$200,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The purpose of the Fund is to provide scholarship support for The Brown Promise.
$51,526
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: The Student Emergency Support Fund will alleviate student hardship associated with unexpected expenses and unforeseen challenges.
$20,000
Country: Palestinian Territories
Transaction type: Restricted Gift
Is this funding from a government? No
Restricted Transaction Description: Current Use Funds in Support of Men's Wrestling - Annual