Fobzu

Friends of Palestinian Universities supports the right to education and its role in the creation of a free and flourishing Palestine.

Established in 1978, Fobzu is a British charity working to support Palestinian students and academics, facilitating educational exchange and raising awareness in the UK about education under occupation and in exile. For Prospective Students
Fobzu currently works with Birzeit University and UNRWA to provide scholarships for students in financial need studying in Palestine. We do not accept applications from students directly. Students intending to study at Birzeit University should apply for support through the Financial Aid Unit. https://www.birzeit.edu/ar/admissions/undergraduate/finanical-aid

Scholarship opportunities provided by UNRWA are advertised at UNRWA centres, including schools, clinics and offices. Prospective students can also find out more information on UNRWA's new online scholarship portal. https://scholarship.unrwa.org

12/10/2026

Israeli military forces raided Birzeit University twice within ten days, as students completed their final examinations and the university prepared for the 2026/27 academic year.

On 5 October, Israeli forces demolished and removed the Martyrs’ Memorial, which had stood on campus since the 1990s, and damaged laboratories in the Faculty of Science.

The two raids bring the total to six since the beginning of the 2025/26 academic year.

Read the full article at friendsofpalunis.org (link in bio).

28/09/2026

🎓 Donate Today: Back to School Appeal

As a new academic year begins, Palestinian students and academics are continuing to learn, teach and rebuild in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

Palestinian universities are more than buildings. They are communities of students, educators and researchers determined to keep knowledge alive.

This October, we’re asking our community to stand with Palestinian higher education and help make that work possible.

💚 Every contribution matters.

🔗 Donate via the link in our bio or scan the QR code.

14/09/2026

Join us for the launch of PCHR’s new report, Scholasticide and Genocide in Gaza: Assessment, Testimonial and Legal Analysis.

Drawing on testimonies from Gaza, extensive documentation and international law, the report examines the destruction of Gaza’s education system and its impact on students, teachers, academics and Palestinian society.

The evening will bring together Palestinian and UK-based lawyers and academics to discuss the report’s findings, questions of accountability, and the future of education in Gaza.

Monday 28 September 2026
6pm | NEU

Speakers: Raji Sourani, Dr Nimer Sultany and Dr Ahmed Abu Shaban
Chaired by Professor Michelle Farrell

Hosted by Friends of Palestinian Universities, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Palestine Studies at SOAS.

Registration via Eventbrite is required. Link in bio.

09/09/2026

Palestinian Universities are at in Glasgow.

This year, Friends of Palestinian Universities is co-hosting the Palestinian Universities stand (C23) with the National Erasmus+ Office in Palestine, bringing together Palestinian university leaders and representatives from Gaza and the West Bank.

Throughout the conference, colleagues can meet the Palestinian delegation, learn more about the priorities of Palestinian universities, and explore opportunities for academic exchange, joint research, Erasmus+, virtual fellowships, scholarships, capacity-building and long-term institutional partnerships.

We’re at: Stand C23 | 8–11 September 2026 | Glasgow

Join us to strengthen and expand practical, sustained partnerships with Palestinian universities.

Follow our blog for the latest updates, resources and news from our participation at .

21/08/2026

📢 WE’RE HIRING: PROGRAMME OFFICER

Join Friends of Palestinian Universities (FPU) and help strengthen Palestinian higher education and build meaningful international academic partnerships.
We’re looking for a motivated, organised and thoughtful Programme Officer to join our small and growing team.

You’ll work across:
• Palestinian–international university partnerships
• Research, advocacy and public engagement
• Events and sector convenings
• Engagement with Palestinian university partners
• Programme coordination and administration

📍 Flexible / hybrid – home working + London office space
🕓 Full-time, fixed-term
💷 £28,860–£30,000, depending on experience
🗓 Deadline: 2 September 2026

We’re looking for strong research, writing, organisational and relationship-building skills and a genuine commitment to FPU’s mission. Experience in higher education, charities, advocacy or work related to Palestine is welcome, as is Arabic proficiency.

📄 Apply with your CV and covering letter through CharityJob. Link in bio.

03/07/2026

Friends of Palestinian Universities has published Scholasticide in Gaza: The Systematic Destruction of Palestinian Higher Education and the Continuation of Collective Resilience, a new multidisciplinary report documenting the destruction of Gaza’s higher education sector and the continuing efforts of Palestinian universities, students and academics to sustain teaching, learning and research amid genocide.

Bringing together leading scholars from Palestine, the UK, North America and South Africa, including academics from Gaza’s universities, the report examines the targeting of Gaza’s higher education sector since October 2023 and calls for urgent international action.

The report offers recommendations for governments, universities, academic associations and unions, funders, and international organisations, calling for the recognition of scholasticide and sustained support for Palestinian higher education.

🔗 Read the report via the link in our bio.

03/06/2026

In what prisoner rights organisations describe as a sustained policy targeting student activists and Palestinian universities, four female Birzeit University students were arrested by Israeli military forces yesterday during raids on university residences and family homes near Ramallah.

Their detention comes amid a broader crackdown on Palestinian students across the occupied West Bank and growing concerns over the treatment of Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli detention.

29/05/2026

Friends of Palestinian Universities and The Galilee Foundation invite you to:

📚 Palestine’s Universities Live On: Scholasticide, Collective Resilience and Global Solidarity

Join us for an important discussion on the systematic destruction of Palestinian higher education and the extraordinary resilience of students, academics and universities who continue to sustain teaching, learning and research under genocide and military occupation.
Bringing together leading Palestinian scholars and advocates, the event will explore scholasticide as an attack on Palestinian knowledge, memory and civic life, and consider what meaningful global solidarity requires from universities, academic communities and civil society today.

Featuring Dr Ahmed Abu Shaban, Al Azhar University and the Emergency Committee of Universities in Gaza; Dr Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Palestinian historian at Rice University; and Sundos Hammad, Right to Education Campaign Coordinator at Birzeit University.

Chaired by Maha Alfarra

🎟️ This is a ticketed event. Registration required – link in bio.

26/05/2026

In last week’s Education, Occupation & Liberation webinar series, co-hosted with , Dr Basel El-Khodary, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Professor of Psychology at IUG, reflected on the devastating impact of genocide and scholasticide on students, educators, and academic life in Gaza.

Chaired by Dr Amal Rammah, Senior Research Fellow at UCL’s GOS Institute of Child Health, the discussion explored the destruction of homes and universities, the psychological toll of ongoing violence and displacement, and the resilience of Palestinian students and educators continuing to teach, learn, and conduct research amid scholasticide.

The webinar also highlighted the urgent responsibility of academics and institutions worldwide to stand in solidarity with Palestinian universities and respond to the attacks on higher education in Gaza.

Sign up to our newsletter via the link in bio to be the first to hear about our upcoming EOL webinar.

01/05/2026

📢 Join us for Education as Hope: Wellbeing, Survival, and Resistance under Scholasticide, a webinar in our Education, Occupation & Liberation series, organised in collaboration with University and College Union, on Tuesday 19 May, 16:00 UK time.

📍This session will explore the impact of genocide and settler violence on the wellbeing of students, educators, and the wider academic community in Palestine, and how education is shaped by destruction, displacement, fear, and ongoing insecurity.

Bringing together perspectives from Palestinian universities, this discussion will also highlight education as a vital space of resilience, dignity, and hope – sustaining collective strength and confronting erasure under scholasticide.

Speakers include Dr Basel El-Khodary, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the Islamic University of Gaza, and Chair Dr Amal Rammah, Senior Research Fellow at University College London. [Second speaker TBC]

🔗 Event registration link in bio
—
This event is free, but Friends of Palestinian Universities relies on donations from our supporters to run programmes like this one. Donation link in bio.

Photo credit: Graduation of 230 students from the Faculties of Human Medicine at Al-Azhar University, Gaza, and the Islamic University of Gaza. Source: Quds Press (edited)

Address

10-11 Carlton House Terrace
London
SW1Y 5AH

Website

http://www.fobzu.org/

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