“If I must die, you must live…”
— Opening from a poem by the renowned Palestinian poet, writer, professor, and activist, Dr. Refaat Alareer, in his final work before Israeli forces tragically took his life in Gaza in December 2023.
(Listen to his entire poem here recited by Brian Cox).
Rebuilding Gaza’s educational infrastructure will take over 10 years.
- 80% of schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed by Israel in a campaign known as ‘scholasticide.’
- 60% of educational facilities, including 13 public libraries, were damaged or destroyed.
- 12 colleges and universities were destroyed entirely.
- 715K students are without access to education, including 90,000 university students.
Amidst the rubble lie the hopes, aspirations, and unrealized potential of some of Palestine’s brightest students. By investing in these students, the Gaza Scholarship Initiative for Displaced Students (GSI) aims to create future leaders, thinkers, and innovators critical to the intellectual and material revitalization and development of Gaza.
GSI’s mission seeks to safeguard Palestinian futures by securing university placements for Palestinian students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels through partial or fully-funded scholarships. To ensure students’ academic performance and achievements, our fundraising efforts support student stipends and the provision of academic, community, and mental health support as they restart their educational journeys abroad.
Give hereAchievements
In 2024, GSI worked with 300+ Palestinian students from Gaza. Of these students, 124 were matched with scholarships at 35 different institutions in 10 countries for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Our undergraduate students are pursuing majors in:
- Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
- Pharmacy
- Dentistry
- Architecture
- Engineering
- Economics
- International Law
- Computer Science
- Software Engineering
- Business Administration
- English and French Literature
- Psychology
- Sociology
Students who have earned a B.A. are being matched with graduate programs in:
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Genocide Studies
- Philosophy
- Administration
- Comparative Literature
- Creative Writing
- Human Rights
- International Development and Relations
- Journalism
- Linguistics
- Sociology
- Women and Gender Studies
Your donations are critical to ensuring our students’ rights to education and making their dreams a reality.
GSI is an entirely volunteer-based coalition of writers, academics, artists, professionals, and concerned individuals formed in January 2024 in response to Israel’s scholasticide in Gaza.