Open letter from the rectors of the universities of Gaza

Ayman Sobh, Rector of Al-Aqsa University, Omar Milad, Rector of Al-Azhar University, and Asad Asaad, Rector of the Islamic University of Gaza, published an open letter denouncing the situation in their territory and stating: “Our campuses may have been razed, but our universities still exist.”.

Open letter from the rectors of the universities of Gaza

"We, the rectors of the three non-profit universities in Gaza - Al-Aqsa University, Al-Azhar University-Gaza and the Islamic University of Gaza - who jointly represent the vast majority of students and professors in Gaza, issue this unified statement to the international academic community at a time of unprecedented devastation to higher education in Gaza.

Israel’s ongoing genocidal war has triggered a systematic and deliberate attempt to eliminate our universities, their infrastructure, faculty, and students. This destruction is not collateral damage, but rather part of a broader effort to eradicate the foundations of higher education in Gaza—foundations that have long been pillars of resistance, hope, and intellectual freedom under occupation and siege. While academic institutions across Palestine have suffered attacks for decades, what we are witnessing today is an escalation: from repeated acts of destruction to an attempt at total annihilation.

MEMBERSHIP FORM

First signatories: Alejandra Flores Martínez, Carlos Raimundi, Soledad Chávez Fajardo, Cristina Cavalcante, Greisy Contreras, Franklin González, María Soledad Espinoza, Alejandro Fernández Arango, Claudio Katz, Jaime Abedrapo, Bambina Stinga, Joana A. Coutinho, Guillermo Pajoni, José Carlos Araujo, Fernanda Saforcada, Gabriela Domecq, Danilo Enrico Martuscelli, Claudia Uscategui, Mitzy Flores-Sequera, Silvia HS Borelli, Francis Rivas Roa, Gabriela Martínez Dougnac, Wilson Armando Acosta Jiménez, Braulio Rojas, Carol Solís, German Guarín Jurado, Manuel Gándara Carballido, Ana Laura Blejer, Maira Machado Bichir, Faride Zerán, Fabiana Visintini, Aníbal Zanini, Fernando Santana, Bernardo Kocher, Pedro Álvarez, María Ibarreta, Marcelo Langieri, Harún Oda, Oleg Vysokolan, Federico Donner, Óscar Saldarriaga Vélez, Margarita Iglesias Saldana, Yael Barrera, Virgínia Fontes, Cristina Mateu, Bráulio Loureiro, Diego Ceballos, Miriam Abate Daga, Nelson López Jimenex, Irama La Rosa, Eduardo Martínez, Guillermo Alfredo Johnson, Yamile Socolovsky, Carlos De Feo, Héctor Kohen, Graciela Castro, Leonel Salomón Tribilsi, Gerardo Mirkin, Damián Fau, Silvina Barroso, María Teresa Luna Carmona, Daniel Fabre, Alexandre Bernardino Costa, Rocío Parafioriti, Ernesto Omar García Mochales, Ada Vera, Jacob Arredondo, Teresa Dall'Asta, Ricardo Marzuca Butto, Welington Araújo Silva, María Cristina Miranda da Silva, José Seoane, Valentina Salvi, Raquel de Almeida Moraes, Mariana Sosa, Gustavo dos Santos Cintra Lima, Leonardo Medeiros, Gabriela Nacari Sulbarán Barazarte, David Rehem, Johan Alexander Cortes Suárez, Marcelo Urra, Roberto López Sánchez, Olmedo Beluche, Gabriel Magalhães Beltrão, José Claudinei Lombardi, Gloria Montoya, Mariano Algava, Ana Esther Ceceña, Paula Vidal, Sergio Grez Toso, Ignacio Campoy Cervera, Enzo Macchiavello Bruno, Guadalupe Valencia, Miguel Ángel Hermosilla, Amaurys Giordano Pérez Vargas, Gabriel López, Rodrigo Karmy, Ernesto Molina, Miriam Socolovsky, more signatures follow…