The reception will be held outside on the roof terrace (weather permitting) with a live music performance followed by dinner in the ballroom. We will finish with live music and tea and coffee downstairs.
You can buy individual tickets through the link below or though making a bank transfer and informing admin@fqms.org. If you would like to book a table, please email us.
We invite you to join FQMS and Larissa von Planta in her studio on Thursday 19th May to drop off your garments and homeware to be hand-embroidered and to introduce you to the work of FQMS.
The Al Quds Foundation for Medical Schools in Palestine (FQMS) is a British-based charity founded in 1997 with the aim of advancing medical education in the West Bank and Gaza. Their focus is on funding programmes at the Palestinian medical schools and postgraduate training in the UK.
LVPx is an upcycling initiative that provides sustainable income to artisan refugees in Lebanon. We work with a network of highly-skilled women to transform your favourite clothing and homeware with beautiful fine embroidery.
During this event, Larissa will provide individual design consultations so please bring items to be hand-embroidered. We charge £100 for each bespoke item and we will be running an exclusive offer of £250 for three items at this event.
You will also be able to browse our fabulous new Prêt-à-Porter collection, of which part of the proceeds will be donated to FQMS to support their vital work.
Want to learn more about the history of Palestinian villages which were destroyed or evacuated in 1948?
You can watch the full recording of the webinar here
Dr Thabet Abu Rass
Dr Thabet Abu Rass is Co-Executive Director of The Abraham Initiatives, an NGO that promotes equality and Jewish-Arab partnership in Israel’s society.
Dr Abu Rass obtained his Ph.D. in the field of Regional Development and Middle East Studies from the University of Arizona, 1997. He is a political geographer and a former lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Development at Ben Gurion University as well as the Sapir College. Dr Abu Pass taught courses on ethnic relations, land, planning, and regional development.
Dr Abu Rass is an expert in Palestinian citizens of Israel and Arab-Jewish relations. He took a central role in the process of creating the “Future Visions” of Palestinian citizens of Israel and co-authored three of the future vision documents which have provided a road map for the status, engagement, and demands of Arab society in Israel. He is a prominent voice in promoting the rights of the Bedouins of the Negev and teaching of the Nakba in all Israeli schools.
Dr Abu Rass continues to publish articles regularly in the Hebrew and Arabic press.
As a result of the Nakba, his family split between Gaza refugee camps and the town of Kalanswa inside Israel where he lives. He will be talking about the pre 1948 Palestinian villagers and the destructive effect of the Nakba.
Dr Hala Qasrawi
We were also joined by Dr Hala Qasrawi, a recent graduate from An Najah National University Medical School.
As one of the top graduates, she was selected as one of the first candidates for a FQMS funded teaching fellowship.
She spoke about her experience training at An Najah and how this teaching fellowship has helped her.
Thank you to everyone who was able to come to our exhibition in Bristol, A History of Palestine Through Posters at the Palestinian Museum, Bristol. It was an enjoyable afternoon. Many of you came to see our special historical posters, focusing on the occupation, resistance, solidarity and culture, and learn more about our work.
Our Annual General Meeting was held at 7pm on Thursday 23rd September. As social distancing measures have only just started to lift the AGM was be held online again this year.
The FQMS Annual General Meeting is a vital event at which we discuss our work over the last year and the future, including motions and elections to the Trustee Board.
Here is a summary of what was discussed:
The Chairman summarised his statement on FQMS’s activity in 2020 as provided in the 2020 annual return.
Accept the Report and Accounts of the Trustees for the year ending 31st December 2020 – agreed.
Reappoint auditors Clarkson Hyde to assess our accounts for the year ending 31st December 2021 – agreed.
Retire and reappoint the following trustees:
Khaled Dawas – agreed.
Ahmed Massoud – agreed.
Neil Serougi – agreed.
Re-elect newly appointed trustees:
Yasmin Tabbakh – agreed.
Electra Simon – agreed.
Naseer Chia – agreed.
Special resolutions:
Officially change the name of the charity to “Al Quds Foundation for Medical Schools in Palestine” – agreed.
Amend the Articles of Association to expand the scope of support – agreed.
For the full details of the resolutions that were passed, please read the minutes.
To coincide with our live event on 26th June 2021, we had a beautiful acrylic on canvas inspired by the recent events in Gaza by artist William McDermid.
Gaza – A Life in Rubble
William McDermid is a Scottish artist living/working on a houseboat near Richmond. He enjoys using colour and texture, filling his work with emotion which his audience can interact with.
This piece is called “Gaza – A Life in Rubble” and is 60 x 60 cm. The canvas is stretched on a wooden frame.
The auction was live between Saturday 26th June and Saturday 3rd July 2021.
Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in our webinar on 26th June.
Speakers included students and doctors we support on their journey to specialism. They talked about their experience living, studying and working in Palestine.
Summary clip of the event
More information on our speakers:
Dr Najib Salameh
In partnership with Juzoor, we supported Najib during his laparoscopic gynaecological surgery training at University College Hospital London. He has been back in Palestine for the last two years. He’s been working as a consultant OBGYN at Beit Jala Government Hospital (referral centre for the district of Bethlehem), as well as teaching Al Quds University medical students.
Dr Khubaib Ayoub
In partnership with Juzoor, we are supporting Khubaib as a Clinical Fellow in Diabetes in Endocrinology at King’s College Hospital, London. He has the Palestinian and Arab Boards in Internal Medicine. He was a Internist and part time Lecturer at An-Najah National University.
Dr Saleh Eleiwa
Saleh graduated from Islamic University of Gaza Medical School. As a top graduate he was offered a teaching position there, which is FQMS funded.
We were also joined by 2 medical students Alaa Sharawneh (Al Quds University, Jerusalem) and Angham Marea (An Najah University, Nablus)
Thank you! With your help our third webinar was our best yet!
The webinar focused on Gaza, in particular Al Azhar and Islamic University of Gaza Medical Schools, as well as our undergraduate scholarship programme.
Short clip from our March webinar
We still need your help raising funds for our programmes in the West Bank and Gaza. Please donate now if you can. The level of poverty across all of Palestine has become more critical and every day counts.
For more information on our speakers:
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a British-Palestinian Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. He completed his medical education at University of Glasgow in the UK.
In 2012, he became Head of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre and in 2015 co-founded and became director of the Conflict Medicine Programme at Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut.
Dr Abu-Sittah returned to the UK in 2020 and continues his in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College University of London. He has published extensively on war injuries including a medical textbook, “Reconstructing the War Injured Patient” and has a forthcoming book, “Treating the War Injured Child.”
Dr Abu-Sittah has worked as a war surgeon in Iraq, South Lebanon and during the 3 wars in the Gaza Strip. His work was featured by numerous newspapers and media outlets notably La Monde, The Independent, Telegraph, BBC and CNN.
Mr David Nott OBE
Mr David Nott is a world renowned war surgeon. He is a Consultant at St Mary’s Hospital where he specialises in vascular and trauma surgery and also performs cancer surgery at the Royal Marsden Hospital.
For the past 25 years, Mr Nott has taken unpaid leave each year to work for the aid agencies Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syria Relief. He has provided surgical treatment to patients in a range of conflict and catastrophe zones in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Chad, Darfur, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Central African Republic, Gaza and Nepal.
As well as treating patients affected by conflict and catastrophe and raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charitable causes, Mr Nott teaches advanced surgical skills to local medics and surgeons when he is abroad. In Britain, he teaches the Surgical Training for the Austere Environment (STAE) course at the Royal College of Surgeons.
In 2015, Mr Nott established the David Nott Foundation with his wife Elly. The Foundation supports surgeons in developing their operating skills for war-zones and austere environments. In 2019, Picador published David’s bestselling memoir, War Doctor.
Mr Nott will tell us about his vast experience of working in war zones such as in Gaza.
Mr Imran Yusuf
Imran Yusuf is a Kenyan-born British stand-up comedian of Indian Muslim descent. He is renowned as a skilful raconteur who seamlessly weaves socio-political satire with heartfelt introspection in his charmingly endearing trademark styling. Languid, punchy, cheeky and utterly loveable, Imran has established himself as a truly unique voice in the world of comedy.
Imran came to notice following rave reviews and a Best Newcomer nomination for the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010 and appearing on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, both in the summer of 2010.
In January 2017, Imran went out to the occupied territories with MAP and the late Jeremy Hardy. They made a short film about the condition of health under occupation.
In 2015, Imran hosted the first ever “HaLOL” comedy night to celebrate the growing talent of British Muslim comedy in the UK, after which along with CEO of Unitas Communications; Muddassar Ahmed, Imran became a Director of HaLOL Entertainment, a non-profit organisation seeking to encourage participation in the arts amongst minority communities.
Imran’s latest solo show “Saint, Sinner, Sufi”, proved to be his deepest work yet, observing and acknowledging his journey towards middle-age maturity. The show debuted at The Edinburgh Festival in 2018.
Dr Fadel Naim
Dr Fadel Naim studied medicine at Friedrich Alexander University, Germany and went on to get his PhD in Orthopaedics and Traumatology from Gazi University, Turkey. He was Medical Director of El Wafa Rehab Hospital in Gaza. Dr Naim has been Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza since 2015. Since 2003, Dr Naim has been Consultant of Orthopaedic Surgery at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. He is also Chairman of the Palestinian Physician Syndicate in Southern Governorates.
Dr Anwar Al-Shaikh Khalil
Dr Anwar Al-Shaikh Khalil has been Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Islamic University of Gaza since 2009. He is a Senior Consultant Paediatrician; Head of the Higher committee and Paediatric Scientific Committee in the Palestinian Medical Council. He was the former director of the Al-Nassr Paediatric Hospital, MOH. He has been Coordinator and Supervisor of the students’ elective courses and external relations for the past 11 years.
The Q&A will be with the following students:
Ms Asmaa Abu Hamada is currently studying medicine at Al Azhar University, Gaza. She is due to graduate next summer.
Dr Haytham Shuhaiber graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza in 2017. He started his residency programme in paediatrics at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar last year.
Mr Hisham Abuamro is currently studying medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza. He is due to graduate this summer.
Thank you! With your help the second part in our trio of fundraising webinars was a great success and we are close to being able to fund all of our programmes for the year.
We still need your help raising funds for our programmes in the West Bank and Gaza. Please donate now if you can. The level of poverty across all of Palestine has become more critical and every day counts.
More information on our speakers:
Mr Sabih Al Masri
Our keynote speaker Mr Sabih Taher Darwish Al-Masri is a Businessman of Palestinian origin, born in Nablus.
Mr Al-Masri’s early education and formative years were in Nablus. Since then, has had an illustrious career as Businessman, Investor and Banker in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Palestine. Mr Al-Masri is Founder and Chairman of Arab Supply and Trading Company, and is also the Chairman of the Arab Bank, Zara Investment Holding Company and Palestine Telecommunication Group (PALTEL), amongst others.
Mr Al-Masri is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of An-Najah National University and is thus the ideal person to give our keynote address.
Dr Umaiyeh Khammash
Dr Umaiyeh Khammash is a doctor and senior public health specialist with over 35 years of experience in all aspects of primary health care, from practicing medicine in West Bank hospitals to running different local and international health programs. Dr Khammash currently serves as the director of national NGO; Juzoor for Health & Social Development.
Dr Khammash will talk about the challenges facing health care services in Palestine.
Dr Khalil Issa
Dr Khalil Ibrahim Issa; Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Senior Orthopaedic Consultant at An Najah National University and its Hospital in Palestine. He specialised in reconstructive and spine surgery. He is currently a member of Palestinian Supreme Health Council, Palestinian Medical Council and the Orthopaedic Scientific Committee. He was an establishing member and former CEO and CMO of An Najah University Hospital. He has been supervising medical students’ electives courses for 10 years.
Dr Naim Qamhia
Dr Naim Qamhia graduated from An-Najah National University Medical School in 2011. He then specialised in histopathology in Jordan. After he completed a fellowship in oncologic surgical pathology at King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan and then worked as a histopathologist at An-Najah National University Hospital. Dr Qamhia is currently doing a haematopathology sub-specialty training at North Bristol NHS Trust.
Here is the full recording of our February webinar:
Thank you! With your help our first ever webinar in January 2021 was a success. We are £15,000 away from reaching our target for all 3 events!
Short clip from our January webinar
We still need your help raising funds for our programmes in the West Bank and Gaza. Please donate if you can.
For more information about our line up:
Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE FRS is a physicist, author and broadcaster and one of the best-known science communicators in the world. He has written many books on popular science and the history of science, translated into over 26 languages, including Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science, which was shortlisted for the Warwick Book Prize. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries that have been shown around the world, such as the BAFTA nominated Chemistry: A Volatile History and Science and Islam.
For the past ten years he has presented the popular BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific. Jim is a past president of the British Science Association, trustee of the Institute of Physics and member of the judging panel of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. He is a recipient of the Royal Society Faraday medal and Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar medal, the Institute of Physics Kelvin medal and the Stephen Hawking medal.
Professor Hani Abdeen is the Dean of Al-Quds Medical School in Jerusalem, Palestine. He qualified from Southampton University in 1979 and specialised in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases in hospitals in Wessex. Professor Abdeen was Palestinian Minister of Health between 2011 and 2013. He is Head of Internal Medicine Specialty Committee at the Palestinian Medical Council and member of of the PMC Higher council. His main interest is in medical education and development of the Palestinian health sector.
Professor Hani Abdeen spoke about FQMS funded programmes and the high standard of Al Quds medical graduates and was available for the Q&A.
Ambassador Husam Said Zomlot is a Palestinian diplomat, academic and economist. He was appointed Head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom in October 2018. Before coming to the UK, he served as head of the PLO mission to the United States that was closed by the President Donald Trump’s administration.
Dr Majd Dabbour (recent graduate from Al Quds) joined us to talk about her experience study medicine and was available for the Q&A.
Dr Haya Tahboub (recent graduate from Al Quds) joined us to talk about her experience study medicine and was available for the Q&A.
Here is the full recording of our January webinar:
