A Middle East Eye report spoke of increasing pressure on New York University to close its two branches in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, due to human rights violations by the countries of Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

The report monitored the experience of Maryam, who was a first-year student at New York University, when her friends, family and faculty encouraged her to study in one of the fifteen branches in which the famous institution spread around the world.

Out of countless countries to choose, Maryam - of Palestinian origin - was attached to New York University in Tel Aviv, and she chose her.

Born in New York, Maryam had never visited her parents' home country and believed that her study abroad program offered her an opportunity to visit her ancestors' country and further study at a world-class institution.

Speaking to Middle East Eye, Mariam said, "It was my father who actually asked me to apply for a study abroad program in Tel Aviv. I know it seems silly that I, a Palestinian, would want to go to Israel. But, (I thought) how could I get there? to there?".

With Israeli authorities repeatedly denying family visitor visas, Maryam's father believed that since she was a NYU student applying to one of the university's programs, he would surely let her in, that she would be able to visit her relatives and perhaps tour the famous olive fields.

But shortly after Maryam submitted her application, her visa was refused.

And she was not alone. Several students, and even departments at New York University, have documented similar experiences.

In 2019, New York University's Department of Social and Cultural Analysis announced that it pledged not to cooperate with NYU Tel Aviv, citing entry restrictions for Palestinians and "members of groups critical of government policies."

Last year, about 600 faculty, staff, students and alumni signed a statement pledging not to cooperate with the Tel Aviv program, "until the Israeli state stops its military campaign and takes measures to end the discriminatory policies that limit Palestinian students' access to education."

Targeting pro-boycott

The report stated that the Israeli border authorities prevent thousands of Palestinians of Palestinian origin and other nationalities from entering Palestine every year, and this usually occurs at Ben Gurion Airport or the land border such as the Allenby Bridge between Jordan and the West Bank.

The 2017 amendment to Israel's entry law barred entry from foreigners who were classified as major BDS supporters, possibly including students at New York University.

And only a few weeks after the release of a landmark report by Amnesty International classifying Israel as an apartheid state, pressure increased on American companies, athletes and universities to boycott Israel, because of its treatment of the Palestinians.

This pressure has intensified at New York University, where students and activists have called on the university to suspend its program in Tel Aviv, citing the Amnesty International report.

Trace Miller, managing editor of Washington Square News, the independent New York University student newspaper, wrote, “NYU cannot conscientiously operate an academic center in an apartheid state while claiming in its nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policy: a commitment to a harassment-free environment. and discrimination on the basis of race, colour, creed, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or citizenship status.”

On the other hand, a NYU spokesperson said that the university had taken a positive decision to embrace global participation, adding, "The closure of NYU Tel Aviv goes against this fundamental aspect of the university's character. The academic boycott represents a violation of the principles of academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas to which NYU is committed." .

Reviews of Abu Dhabi branch

The Middle East Eye report indicated that students and faculty expressed concerns about the Tel Aviv branch of New York University as early as 2007, before the branch officially opened.

Since then, criticism has also been directed at other university campuses, including New York University's $1 billion branch in Abu Dhabi.

Students staged sit-ins on the university's main campus in New York, protesting the mistreatment of immigrants working in construction on the site.

And in 2017, after the UAE denied visas to two New York University professors because of their “Shiite origins,” NYU’s journalism department voted to end its relationship with the university’s branch in Abu Dhabi.

“The Abu Dhabi program was launched without any consultation with faculty,” said Andrew Ross, director of American studies at New York University. “So, the branches of Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, and Tel Aviv are all hosted in very authoritarian countries with very egregious records of human rights abuses, and the Tel Aviv program Aviv belongs to that group."