Yemen offers place to students suspended for pro-Palestinian acts

Sanaa University in Yemen is offering places to US and European students suspended due to pro-Palestinian acts. The educational institution, according to Reuters, is run by the Houthi. The rebel group, linked to Iran, was responsible for attacks on US and British ships as a way of demonstrating support for the Palestinians and Hamas in the war against Israel.

The recent wave of protests is greatest in the USA, where it was driven by Columbia University in New York. Pro-Palestinian students began setting up a camp on April 17. Since then, other camps have appeared in various educational institutions across the country. Among the actions taken by universities are the suspension of students and the summoning of the police to demobilize the acts.

In a note published on its website, the University of Sanaa said that “opens its doors” for “welcome, with the greatest appreciation, honor and respect, all academics and students who have been unfairly dismissed from their institutions”. The offer is valid, according to the statement, for all courses offered by the university.

“We extend our warmest welcome and utmost respect to these individuals, offering them a safe haven within our academic community,” the university stated. In the note, the institution published an email address for interested parties to contact.

The university stated that it had “deep admiration and appreciation for the noble humanitarian stance and ethical revolt undertaken” by students who were involved in pro-Palestinian acts.

“The Council condemns the terrible acts of torture, silencing and suppression of freedom of opinion and expression inflicted on academics and students at North American and European universities”, the note reads. “These actions have unmasked the true nature of regimes that falsely claim to defend democracy and respect human rights and dignity”, he adds.

UNIVERSITIES IN THE USA

Pro-Palestinian students at Columbia University began setting up a camp on April 17, the same day that the institution’s president, Minouche Shafik, testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor and spoke about the steps the university is taking. regarding accusations of anti-Semitism on campus.

Camps were also set up at more than 40 US institutions across the country. Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Yale, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College, which are part of the Ivy League (group of the best universities in the USA), registered acts.

According to information from the New York Times, police carried out operations to disperse protests and dismantle camps at 42 universities. More than 2,000 protesters were arrested across the country.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, said on Thursday (May 2, 2024) that the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at universities in the country did not make him reconsider North American foreign policy in the Middle East.

In a speech lasting almost 4 minutes given to journalists at the White House, Biden spoke for the first time about the acts organized by students at higher education institutions in the country. Protesters call for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. They also demand that universities separate themselves financially and academically from institutions and companies linked to the Israeli government.

The US president criticized what he considers to be “violent protests” in universities. He also said that Americans have the “right to demonstrate, but not to cause chaos”.

“Destroying property is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, closing campuses, forced cancellation of classes and graduations, none of these are peaceful protests”, he stated.