UAE Cracks Down on NYU Abu Dhabi to Suppress Pro-Palestine Support
The UAE authorities’ efforts to prevent solidarity with the Palestinian cause and enforce normalization with Israel have reached New York University Abu Dhabi.
A student there faced arbitrary arrest and deportation amidst stringent restrictions on free speech. Human rights organizations informed Emirates Leaks that NYU Abu Dhabi’s leadership collaborated with Emirati authorities to suppress freedom of expression and academic freedom, and to prohibit any forms of solidarity with Palestine.
NYU Abu Dhabi, which opened in September 2010, is a liberal arts research university and a member of the global NYU network.
Sources reported that New York University Abu Dhabi’s administration enforced strict limitations on faculty and students on campus, imposing severe penalties and political repression in response to expressions of solidarity with Palestine.
The leadership at NYU Abu Dhabi was unable to protect students, staff, and faculty from being detained and interrogated by government security offices. They also failed to prevent the deportation of a faculty member and a graduate student.
Instead of defending academic freedom, NYU’s leadership has opted to suppress any engagement with the topic of Palestine on campus. This includes prohibiting activities such as organizing pro-Palestine vigils, teaching-related classes, displaying signs, posting on social media, and wearing keffiyehs.
Many students at the university faced disciplinary measures for voicing their discontent with this policy. Attempts to organize a faculty vote on the leadership’s response to student protests in New York, similar to actions taken by several other NYU schools, have encountered obstruction and threats.
The graduation ceremony at NYU Abu Dhabi on May 22 was intended to commemorate the accomplishments of graduates and honorees. However, it became a heavily regulated affair.
During the event, a doctoral student who voiced solidarity with Palestine on stage was detained for a week and subsequently deported. NYU President Linda Mills was present on stage at NYU Abu Dhabi during the incident.Human rights advocates raised concerns that New York University Abu Dhabi severely limited opportunities for preserving academic freedom, particularly to prevent any expressions of solidarity with Palestine.
The academic year of 2023-2024 witnessed an unprecedented level of repression, with academic and cultural events about Palestine requiring approval from the NYU Abu Dhabi Dean’s Office and frequently being canceled arbitrarily. This included numerous scholarly and cultural events unrelated to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Furthermore, an administrator at NYU Abu Dhabi opposed the establishment of a Palestinian cultural affinity group for faculty, despite the existence of other affinity groups on campus.
Students were prohibited from wearing keffiyehs in groups and were threatened with arrest for actively protesting if they did so.
Despite NYU Abu Dhabi’s administration stifling political expression through disciplinary measures, NYU President Linda Mills has refrained from addressing the UAE government’s oppressive actions targeting members of the NYU Abu Dhabi community.
The university’s most marginalized individuals, including staff, students, and citizens from non-Western nations, have faced the brunt of harsh repression, with several being subjected to arrest, harassment, and expulsion. These actions have been triggered by surveillance of their activities, private email communications, and personal social media content.
