Two activist students withdrawn from EAP

By Hemesh Patel
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
[email protected]

Two University of California students were withdrawn from the
systemwide education abroad program Wednesday after they were
detained by Israeli authorities.

The two were part of a group of 10 foreign activists who entered
the scene of a standoff between Palestinians and Israeli forces in
Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.

UC Berkeley student Richard O’Neill, 21, and UC Riverside
student Nauman Zaidi, 26, ““ both studying at the American
University of Cairo, in Egypt ““ were withdrawn, not expelled,
from EAP because they chose not to abide by safety regulations,
said UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman.

“The university’s top priority is safety, and we
need to make sure students are safe,” Eisenman said.
“In this instance, students ignored regulations and put their
own lives in jeopardy.”

Since the detention, Nasim Zaidi, father of Nauman Zaidi, has
been able to contact his son.

“He is all right, he’s in a holding cell and they
are treating him well,” he said. “I trust that the
American Embassy will take care of him.”

“I talked last night to the American Embassy, and it might
take a day, a week or longer to get him back,” Nasim said of
his son.

The two students were still in jail as of Thursday and are at
risk of deportation, an official from the state department told The
Associated Press.

Israeli authorities have given the students the option of
leaving voluntarily if they or their supporters pay for their own
tickets. But the pair has declined the offer because they do not
have assurance that they will be able to return to Israel, the
official said.

According to the elder Zaidi, Nauman ““ who had about a
month left before finishing his term through EAP ““ was giving
food and water to refugees inside Bethlehem’s Church of the
Nativity when he was detained for a visa violation.

The EAP has identified the Gaza Strip and West Bank, where the
Church of the Nativity is, as zones to which students should avoid
going.

Similar travel restrictions exist throughout the world. EAP
students in India have been told not to visit the area of Kashmir,
where violence between India and Pakistan has been escalating.

Three years ago, students were restricted from Indonesia during
unrest between Christians and Muslims. Recently, three UCLA
students had to return home because the EAP in Israel was suspended
this year due to ongoing conflicts in the Mideast.

Marla Kozlak, assistant director for opportunities abroad at UC
Riverside, said that at least once a year, students are withdrawn
from EAP for reasons such as family emergencies.

In this case, the University of Cairo has given the students the
opportunity to study independently at its university, Eisenman
said. They also have the choice of submitting a petition to the
dean of their school to re-enroll.

The students involved are in good academic standing and should
have every opportunity for re-enrollment for the next term,
Eisenman said.

Students withdrawn from the program do not have to re-apply to
the UC. The petition is more of an administrative enrollment
process, Eisenman said.

“Unless the student has been convicted of a felony, I
wouldn’t foresee a problem,” Kozlak said. “The
students (in Israel) are being detained and were not convicted
““ there is a difference.”

While EAP has withdrawn the students, it is unclear whether the
university will take further action.

“UC Berkeley has not yet received official documentation
indicating that a UC Berkeley student has been withdrawn from
EAP,” said Janet Gilmore, a UC Berkeley spokeswoman.

“At this point, there is no change in the student’s
status at UC Berkeley,” she added.

For now, Zaidi’s father continues to wait for his son to
return home.

“We are confident he’ll come back,” he
said.

With reports from The Associated Press.