'US university shelves UAE campus plan'

"The University of Connecticut confirmed to Gulf News that it has halted plans to open a campus in Dubai following concerns raised by pro-Israel politicians and interest groups who oppose the UAE;s policy of not permitting entry to Israelis...

"If they're so concerned about human rights why don't we see them protesting Israel's human rights violations against the Palestinians?" she said...

Fleischmann argued that "many" Israeli students and faculty members at UConn would be unable to benefit from such a programme if the UAE continued to deny them entry. Nichols agreed that it was "extremely important" that Israeli students had access to the Dubai campus of UConn, a public-funded university...

Asked if Cuban nationals would be allowed easy access into the United States, Fleischmann admitted that it would be hard "but possible", saying the comparison was not fair...

Nichols said the University has discussed the matter with various interest groups including the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish pressure group which, at the time of the Dubai Ports World controversy last year, ran an active media and political campaign to "torpedo the deal" in protest of the UAE's economic boycott of Israel.Despite that, argued Dr Ebtisam, Arab states continue to "send money to the United States"."