“AUW’s Board of Trustees contains individuals who have affiliations with Israel,” says Palestinian envoy Yousef Ramadan
Palestinian Ambassador Yousef Ramadan has voiced opposition to sending students to the Asian University for Women (AUW), citing what he claimed were affiliations of the university’s financial backers and patrons with Israel.
Speaking at a briefing in Dhaka on Thursday, he outlined the Palestinian government’s stance, emphasising that for this reason, the university is not recognised by the Palestinian authorities.
During the briefing, he presented detailed “information and evidence” demonstrating how AUW is linked to Israel.
Referring to the deaths of two students — one Afghan and one Lao — at the university, the ambassador highlighted serious concerns over AUW’s ability to ensure the safety and security of its students.
“These concerns are amplified by AUW’s associations with entities and individuals directly or indirectly supporting the Israeli government and its policies toward Palestine,” he said.
The envoy added, “While the Embassy welcomes the arrival of Palestinian students to Bangladesh, it cannot endorse their placement in institutions whose affiliations or funding sources contradict the Palestinian national interest.”
Media reports on Wednesday said that 130 Palestinian students were facing uncertainty in their studies due to the cancellation of on-arrival visa permissions.
The reports said AUW had arranged scholarships for the students but faced opposition from the Palestinian embassy.
They, however, did not explain the reason for the opposition.
The reports also claimed that at least 30 scholarship recipients were unaccounted for after delays in their arrival process. It was suspected they had either been killed in Israeli attacks or moved elsewhere.
Ramadan outlined eight reasons for opposing the admission of Palestinian students to AUW, noting that its Founding Chancellor Cherie Blair is the wife of former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who is a “public supporter” of Israel’s expansion of geographical and economic interests in Gaza.
He said AUW is the only university in Bangladesh with a foreign chancellor, while all others have the president as chancellor.
“AUW’s Board of Trustees contains individuals who have affiliations with Israel,” he added.
Ramadan added that former education minister and AUW trustee board chair Dipu Moni had asked the Qatari government for $15 million to fund 200 students for five years.
“This is acceptable. However, taking donations from organisations affiliated with Israel is not,” he added.
According to Ramadan, a significant number of AUW’s donors and partners have established ties with the state of Israel and Israeli companies or causes, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bayer AG, and Direct Relief.
He claimed that ambassadors from the US and four other Western countries had pressured him to allow Palestinian students to enrol at AUW.
These governments, he noted, have not recognised the State of Palestine and continue supplying Israel with arms and ammunition for what he described as genocide in Gaza.
Ramadan said, “As such, their pressure on the Palestinian ambassador to allow Palestinian students to come to AUW on humanitarian grounds was highly contentious.”
He also noted that AUW’s partnerships include cooperation with COGAT, a unit under the Israeli Ministry of Defence responsible for the displacement of Palestinians, which is considered forced migration under international law.
“It is to be noted that Kamal Ahmed has not put out a public statement in support of the Palestinian cause,” the ambassador said.
Dismissing reports that 30 students died due to Embassy delays, Ramadan said: “The Embassy denies any basis for the claim. The 30 students voluntarily withdrew from AUW scholarships and accepted alternative scholarships arranged by the Embassy.”
