In what they are calling a "small victory", activists from Harvard University's Divinity School reacted with cautious satisfaction to the announced closing of a controversial Arab League think-tank located in the Persian Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi. The think-tank, the Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-Up, named for the ruler of Abu Dhabi, was condemned by the activists and others for its anti-American and anti-Semitic propaganda.
The Los Angeles Times quoted the Centre's director as saying the "Jews are the enemies of all nations." The Centre has published a book claiming that the American government masterminded the September 11 al-Qaeda attacks, has hosted notorious Holocaust deniers, among them former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and has featured a lecture by a Saudi professor who claimed that Jews use gentile blood for holiday pastries.
"It shouldn't take a group of Divinity School students to pressure for change in the UAE," noted Rachel Fish, the Harvard student who spearheaded the campaign against the Zayed Centre, "American leaders and human rights groups should be on the forefront of this battle."
The closure comes three months after Divinity School students first went public with their demand that Harvard return a $2.5 million gift from Sheikh Zayed, ruler of the United Arab Emirates. "While we don't yet know all the facts about the closing of the Zayed Centre, we definitely made a breakthrough," Fish said. Student opponents of the Abu Dhabi think-tank have appeared on CBS, NPR and MSNBC.
While many questions remain about the closing of the Zayed Centre, Fish pointed out that the students' objections go beyond this single UAE institution. "The Sheikh and one of his five wives donated $50,000 to Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, and Zayed has ruled as a despot for 30 years, denying basic human rights," the Harvard student said. "This campaign is not over."