Administration officials at several Middle Eastern universities offered enrollment this week to students in the U.S. and Europe who are facing consequences for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Breitbart reported.
Chaos has crippled dozens of college campuses in the United States with protesters that began April 17, demanding that schools divest from companies they claim "profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine." Columbia University; Yale University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were among the most active.
More than 2,300 people have been arrested on more than 44 college and universities campuses across dozens of states, The Associated Press reported on Friday. As a result, many students are now facing expulsion, and some universities in Iran and Yemen have offered assistance.
On Thursday, dean of Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Seyed Mahmoud Aghamiri, encouraged any protesters in the U.S. or Europe who are facing discipline for their actions to apply to the school and even offered financial aid.
"We accept students who have been expelled from European and American universities for protesting against the actions of the Zionists," Aghamiri said. "We have considered scholarship for these students and we fully cover the cost of education, dormitory and accommodation."
Shahid Beheshti University followed the earlier example set by Shiraz University, which on Wednesday had extended its invitation to any professors that may find themselves out of work.
"Students and even professors who have been expelled or threatened with expulsion can continue their studies at Shiraz University and I think that other universities in Shiraz, as well as Fars Province, are also prepared," the head of school Mohammad Moazzeni told Iranian state-owned Press TV.
On Friday, an official at Sanaa University in Yemen, which is run by the Iranian-backed Houthis joined the movement as well.
"We are serious about welcoming students that have been suspended from U.S. universities for supporting Palestinians," an official with this school told Reuters. "We are fighting this battle with Palestine in every way we can."
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.