Two University of California students were withdrawn from the systemwide education abroad program Wednesday after they were detained by Israeli authorities.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21, and UC Riverside student Nauman Zaidi, 26, — both studying at the American University of Cairo, in Egypt — were withdrawn, not expelled, from EAP because they chose not to abide by safety regulations, said UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman.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Marla Kozlak, assistant director for opportunities abroad at UC Riverside, said that at least once a year, students are withdrawn from EAP for reasons such as family emergencies.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.
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