School blocks filming of Kerry talk

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Sunday that “true civil discourse” is under threat around the world while speaking to graduates at NYU Abu Dhabi, an event that the school blocked journalists from filming.

While obliquely criticizing President Trump, Kerry did not mention the 2015 Iran nuclear deal he secured with other world powers. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord.

It probably was courtesy to his hosts in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which long opposed the deal as not going far enough to limit Iran’s power in the greater Mideast.

“True civil discourse is also under threat all around the planet, eroding rights alongside trust,” Kerry said. “Certainly in my country, our politics has become almost all accusatory and all bombastic.”

Andrew Hamilton, president of New York University, also made a point to criticize “disturbing trends of antiintellectualism and antifactualism” in the world.

NYU Abu Dhabi invited reporters to cover Kerry’s speech, then just before the ceremony said journalists could not film his full remarks. They said the school would offer video that it would editorially control after the event.

A university spokeswoman, Kate Chandler, said it was the school’s decision.

This is not the first time NYU Abu Dhabi has faced criticism when trying to balance the ideas of an American liberal arts education in the United Arab Emirates, which has strict rules governing speech despite being a staunch American ally in the Mideast.