Students against Livnat
Photo: Gili Yohanan
A.B. Yehoshua: deeply worried
Photo: Tzvika Tishler
Artists call on Livnat to resign
Arts community calls on Education Minister to quit, following crisis in higher education, Committee for Higher Education to discuss crisis; letter: “Israel is blessed with creative minds”
TEL AVIV - A long list of artists and well-known intellectuals, including author A.B. Yehoshua, singer Yossi Banai, and Haifa Theater director Sini Peter, have called on Education Minister Limor Livnat to resign “in light of the deteriorating state of higher education in Israel”.
about the deteriorating state of higher education in this country,” they wrote in a scathing letter attacking Livnat. “Cancelled classes, cutbacks for researchers and libraries—and above all, the growing inaccessibility of higher education to most people—is a serious phenomenon that could lead to Israel’s cultural failure.
“We, a group of Israeli artists and intellectuals, must convey our deep concern
University Crisis
By Moran Zelikovich
Tel Aviv students hold two hour strike to protest program cutbacks; Knesset members and public figures join the demonstration in show of support
“Israel is not blessed with natural resources, oil, or great land,” they wrote. “Our blessings come from creative minds.”
They added that Livnat must decide whose interests she serves: “we call on the minister to act on behalf of higher education and of the students. If she is not able to do this, she must admit she is abusing her position and resign.”
Budget meeting Wednesday
Assaf Segev, head of the National Student Association, applauded the letter, and said “the students have gained tremendous support from the letter.” He said the students would “not despair and would not allow the budget to cut into higher education.”
Wednesday, the Committee for Higher Education is scheduled to meet to discuss the crisis facing Israeli universities, particularly the ongoing fight over the budget of Tel Aviv University.
A Tel Aviv University spokesman said universities around the country were cutting budgets. “Hebrew University (in Jerusalem) submitted its budget plan to the Knesset Planning and Finance Committee nearly two years ago. The plan calls to cut, and eventually eliminate, deficit spending over a two-year period. He added that committee members have praised Tel Aviv University’s proposal.
Reacting to the university’s assertion, the head of the Council for Higher Education Shosh Barlinski attacked the university, saying the university is poorly managed.
