'We want social revolution'
Students attempt to stop traffic on Ayalon freeway, continue 3 week strike against hike in tuition fees
A number of students attempted to reach the nearby Ayalon freeway which crosses Tel Aviv, in an attempt to block traffic. Police helicopters hovered overhead, and a tense standoff ensued, following a violent clash between the two sides last week in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square.
Kasa Baysin and Barak Sas: Everyone should join us (Photo: Yaakov Lappin)
Some 33 students were arrested, tires were burned and one police officer was lightly injured in scuffles. On the whole, however, there was less violence than last week's demonstration. Undercover officers also arrived at the demonstration, disguised as students, one of a number of measures taken by police to keep protesters under their watch.
The students are protesting against recommendations by the government-appointed Shochat Committee, which called for raising university tuition fees from 10 to 15,000 shekels.
Students, police standoff (Photo: Yaakov Lappin)
"This demonstration will have some influence, but it will be minimal, because the State has too many problems," Nitzan Kol, a student at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa told Ynetnews. "It's too bad the government hasn't applied the recommendations of the Winograd Commission in 2000 and in 2006," Kol added.
In 2000, the Winograd Commission said tuition fees should be lowered to 5,000 shekels a year.
"We'll have to demonstrate for a long time, and weak segments of society should come here and join us," Kol said, adding: "We have no oil, and no gold here. Students and education are the best resources Israel has. If we don't invest in education, we'll lose this precious reserve."
Nitzan Kol being lifted by police (Photo: Yaakov Lappin)
Kassa Baysin and Barak Sas, students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said they believed their protest would make a difference. "We'll continue to create pressure until something happens," Baysin said. "There's always things for us to do. Everyone has to join in the educational sector," she added, referring to high school teachers who are also on strike.
Ariel Abu, a student from Haifa University, said the protest was part of a wider stirring in the country. "We hope this sparks something that will ignite a social revolution," he told Ynetnews. "I'm cautiously optimistic that this can happen," he added.
"If tuition fees go up to 15,000 shekels, I can't continue to be a student," he said. "It would also rule out an MA, as the cost of doing a second degree would also rise," he added.
