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Tel Aviv demonstration

University students: Stop butchering higher education

Hundreds of students, lecturers protest outside homes of education minister, Israeli president. Student union chairman : ‘Enough of this nonsense already, don’t kill the semester off for us’

Some 300 students and faculty members from Tel Aviv University marched Thursday, the 82nd day of the university lecturers’ strike, near the homes of Israeli President Shimon Peres and Education Minister Yuli Tamir in Tel Aviv's Ramat Aviv neighborhood. Four students were detained for questioning by police.

 

Chairman of Tel Aviv University’s Students’ union, Gil Goldenberg, who participated in the protest and was detained for questioning by police, noted that “three days before the semester is officially dead, we plead for this nonsense to end already. We ask for an end to the butchering of higher education in Israel. More than 100,000 students are out of class for over 80 days now,” he said.

 

Professor Bentzi Moniz, chairman of senior faculty at Tel Aviv University, said during the protest, “Coming back to work under threat of injunctions will not being the semester back on track. The university presidents have crossed the line, for which we will never forgive them.”


Students Protest in Tel Aviv

 

Earlier Thursday, students from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem staged a 6am protest outside the home of Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On and, armed with drums and whistles, urged him to “wake up” and solve this ongoing crisis.

 

'Olmert to blame for higher education crisis'

“The gloves have come off, we will do anything within our power to end this strike,” said Shlomo Levy, Chairman of the Hebrew University’s Students’ Union.

 

The National Labor Court, headed by Judge Steve Adler, will convene on Sunday to determine whether injunctions should be issued forcing lecturers back to work.

 

Meanwhile, university presidents decided Wednesday to petition the National Labor Court for temporary injunctions forcing lecturers back to work for the next two weeks. Tel Aviv University’s President objected to this decision.

 

Chairman of the Senior Faculty Organizations’ Coordinating Committee, Professor Tzvi Ha’cohen, said that blame for these higher education woes rests squarely on the shoulders of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

 

“Olmert is the only one responsible for the fate of this academic year. We are astounded that he has yet to speak up and attempt to resolve this crisis,” said Ha’cohen.

 


פרסום ראשון: 01.10.08, 15:48
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