Treasury, university heads' meeting ends abruptly

Running on empty: A meeting held Wednesday between representatives of the Finance Ministry and those of the Council of University Heads, in an attempt to prevent a strike with the commencement of the academic year, collapsed just 30 minutes after it began.

Sources within the Treasury said that the meeting was adjourned because the overall impression remained that the university representatives had only taken the meeting for appearances sake.

Both sides walked out of the meeting and said the gaps between their positions were "irreconcilable."

Marching for education (Photo: Gil Yohanan) 

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to meet with Education Minister Yuli Tamir and Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On on the matter, on Thursday afternoon. Tamir remained optimistic Wednesday, saying she hoped the meeting would bring the crisis to an end.

Earlier Wednesday, some 400 students and faculty members from various universities held a demonstration outside the Knesset in protest of the stalled negotiations and the budget cuts inflicted on the higher education system.

The protestors, holding torches, blocked the access road leading to the Knesset plaza and attempted to force their way into the compound, but local police forces stopped them from doing so.

According to student sources, two of the rioters were arrested, including National Student Union Chairman

Boaz Toporovsky.

Tel Aviv University's Student Union's Chairman, Gil Goldenberg, spoke at the rally: "We've come here to face the people responsible for one of the worst crises in history of Israeli academia.

"I call on the prime minister and the education minister to bring this crisis to its end, so that 250,000 students won't have to stay home on Sunday."

Tuesday's meeting between delegates from both sides proved futile as well, as the council continues to claim that without additional funds the universities will not be able to launch the academic year