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University of Ariel? Not so fast
Tomer Velmer
Published: 22.07.12, 00:01
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10 Talkbacks for this article
1. Ariel Univ already's an internationally respected university
Scott ,   Ramat Gan, Israel   (07.22.12)
The Ariel University Center is a member of the International Association of Universities (IAU).
2. Israel's legal ownership of Judea/Samaria is fact.
Chaim ,   Israel   (07.22.12)
The author is incorrect. There is no excuse for foot dragging regarding Ariel University. Israel's legal ownership of Judea and Samaria is an established fact. We are not going to let a small leftist minority get away with smearing Ariel University, or Judea and Samaria, any more.
3. International law has nothing to do with
Sam ,   USA   (07.22.12)
Israel granting status to a school within its jurisdiction. Budget Committee members refusing to approve a budget may find themselves removed from the committee and replaced. Other Israeli Universities refusing to accept graduate students may find their own budgets reduced among other sanctions. The government has approved Ariel University and military is under the government. Ariel faculy has many papers published in serious journals around the world and particiapte in conferences in Europe, Russia, US, Canada, Japan, China and other areas
4. Right: get rid of "Green Line" first! I can't see it anyway.
tom ,   tel aviv   (07.22.12)
5. Please look at the big picture
PaulZion ,   Israel   (07.22.12)
While we like to think that we can stand on our own against all adversity, that is not reaaly the case. Israel's stubbornness to grant university status to Ariel could very well jeopardize the standing and acceptability of all Israeli universities in the world. We do not live in a vacuum and universities especially cannot operate in an academic vacuum. By granting Ariel university status, countries who have been withstanding pressure not to boycott Israeli universitie, might now find themselves in an untenable situation. If israeli universities are cut off from exchange programs with overseas universities, joint research projects, apprenticeships, post-graduate studies overseas etc. - and that could happen, let us not kid ourselves, all academia in Israel is likely to suffer from a politically motivated decision such as this. So you will have gained a minor victory, and lost international recognition for all Israeli universities.
6. Allow West Bank Arabs access to Israeli West Bank schools
COLBERT ,   Treadmill, ISS   (07.22.12)
...the International Community would respect Israel for that, and take away their argument that Israel is an Apartheid State in the West Bank.
7. 5
MelekhShaul ,   Jerusalem   (07.22.12)
Absolutely right. The battle over boycotting Israeli academe - one in which I've been involved since it first reared its ugly head - is now at the thinnest edge of an already thin wedge. By granting AUC Israeli university status, we have shot ourselves in both feet, because those wishing to boycott settlements and their produce as illegitimate, will now be able to say that there's no difference between AUC and all Israeli universities, so boycott the lot. They will not know or care for the 'nuances' that this article reveals - however essential both degree recognition and budgetary approval are. And this is a government not known for its largesse to Israeli higher education, indeed Israeli education in general. If it was possible to have 3 feet, then the decision to grant AUC university status is shooting all 3. Well done!
8. #5/7. The answer is to stand up for Israel's rights.
Chaim ,   Israel   (07.22.12)
#5/7. Your "solution" to anti-Israel and anti-Jewish haters is to cede our rights! This is pathetic. Judea and Samaria legally belong to Israel. The evidence is incontrovertible and more than sufficient to convince every person of good will. The answer is to stand up strongly for the truth and Israel's rights. Not to cede our rights and beg our haters to like us! Your reasoning is pathetic. We need to be like Churchill. Not like Chamberlain.
9. Chaim, 28
PaulZion ,   Israel   (07.22.12)
The argument is on what those rights are, and you and I will never agree on that. However, what we are talking about is not what is right, but what is the intelligent thing to do.To sacrifice the international cooperation that all the universities enjoy on the altar of Accepting Ariel as a university, is not intelligent, it is pig-headed. If eminent universities boycott all Israeli universities, the the educational standards of those universities are liable to drop - and all our young and talented youth will either miss out, or choose not to study in Israel. Does that sound smart to you? I wonder whether you would be fighting so hard for university status if it was a college in Western Gallilee of the Jezreel Valley? I bet not. Your motivation is political, not educational. However, you are not being like Churchill. Churchill was smart. What you are proposing is not smart.
10. #5 really well said Paul
Gregg ,   Haifa IL   (07.22.12)
That is an Israeli specialité to shoot in its own foot
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