The Finance Ministry upped the ante Thursday morning in its wage war with striking professors and other academic staff at Israeli universities, saying it would redirect funds earmarked for university programs to private colleges instead.

The plan was slammed by Education Minister Yuli Tamir, who said that "any attempt to strengthen the private education sector at the expense of public education is deplorable and I will have no part in it."

The strike, now in its ninth week, may jeopardize the entire semester, according to university heads.