Ariel University Center
Ariel University CenterAriel University Center

The Ariel University Center is on the warpath following a High Court motion filed by all eight existing universities against granting it full university status, despite decision to do so by the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria (CHE-JS).

"We are saddened by another action in the series of actions by the cartel of university presidents," the institute said in a particularly strongly worded statement. "The university presidents continue undermining the authorized institutions of the state of Israel, first and foremost of the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria.

Hebrew University, the Technion, Tel Aviv University, the Weizmann Institute, Bar Ilan University, Haifa University, Ben Gurion University and the Open University filed the motion, which demands that the decision by CHE-JS be struck down.

The plaintiffs claim that the CHE-JS exceeded the bounds of its authority when it decided, against the opinion of the Council of Higher Education's Planning and Finance Committee, to recognize Ariel as a University, and that its decision is riddled with faults.