The union representing Israel's 250,000 state-supported university students is marking the ninth day of a boycott of classes with a demonstration at Be'er Sheva's Ben-Gurion University on Thursday. The demonstration began earlier with a march in the Negev city of Be'er Sheva, from the city's municipal offices to the Ben-Gurion campus.
The nationwide, open-ended boycott of classes was called in an effort to force the government to reduce tuition and increase the budget for higher education.
Students: "It is not enough to have negotiations and promises that are given in order to end the strike."
Student leader Etai Barda said, "We will continue to strike and to demonstrate until the Prime Minister invests in the educational system. It is not enough to have negotiations and promises that are given in order to end the strike."
University professors have called on students to end their boycott and return to classes. The professors went on strike earlier in the week, but called off sanctions on Tuesday after reaching an agreement with Education Minister Yuli Tamir and university presidents. Professors told the students that they should return to their studies in order to avoid losing the entire semester.
"Come back to class, your lecturers are waiting for you," said Professor Moshe Kaveh, president of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan.
Student leaders said they will continue to boycott classes until Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agrees to meet with them directly. They have accused Olmert of breaking a promise to meet on Wednesday, but the Prime Minister's Office denies that a meeting had been scheduled. Education Minister Yuli Tamir called on university student leaders to instead meet with her and negotiate.
If the students are willing to talk "without preconditions," the Education Minister said, they could succeed in reaching a compromise. Tamir stressed that the students must decide to be "part of the process."
As Itai Sonschein, chairman of the national union of students, explained to Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine last week: "We struggled with the Education Ministry for four months. Our protest now is against the Prime Minister. We are waiting for his signature authorizing the increase of the [higher education] budget. This, after agreements we reached with the Minister of Education and the Prime Minister were not fulfilled, such as promises that the members of the [Shochat] Commission would be people without personal interests in the matter, etc."
The Shochat Commission, which the student union wants to see disbanded, was established in November 2006 with the goal of making recommendations for higher education reform. Among suggested means of improving Israel's university system, the Shochat Commission proposed raising student tuition and lowering professors' salaries.
In place of the Shochat Commission, the student union demands a return to the recommendations of a previous government-appointed education reform commission, known as the Winograd Commission [not to be confused with the commission currently investigating the Second Lebanon War]. In 2001-2002, the Commission concluded that university tuition should be reduced by 50 percent.
The nationwide, open-ended boycott of classes was called in an effort to force the government to reduce tuition and increase the budget for higher education.
Students: "It is not enough to have negotiations and promises that are given in order to end the strike."
Student leader Etai Barda said, "We will continue to strike and to demonstrate until the Prime Minister invests in the educational system. It is not enough to have negotiations and promises that are given in order to end the strike."
University professors have called on students to end their boycott and return to classes. The professors went on strike earlier in the week, but called off sanctions on Tuesday after reaching an agreement with Education Minister Yuli Tamir and university presidents. Professors told the students that they should return to their studies in order to avoid losing the entire semester.
"Come back to class, your lecturers are waiting for you," said Professor Moshe Kaveh, president of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan.
Student leaders said they will continue to boycott classes until Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agrees to meet with them directly. They have accused Olmert of breaking a promise to meet on Wednesday, but the Prime Minister's Office denies that a meeting had been scheduled. Education Minister Yuli Tamir called on university student leaders to instead meet with her and negotiate.
If the students are willing to talk "without preconditions," the Education Minister said, they could succeed in reaching a compromise. Tamir stressed that the students must decide to be "part of the process."
As Itai Sonschein, chairman of the national union of students, explained to Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine last week: "We struggled with the Education Ministry for four months. Our protest now is against the Prime Minister. We are waiting for his signature authorizing the increase of the [higher education] budget. This, after agreements we reached with the Minister of Education and the Prime Minister were not fulfilled, such as promises that the members of the [Shochat] Commission would be people without personal interests in the matter, etc."
The Shochat Commission, which the student union wants to see disbanded, was established in November 2006 with the goal of making recommendations for higher education reform. Among suggested means of improving Israel's university system, the Shochat Commission proposed raising student tuition and lowering professors' salaries.
In place of the Shochat Commission, the student union demands a return to the recommendations of a previous government-appointed education reform commission, known as the Winograd Commission [not to be confused with the commission currently investigating the Second Lebanon War]. In 2001-2002, the Commission concluded that university tuition should be reduced by 50 percent.