MK Shelly Yechimovich (Labor), who is usually seen as belonging to the far-left wing of her party, issued a surprising statement Tuesday in favor of granting Ariel University Center official recognition as a university. The institution has long been demanding recognition as a university but previous Minister of Education Yuli Tamir refused to grant it this status.
Speaking at the Ariel University Center, MK Yechimovich said: “Ariel is not an illegal outpost. It is a city in Israel that was established by all of Israel's governments over the generations, including the Labor Party when it was in power.”
"We cannot play a double game,” she said, “saying on the one hand that Ariel is a city we established and it is legitimate, but on the other hand punishing it and refusing to grant it recognition as a university. It all depends on academic criteria, nothing else,” she stated.
Yosef Mor-Yosef, Chairman of the Student Union at the Ariel University Center responded by saying: “I wish to congratulate Knesset Member Shelly Yechimovich for her statement. This is another stepping stone on the way to national consensus, from the entire political spectrum, about changing the Ariel University Center in Samaria into a university.”