EU students sing praises of Israel’s protest movement

Europe’s largest student union issues its support for the social protest: "The Israeli government should listen to its people."

By BEN HARTMAN
Tent City 311 (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Tent City 311
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Europe’s largest student union on Monday issued its support for the social protests taking place across Israel, two days after more than 400,000 Israelis took to the streets in the movement’s biggest series of demonstrations yet.
“The Israeli government should listen to its people. It is clear that they are strongly affected by the ongoing budget cuts. Too many times, funding for the weakest in society, including students, has seen a decrease,” Allan Pall, European Students Union Chairperson, said in a letter sent to the Israeli government on Monday. “Students and Israeli citizens have showed the world that a little protest against raising the rents can turn into a movement that is demanding radical changes.”
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The union also told the government it supports the National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS) “in their struggle for social equality, for changes of the economic system and better employment and to support the ones in need. We address the Israeli government to listen to the voice of students on the streets and react by engaging to find solutions.”
The European Students’ Union is an umbrella organization that encompasses 45 national student unions from across the continent and includes the NUIS as well. Though it was not involved in launching the protest movement, the NUIS has played a crucial role in organizing protests and tent cities across the country, and the NUIS Chairman Itzik Shmuli has become one of the most prominent faces of the movement.
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