Ariel students to Obama: Yes we can? No we can’t!
03/19/2013 05:59
Protest expected Tuesday of apparent US decision to exclude students from the W. Bank university from upcoming Obama event.
ARIEL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS graphic in protest of exclusion from Obama event. Photo: Facebook
Students of Ariel University are expected to gather outside the US consulate in
Jerusalem on Tuesday to protest their exclusion from a speech to be given on
Thursday to students of other universities by US President Barack
Obama.
According to representatives of Ariel’s student union, the US
Embassy in Tel Aviv, which organized the event, contacted the seven other
accredited universities, all of which are located within the pre-1967 lines, but
left out Ariel, the sole Israeli university located in the West
Bank.
After failed attempts to reach out to organizers, the student union
started a Facebook campaign this week, with the slogan: “Yes we can? No we
can’t! We will not let Obama discriminate against us: A student in Ariel is a
student in Israel.”
“We see the whole thing as a political act,” Galiya
Levy, vice chairwoman of the student union, told The Jerusalem Post on
Monday.
Levy explained that rally at the consulate is expected to be
“special and different from the regular violent or noisy protests.” While the
union would not reveal details, Levy said the protesters would“explain the
situation” in a visually poignant manner.
“What we want to say to the
[Israeli] government,” she explained, “is, ‘Pay attention.
You chose to
recognize us as a university. You know we have what it takes and we deserve it,
so treat us accordingly.’” An official from the embassy explained that it was
“working with institutions that are partners in joint programs with the US
Embassy.” The official added that there had not been room for all its
partners.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.