Protest expected Tuesday of apparent US decision to exclude students from the W. Bank university from upcoming Obama event.
By DANIELLE ZIRIariel370(photo credit: 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.
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