November 2000
Israel/ Palestine:
Hebrew University bans political Activities
In a gross violation of the democratic rights of students, the administration of the Hebrew University has banned all political activity by students. This act is designed to silence criticism of the Israeli government's repression of the Palestinian uprising.
A group of Jewish and Palestinian students, including CWI members, organised a silent demonstration today against the ban on political activity. Demonstrators wore gags to protest the univerities attempts to silence the students.
The students who took part in this demonstration have been summoned to disciplinary meetings with the Dean of the university. This is a crude attempt to intimidate students into submission.
The denial of the right to free speach, the right to organise, and the right to demonstrate is contradicts the universities own charter which claims to be "committed to the values of the equality of rights and opportunities, to academic freedom and freedom of expression...".
The repressive methods of the university adminstration must not be allowed to succeed. Send messages of protest to:
The Dean
Hebrew University
Jerusalem
Fax 972 2 581 2738
15 November 2000
Update on Jerusalem university administration's attack on students, and call for messages of protest/support.
Yesterday, 20 students demonstrated against the university administration's ban on political activity, including some of our student comrades. The ban is an attempt mainly to silence criticism by Palestinian students and Left Jewish students against the killing of 13 Israeli Palestinians by Israeli police, during demonstrations within Israel a month ago.
Security guards who broke up the demonstration demanded the names and identity numbers of all students who participated. Some students refused to give their names. Unbeknown to the students, every student on the demonstration was photographed, and the pictures were handed over to the Dean.
That same evening, the students were summoned to individual disciplinary hearings by the Dean. After receiving legal advice, the students refused to attend the hearings, claiming that the individual hearings were an attempt to divide and weaken them, by isolating and threatening individual students. The students stressed the importance of waging a united struggle against the attempts at intimidation by the administration.
The Dean is now threatening the students with a joint disciplinary hearing. All students are accused of breaking the ban on political activity. In addition, some students are being accused of refusing to give their details to security guards.
The students are refusing to be intimidated by the university's threats, and are organizing their defense and struggle.
30 lecturers have already signed a petition protesting the university administration's intimidation of students exercising their right to free speech, and the students have set up committees for continuing the struggle, and for getting legal support.
At the start of the academic year, the Dean promised that the ban on political activity would only last 2 weeks. However, 2 and a half weeks later, the ban is still in place.
The students were very encouraged to hear that we are organizing international messages of protest to the Dean.
We ask comrades, especially those with positions in student bodies or within universities, to send messages to the Dean, protesting the ban on political activity and the intimidation of students.
Please also send messages of support to the struggling students.
Messages of protest to:
Avigdor Shinan, Dean of Students,
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Fax: ++ 972 2 581 2738
Email: shinan@hum.huji.ac.il
Messages of support for students to:
The struggling students
Fax: ++ 972 2 622 2168
Email: yberda@hotmail.com
Please send copies to us: info@maavak.org.il
Comradely,
Maavak Sozialisti
23 November 2000
Dear comrades and supporters,
The Dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has finally lifted the ban on political activity that has been in place since the beginning of the academic year. The lifting of the ban was no doubt a result of the students' defiance and determination to struggle against it, plus the overwhelming response to our request for international messages of protest to the Dean, and messages of solidarity to the students.
However, the Dean has not yet announced that he has cancelled the disciplinary hearings, so the students involved in the initial demonstration may still face the threat of disciplinary action.
The Dean must have been shocked to have been bombarded with messages - including many from fellow colleagues from academic institutions worldwide - condemning the university administration's repression of students' right to free speech. He must have been highly embarrassed at the publication of his own underhand tactics of ordering the photographing of individual student demonstrators, in an attempt to identify and intimidate them.
The students themselves were quite overwhelmed, and very encouraged, to receive about 80 messages of support!
Now Jewish and Palestinian students and academic staff at academic institutions all over Israel, are planning a demonstration for 29th November, against the Israeli army's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and against the closure, which has prevented tens of thousands of Palestinians from getting to work.
We would like to say a big, enormous thank you to all those who organized messages of protest/support, that made this victory possible.
For an end to the intimidation of all students! For freedom of speech, discussion and debate!
Comradely,
Maavak Sozialisti
Israel/ Palestine:
By Amnon Cohen, from Maavak Sozialisti, Israel/ Palestinian section of the CWI
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