The Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria made a historic but controversial decision on Tuesday, designating the Ariel University Center of Samaria the eighth university in Israel. The decision was made by a vote of 11 members in favor and two against. The decision will become a formality once the IDF's GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, who is the acting governor of Judea and Samaria, authorizes it. Following a five-hour-long, often heated debate on Tuesday, and despite a recommendation by the Council's Budgetary and Planning Committee to postpone recognizing the college as a university, the Council members announced that the support of Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) and declarations of financial support by Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) aided them in making their decision. Prior to the closed-door debate, dozens of left-wing activists held a protest rally where they were countered by students from the Ariel University Center and from the Im Tirtzu movement. "This is a great day for Israeli academia, national history was made today," said an overwhelmed Professor Dan Meyerstein, the Ariel Center's president. "For the first time in 40 years a new university was created in Israel." Speaking to Israel Hayom on Tuesday, Meyerstein said that it was actually the heads of the other seven universities who were being political by refusing to recognize the Ariel Center as a university, and that their claim that upgrading the Center to full-fledged university status will influence cooperation with foreign universities was baseless. Professor Ariel Melnik, a member of the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria, said that the Budgetary and Planning Committee's recommendation "was only a recommendation, not a decision. There was a heated argument during the [Council's] meeting on this matter, but the Committee's opposition is not a concern. The opposition by the heads of the other universities also delights me, because it means that they are afraid of the competition." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke with Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman Tuesday evening and congratulated him on the recognition of the Ariel Center as a university. "This is a festive day for Ariel and for higher education in Israel," the Prime Minister told him. Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, said, "This is an important step for strengthening Israeli academia and for strengthening the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, and will be a great asset for the students as well." Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar hailed the decision, saying "the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria chose not to cave in to scare tactics and the pressure campaign against it, and instead made a decision that was correct, professional and practical. The decision is important for the Ariel Center, and it also serves to enhance the system of higher learning in Israel in general." MK Anat Wilf (Independence), who also serves as chairwoman of the Knesset's Education Committee, expressed regret at the Council's decision: "If the Finance Minister and Education Ministry have tens of millions of spare shekels, it would have been more worthwhile to use that money to strengthen the existing universities. The right solution would have been to postpone the decision in order to complete the re-examination of the entire higher education structure in Israel, with an option to bestow a number of worthy colleges with the status of university center." Yesha Council (the umbrella organization of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria) chairman Danny Dayan said, "This is a day of celebration for the State of Israel, for Israeli academia and the residents of Judea and Samaria. In the face of unfair political pressures, which intensified over the past few days, the members of the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria, as well as the Education and Finance Ministers, acted with professionalism and integrity and made this historic decision possible." MK Danny Danon (Likud) said the decision would enhance the recognition of Judea and Samaria as an inseparable part of the State of Israel. The Peace Now organization released a statement saying that the Council's decision "will severely damage not only the institutions for higher learning in Israel, but also Israel's academic standing in the world." Meanwhile, Budgetary and Planning Committee Chairman Professor Manuel Trajtenberg continued yesterday to attempt to convince the chairman of the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria to reconsider the decision. Sa'ar sent a harsh letter to Trajtenberg, telling him he was overstepping his boundaries. Following the decision, Trajtenberg said "As of now, following the decision, the final ruling falls to the military commander." Trajtenberg added that he was convinced that Maj. Gen. Alon "will heed this committee's recommendations."
