A number of Israeli Education students, studying at the Beit Berl Israeli College, informed the College administration that they refuse to hold their final project at an educational institution located in Ariel illegal Israeli settlement bloc, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.Israeli Ynet News reported that ten of a group of 30 students told their professor that they will not to participate in this project for political reasons.
The professor then handed the issue to the administration of Beit Berl College, but the administration refused to accept the stance of the students, and said that they must do the project as planned.
A representative of the College met with the students and informed that the institution “does not make political considerations” and that the decision to hold the project in Ariel settlement was made as Ariel College is suitable for it.
The Ynet stated that the response provided by the College led other students to express their rejection to the location of the project. Meanwhile, other students formed a group demanding that the project be held in Ariel as planned.
As the issue remains unresolved, and as the Beit Berl College insists on holding its education project in Ariel, a college official stated that the project will be held as planned, and that students who refuse to participate will have the chance to participate in a different project.
It is worth mentioning that more than 50 Israeli actors and theater professionals previously declared they are boycotting Ariel settlement.
Ariel settlement is one many settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s official stance is that those settlements are “Israeli cities”, and that Israel will never evacuate its settlements blocs under any peace deal with the Palestinians.
Recently, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, slammed the artists’ boycott of Ariel, and said that the initiators of boycott targeting Ariel Cultural Center are “cutting into the flesh of the Israeli society”.
During a meeting with his cabinet, Netanyahu said that all calls for boycotting cultural events held in West Bank settlements must end.
