reply by
An Appeal to Ariel Sharon
6/23/2002 (12:25) |
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We, the undersigned, Israeli students and professors, express our solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues in Birzeit University in their endeavor to pursue their course of study. We appeal to the Israeli government to remove the Surda roadblock, which prevents academic activities at the University.
An urgent appeal to the Israeli government to stop the obstruction
of academic activities in Birzeit University
We, the undersigned, Israeli students and professors, express our solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues in Birzeit University in their endeavor to pursue their course of study. We appeal to the Israeli government to remove the Surda roadblock, which prevents academic activities at the University.
On May 29, all activities at Birzeit University once again came to a halt, after the Israeli army blocked the only road leading to Birzeit village from Ramallah, where most of the University's students and teachers reside. Students and professors who arrived at the roadblock, attempting to reach the University, reported having been shot at, beaten, humiliated and driven away by the use of tear gas and concussion grenades. As a result of the roadblock, all academic activities in Birzeit University have been completely paralyzed, and the University's authorities fear they will have to cancel the current semester. Birzeit is not only the most important research center in the occupied territories, but also a vital center of Palestinian civil society.
The closure of the road constitutes collective punishment. Since the road on which the Surda roadblock was erected does not lead to the 'green line' or to Israeli settlements, it is clear that the disruption of the University's course of studies which leads to a denial of the right to education is part of a premeditated move. This is yet another manifestation of the closure policy, whose perpetrators and executors hope to break the spirit of the Palestinian Society, that we hope to gain as our partners to a future peace.
As students and professors, we protest the continuing and severe assault against the Palestinians' right to education. We hold it to be a basic human right, protected by international law and natural justice.
We call upon the Israeli Prime Minister and the Israeli Minister of Defense to lift the roadblock without delay and to enable the free and safe access of students and professors to Birzeit University.
For details on Birzeit University: http://www.birzeit.edu/
On the Surda roadblock: http://www.poica.org/casestudies/ramallah-birzeit/
To sign the petition, please send your name and institutional affiliation
(for identification purpose only) to:
jkatriel@tx.technion.ac.il or liat_kozma@hotmail.com
Prof. Colman Altman, Technion
Dr. Shmuel Amir
Orit Bashkin, Princeton University
Prof. Matania Ben-Artzi, The Hebrew University
Prof. Anat Biletzki, Tel Aviv University
Nicole Cohen-Addad, MD, Tel Aviv
Prof. David Degani, Technion
Yvonne Deutsch, Women in Black, Jerusalem
Prof. Aharon Eviatar, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Ovadia Ezra, Tel Aviv University
Pnina Firestone, Coalition of Women for Just Peace
Dr. Iris Fry, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Michael Fry, Technion
Prof. Israel Gershoni, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Avner Giladi, University of Haifa
Prof. Oded Goldreich, The Weizmann Institute
Dr. Roni Hammermann, The Hebrew University
Uri Horesh, University of Pennsylvania
Prof. Reuven Horesh, the College of Management
Prof. Eva Jablonka, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Devorah Kalekin-Fishman, University of Haifa
Aya Kaniuk, Machsomwatch
Prof. Jacob Katriel, Technion
Prof. Tamar Katriel, University of Haifa
Amy Katz, Machsom Watch
Prof. Uri Katz, Technion
Yehudit Keshet, MachsomWatch, Jerusalem
Prof. Baruch Kimmerling, Thew Hebrew University
Dr. Gady Kozma, Universite Bordeaux I, France
Liat Kozma, New York University
Adi Kuntsman, Hebrew University
Prof. Micah Leshem, University of Haifa
Karin Loevy, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Ivonne Mansbach, The Hebrew University
Dr. Anat Matar, Tel Aviv University
Hagar Miskhari, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Ilan Pappe, Haifa University
Dr. Kobi Peterzil, University of Haifa
Osnat Rachmilewitz, Coalition of Women for Just Peace
Prof. Tanya Reinhart, Tel Aviv University
Rachel Rokach, clinical psychologist, Jerusalem
Dr. Dalia Sachs, University of Haifa
Dr. Hannah Safran, University of Haifa
Tehila Sagy, Tel-Aviv University
Dr. Zvi Schuldiner, Sapir College
Abed al-Rahman Tayyara, New York University
Nathalie Rothman, University of Michigan
Dr. Oren Yiftachel, Ben Gurion University
Dr. Yuval Yonay, University of Haifa
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