The Chronicle: Israeli Students End Strike as Government Compromises on Financial Issues
Israel’s 250,000 college students will resume classes on Thursday after a strike of more than five weeks that brought the country’s universities and colleges to a standstill. The students were protesting higher-education cuts and proposals to increase tuition fees.
The semester will be extended by two to four weeks, depending on the discipline, to allow students to catch up on lost class time.
Student leaders approved a compromise deal late on Monday night, by a vote of 23 to 17, ending a long and acrimonious dispute that had spilled over into violence as student protesters scuffled with the police in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Under the deal, the government agreed to restore over four years some $300-million that had been cut from the higher-education budget, freeze student fees for one year, and consult with students before carrying out recommendations of a government-appointed panel known as the Shochat Committee, which is to due to report next month on reforming how higher education is financed.
Student leaders oppose plans by the Shochat Committee, so named for the former finance minister who leads it, to raise fees and introduce a system of student loans. A previous committee and the Knesset, Israeli’s parliament, have both recommended reducing student fees.
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