Ariel University

About

Ariel University (Hebrew: אוניברסיטת אריאל), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The college was founded in 1982 as a regional branch of Bar-Ilan University and was originally located in the settlement of Kedumim, After moving to a larger campus in Ariel, it became the largest Israeli public college. In 2004–2005, the affiliation with Bar-Ilan ended and it became an independent college. On 17 July 2012, the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria voted to grant the institution full university status. This move was praised by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Education Gideon Saar, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and some Knesset members as well as Nobel Prize in Economics winning mathematician Robert Aumann. The Council of presidents of Israeli Universities condemned the move. A survey in 2013 found that 65% of the public in Israel supported the recognition of Ariel University as Israel's eighth university. Ariel University has 26 departments for B.A., BSc and BArch studies, in three faculties and three schools. In addition, Ariel University offers a master's degree programs for M.A., M.B.A. and MSc in 2014, Ariel University initiated a PhD programs for Doctorate studies also. In 2011, it had a student population of 14,000, with a branch in Tel Aviv. All degrees are recognized by the Council for Higher Education in Israel. The university and its staff have been the target of boycotts in Israel and overseas for its location in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In 2005, the Israeli government supported upgrading the college to university status. The change of status was not immediate since the Council for Higher Education in Israel must approve such changes. In July 2006, the Council rejected a proposal to merge several regional colleges in the Galilee. Based on the findings of a committee appointed by the council, it was decided not to approve the establishment of any new universities in Israel for the next five years. Upgrading the college to university status was controversial. Settlements such as Ariel are considered illegal under international law by the international community, and Palestinians see them as an obstacle to peace, but the Israeli government disputes this. British Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt also said he was disappointed in the decision and called on Israel to reverse the decision. In August 2007, the college was renamed the "Ariel University Center of Samaria." Although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the change, both Minister of Education Yuli Tamir and the Council for Higher Education objected, with the latter announcing in 2008 that they would not recognise degrees awarded by the college. The name change was recognised in 2010, although the college remained without university accreditation until July 2012. On 24 December 2012, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the Central Command to officially recognize the upgrade of Ariel University to a fully accredited institution of higher learning. On 12 February 2018, the Knesset passed legislation placing Israeli colleges in Judea and Samaria under the direct authority of Israel's higher education establishment, ending a long-standing distinction between schools in and outside of pre-1967 Israel. Under the new law, the separate higher education council for Judea and Samaria was abolished, and all Israeli colleges operating in Judea and Samaria were placed under the supervision of the Council for Higher Education in Israel.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.