Senate encourages students to protest judicial overhaul

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev called on students on Sunday 19 March to join nationwide protests against the Israeli government’s far-reaching overhaul of the judiciary, and urged all of the country’s institutions of higher learning to threaten to strike if the controversial legislation goes ahead, reports The Times of Israel.

In a letter, the university’s senate said it “invites the entire university community to join the ‘day of disruption’ on Thursday, in which we will express our commitment to the democratic values of the State of Israel and the academic freedom under which we operate”.

There have been repeated mass protests against the legislation, including several nationwide ‘days of disruption’ held on either Wednesdays or Thursdays, which have included blocking roads and have led to occasional clashes with the police. A university spokesperson told The Times of Israel that the letter was “more of a declaratory statement and does not mean that this is university policy”.
Full report on The Times of Israel site