Leftists and Arab students at the Safed Academic College are furious over a plan to change the Student Union’s protocol and establish military or national service as a prerequisite for students applying for the position of union chairman. “It’s unacceptable that an entire sector be disqualified in advance simply for being Arabs who don’t serve in the army,” said a Hadash activist.

According to the amendment, only students who served for at least two years in the IDF or did national service or served in some form of civil capacity recognized by the State will be able to apply for the position of union chairman.  On last March, following the expulsion of four Arab students from their apartment after threats by Ultra-Orthodox residents in the city of Safed, the Coalition against Racism and the Racism Lobby in the Knesset condemns the racist behavior by inciters who have been active, since the commencement of the academic year, in light of the thunderous silence of the government and the law enforcement authorities, as well as the police and the Government Legal Advisor.

The Arab students who were the victims of the racist violence expect that strong enforcement action will be taken against the inciters.  The Coalition against Racism demands of the Safed Municipality and the Academic College to provide decent and protected accommodation solutions for the Arab students. In response to the expulsion of the Arab students from the apartment in Safed, MK Afu Agbaria (Hadash) said:  “On the day on which the School of Medicine opened in the city, the right-wingers anger boiled and the racists craved the smell of blood. Apartheid is already here and if it does not stop now, we will be seeing pogroms in Safed.”