*Israel urged to lift ban on Palestinian students *
*Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem* *Wednesday May 30, 2007*
*EducationGuardian.co.uk*
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,,2091528,00.html
Four Israeli university presidents and several high-profile authors today called on the Israeli government to lift its restrictions on Palestinian students.
The call, in a letter to the defence minister, appears to have been timed to coincide with the vote among British academics over a proposed boycott on Israeli universities.
The group said Israel should lift a ban that prevents all Palestinian students in Gaza from studying in the West Bank. Several courses, including medicine, occupational therapy and health administration are only available in the West Bank, but Gazan students are not given permission to travel there to study. Israel usually cites security concerns.
"Blocking access to higher education for Palestinian students from Gaza who choose to study in the West Bank casts a dark shadow over Israel's image as a state which respects and supports the principle of academic freedom and the right to education," the letter said.
It was signed by the presidents of Ben-Gurion, Hebrew, Haifa and Technion universities, as well as prominent Israeli authors including Amos Oz, AB Yehoshua and David Grossman. The presidents of two other major universities, Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan, did not sign.
"The military should listen to calls from intellectuals and the Israeli academy who ask that the universal principle of academic freedom be respected - for Palestinians and Israelis alike," said Kenneth Mann, a professor and committee chair at Gisha, an Israeli human rights group. Gisha has brought a petition to the Israeli high court against the ban.