Ariel University Law Passed by Knesset

A new law which places colleges and universities in Yehudah and Shomron on a par with those inside the Green Line was welcomed by local leaders, the Times of Israel reported on Wednesday.

Ariel Mayor Eli Shviro hailed it as “a correction of an historic injustice,” though he added in a follow-up statement that it was a “necessary step, albeit late.”

Dubbed the “Ariel University Law” after the largest institution of higher education over the Green Line, the measure will bring it and other schools under the umbrella of the Council for Higher Education and pave the way for the building of a medical school at Ariel.

Ariel University, situated in the heart of the Shomron, anticipates a doubling in size within the next five years, under a plan promoted by Education Minister Naftali Bennett.

The financiers Sheldon and Miriam Adelson have pledged roughly $20 million for the expansion program, which includes an additional 10 to 12 facilities, and a four-year medical school to be named after the Adelsons.

In response, the Palestinian Authority called for parliaments outside Israel to boycott Knesset members who voted for the legislation, and to put the MKs on the list of global terrorists.

Although the PA did not name any of the MKs it wants to blacklist, its Ministry of Information accused them of “supporting racism and terrorism.”