Israel court considers preventing Palestinian students from running in Haifa university elections

An Israeli court is considering preventing Palestinian students and their student groups from running in a university’s elections, in a move that could further set Palestinians back in representation in higher education.

In recent weeks, the Student Union at the University of Haifa in northern Israel has reportedly been attempting to obstruct nominations submitted by some of its representatives, particularly in an effort to prevent dozens of student candidates from running in the upcoming union elections.

The candidates being obstructed from the elections in question are those from the University’s Student Assembly and the Student Front blocs – aligned with the Palestinian-Israeli parties Balad and Hadash – consisting of representatives of the institution’s majority Palestinian student base.

After the candidates and their legal representation issued an urgent request to postpone the University’s Student Union elections, a session was held at Haifa’s Central Court on Tuesday to consider preventing the blocs from submitting their lists of candidates, with the isolated students represented by attorney, Susan Zaher, while a team of lawyers represented the University of Haifa.

Speaking to the news outlet, Arab48, Zaher said that the session was held “after last week’s obstruction of students’ candidacy for the union council at the University, through procrastination by the union in order to prevent the nomination of candidates for the union”, with the union apparently aiming to maintain its current members in the council “and thus control the council by the extreme right”.

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According to the outlet, Yousef Taha, the head of students and youth in the National Democratic Assembly (Balad), recalled that “It is clear that the student union, through its lawyers and representatives, does not want there to be elections and wants to continue with the same approach, which is stealing the elections.”

He asserted that “the [student] union’s lawyer in the court session used gang tactics and insults, as this union at the University of Haifa takes legitimacy from the University administration, and is financially supported by the University administration. I find it reprehensible what is happening, especially on a university campus, as nowhere in the world does such a union exist that represents students, academics and researchers. We only find this in Israeli society.”

Insisting that “a group of racists controls the union” who use “all means to suppress and persecute the Arab students in it”, Taha stated that “there is a decision to prevent any political activity” amongst Palestinian students and their wider community, calling it “an attempt to tighten the noose on all student and political work inside.”

Adi Ghanayem, the secretary of the Student Front at the University of Haifa, also stressed that the “current union is illegitimate because it has not been elected for many years, so it is important for us [Palestinian students] to have strong and real representation in it.”

For now, according to the lawyer, Zaher, the case remains under consideration by the Haifa Central Court, with a decision reportedly expected to be announced soon this week.

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