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Haifa University
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Haifa University is continuing its legal battle to use the “military service criterion”, by which a student who applies for accommodation in its dorms receives 35% of the total points required to qualify. These points are awarded to all those who performed military or national service, rich and poor alike, even if they did so 20 years ago or more. The Haifa District Court decided that the use of the military service criterion discriminates against Arab students as most of them do not serve in the military, and as the Absorption of Former Soldiers Law (1994) affords discharged soldiers comprehensive benefits including housing assistance, and thus any additional benefits are beyond the law and disproportionate. The university appealed to the Supreme Court against the District Court’s decision. This appeal, regardless of its future consequences, contradicts the university's role to promote equality and pluralism in academia and society. In line with the logic it has adopted, the university could use this criterion to set educational fees, or to determine prices for services or the use of its buildings and facilities. This could involve two different prices, one for Jewish students and another for Arabs. While academic institutions all over the world are struggling to establish affirmative action policies to provide justice for marginalized groups discriminated against in the past, Haifa University is insisting on continuing its historical policy of discrimination against Arab students. Therefore, this issue must be raised to the international level.
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| The Haifa Declaration |
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