The entire Israeli education system from grades 8 and up has been on strike for at least 40 days. The high school teachers and the university professors are striking for different reasons that are completely unrelated but who cares: no one is learning and everyone is unhappy. Fortunately or not, depending on your point of view, my program has gone on unhindered by any strike attempt and we have had class every day of the semester. The university students are really really fed up with the strike. They don’t agree with how the professors are administering their strike and as long as there continues to be a crisis with the high school teachers nothing will be done about the universities. The students are essentially paying for a semester in which they are only partially learning (most students have about 25% of their classes and most in the sciences are being taught by their TAs and are responsible for the information exactly as if they were truly being taught by their professors) or not learning at all. This is quite painful especially after shutting down the system for 6 weeks last year over the cost of universities.
Today the student union, the representative voice of the students, at Hebrew University decided to COUTNERSTRIKE in protest of the professor’s strike. One of their main complaints is that the professors aren’t doing enough to garner public interest in their plight or to force the government into negotiations to bring the strike to a close. They are simply staying home, doing their research, and waiting for the government to come to them. The situation is finally reaching a crisis point where closing the semester officially is increasingly becoming the only option. This is a disaster for everyone especially for students who have made plans and worked out their lives to fit their academic schedules. So today the student union locked down the campus. Literally locked down with chains and everything. I obviously had class today because my program is part of an external school that just happens to be housed on the campus. My school along with the Betzalel art school was in session. There was one gate all the way in the back of campus open. I got a ride with a friend’s father and it was really interesting driving up to campus. There were massive signs everywhere that the campus was closed and please find other alternatives for the day. Huge signs begging for the return of studies and fair education for all covered the outer walls of the campus. It made me fell really guilty to be entering the school instead of standing with the student body (which I will hopefully be a part of next year.)
Once I got into my building it felt as if nothing different was happening, but all the same, I wish things weren’t so volatile here. I don’t understand the concept of striking to get your way. In America the electric company doesn’t just decide to stop working in order to get better wages or working conditions. Things don’t instantaneously shut down because a certain piece of the population is unhappy. It’s hard to make plans for the future when a degree might take 4 years instead of 3 because of factors completely out of my control. If only we had a competent government who could help solve the problems rather than ignoring them. The entire future of this country, which is heavily dependant on its brain trust, is at risk. Nothing is being done and it is infuriating. I wonder if next week there will be a counterstrike to the counterstrike. It would be quite entertaining. Thankfully for now I still live within the insulated overseas student’s bubble. For now.
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