Beer Sheva Court Orders Ben Gurion University to Lift Campus Ban on Demonstrations

April 28, 2008

The Beer Sheva District Court has instructed Ben Gurion University of the Negev to erase a clause from its statutory regulations which prohibits political demonstrations on campus. The ruling followed a petition to the court brought by flagship NIF grantee Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) together with the Ben Gurion University Students Union.

ACRI turned to the court last November after the University authorities refused to allow a demonstration on behalf of the rights of the University's employees. In delivering his verdict earlier this month, Judge Ariel Vago rejected the University's argument that demonstrations threaten public order and said that "the right to demonstrate on political or controversial matters is enshrined in the Students Rights Law."

Following this recent decision, Bar Ilan University remains the country's only university which continues to prohibit demonstrations and ACRI intends on taking measures to ensure that that institution also allows students the right to protest.