“Hadash Student Front and Student Assembly: The union engages in racist practices and blocks us from taking x in the elections.”
The Hadash Students Front and Student Assembly blocs at the University of Haifa have issued a scathing statement accusing the university’s student union of systematically obstructing Arab representation in the upcoming student union elections. According to the statement, submitted on Monday, the union’s administration deliberately blocked Arab candidates from submitting their nominations, thereby preventing them from running in a clear attempt to mute the Arab voice on campus.
Despite adhering to union regulations and arriving early in the morning, the Arab candidates were reportedly left waiting for hours outside the administration’s offices. This intentional delay,, effectively disqualified their candidacies.
Arab students comprise nearly 50% of the university’s student body, and their exclusion from the electoral process has sparked allegations of blatant racial discrimination.
The student blocs’ statement highlights their efforts to ensure proper representation of Arab students, focusing on addressing the community’s daily challenges. It further condemns the union’s actions as part of a broader campaign to suppress Arab and democratic voices on campus, which pose a threat to the right-wing factions that dominate the union’s leadership.
Describing the actions as “racist par excellence,” the blocs underscored that this behavior is not only an attack on the democratic process but a continuation of the persecution Arab students have faced, especially in the aftermath of the recent war on Gaza.
They vow to continue their fight for justice, equal representation, and fair treatment by seeking legal recourse and holding the university administration accountable for endorsing what they describe as an exclusionary and hostile environment against Arab students.
