Ariel University

{{Short description|University in the occupied West Bank}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox university |name = Ariel University |native_name = {{Script/Hebrew|אוניברסיטת אריאל בשומרון}} |image = Ariel university.logo.jpg |image_size = 225px |caption = Hecht Library, located at the center of campus |established = 1982 |type = [[Public university|Public]] |endowment = |staff = |faculty = |president = Ehud Grossman<ref>{{Cite web |title=New President of Ariel University: Prof. Ehud Grossman |url=https://campuscore.ariel.ac.il/wp/en/new-president-of-ariel-university-prof-ehud-grossman/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=campuscore.ariel.ac.il}}</ref> |chairman = |rector = [[Albert Pinhasov]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Prof. Albert Pinhasov |url=https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/en/rector-en/ |website=www.ariel.ac.il |access-date=18 November 2020}}</ref> |chancellor = |vice_chancellor = |dean = |principal = |head_label = |research chair = |students = 17,000 (as of 2025) |undergrad = |postgrad = |doctoral = |colors = Teal, navy and white |city = [[Ariel (Israeli settlement)|Ariel]] |state = [[Judea and Samaria Area]]<ref>Peter Stalker: ''A Guide to Countries of the World'', * [https://books.google.com/books?id=gvKvfxkbZ1AC&q=ariel&pg=PA152 p. 152]: "In the longer term it seems likely that the West Bank and Gaza will constitute an independent Palestine" * [https://books.google.com/books?id=gvKvfxkbZ1AC&pg=PP245 page 245], Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199580729}}</ref> |country = |campus = urban |free_label = |free = |affiliations = |website = [http://www.ariel.ac.il/en English]<br />[http://www.ariel.ac.il Hebrew] |coordinates = {{coord|32|06|17|N|35|12|34|E|region:PS|display=title,inline}} {{Infobox building | embed = yes | name = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = The Dr. Reuben Hecht Library, Ariel University, Israel.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Hecht Library, located at the center of campus | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | location = | coordinates = | pushpin_map = | architectural = | status = | antenna_spire = | top_floor = | floor_count = | elevator_count = | floor_area = | developer = | owner = }} }} '''Ariel University''' ({{langx|he|אוניברסיטת אריאל}}), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an [[State of Israel|Israeli]] university located in the urban [[Israeli settlement]] of [[Ariel (Israeli settlement)|Ariel]] in the [[West Bank]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4324398,00.html|title=It's official: Ariel University recognized|work=ynet|date=25 December 2012|access-date=25 July 2015|last1=Fleishman|first1=Itamar}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ariel.ac.il/site/portals/english/ |title=Ariel University Center of Samaria |publisher=Ariel.ac.il |access-date=24 September 2011}}</ref>

The college was founded in 1982 as a regional branch of [[Bar-Ilan University]] and was originally located in the settlement of [[Kedumim]],<ref>Templer, B (2007) [http://www.jceps.com/index.php?pageID=article&articleID=101 Educational Geopolitics and the 'Settler University' in Ariel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315101113/http://www.jceps.com/index.php?pageID=article&articleID=101 |date=15 March 2014 }} ''Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies'', Volume 5, Number 2</ref> After moving to a larger campus in Ariel, it became the largest Israeli public college. In 2004–2005, the affiliation with Bar-Ilan ended and it became an independent college.

On 17 July 2012, the [[Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria]] voted to grant the institution full university status.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=277826 |title= Ariel gets university status, despite opposition |work=The Jerusalem Post|date= 25 March 2012 |access-date=17 July 2012}}</ref> This move was praised by the Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], [[Education Minister of Israel|Minister of Education]] [[Gideon Saar]], Foreign Minister [[Avigdor Lieberman]] and some [[Knesset members]]<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157960 Nationalists Welcome Decision on Ariel University, 18 July 2012] Arutz Sheva, 18 July 2012</ref> as well as [[Nobel Prize in Economics]] winning mathematician [[Robert Aumann]].<ref name="BBCFirst">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18879786 |title=Israel's first settlement university stirs controversy |work=[[BBC]] |date=17 July 2012 |access-date=12 January 2014}}</ref> The Council of presidents of Israeli Universities condemned the move.<ref name="BBCFirst"/> A survey in 2013 found that 65% of the public in Israel supported the recognition of Ariel University as Israel's eighth university.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-212575326.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611030909/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-212575326.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2014|title=65% of Israelis support the upgrade of Ariel University, survey shows|access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref>

Ariel University has 26 departments for B.A., BSc and [[B.Arch|BArch]] studies, in three faculties and three schools. In addition, Ariel University offers a master's degree programs for M.A., M.B.A. and MSc in 2014, Ariel University initiated a PhD programs for Doctorate studies also. In 2011, it had a student population of 14,000, with a branch in [[Tel Aviv]]. All degrees are recognized by the [[Council for Higher Education in Israel]].

The university and its staff have been the target of boycotts in Israel and overseas for its location in the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli-occupied West Bank]].

==University status== [[File:Social Sciences and Humanities - Building 60, Ariel University, Israel.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Social Sciences and Humanities building]] In 2005, the Israeli government supported upgrading the college to university status. The change of status was not immediate since the Council for Higher Education in Israel must approve such changes. In July 2006, the Council rejected a proposal to merge several regional colleges in the [[Galilee]]. Based on the findings of a committee appointed by the council, it was decided not to approve the establishment of any new universities in Israel for the next five years.<ref>[http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/94/939024#section1 Request from Ariel College to become a university turned down] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307223037/http://news.walla.co.il/?w=%2F94%2F939024#section1 |date=7 March 2014 }} Walla News, 12 July 2006</ref>

Upgrading the college to university status was controversial. Settlements such as Ariel are considered illegal under international law by the international community, and Palestinians see them as an obstacle to peace,<ref name="BBCFirst"/> but the [[Israeli government]] disputes this.<ref name="BBC_GC4">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |work=BBC News |date=10 December 2009 |access-date=27 November 2010 }}</ref> British Foreign Office minister [[Alistair Burt]] also said he was disappointed in the decision and called on Israel to reverse the decision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-office-minister-condemns-new-settlement|title=Foreign Office minister condemns new settlement|access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref>

In August 2007, the college was renamed the "Ariel University Center of Samaria."<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125727 Justice Ministry Downgrades Ariel University to College] Israel National News, 30 March 2008</ref> Although Prime Minister [[Ehud Olmert]] endorsed the change, both [[Education Minister of Israel|Minister of Education]] [[Yuli Tamir]] and the Council for Higher Education objected,<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/888918.html Ariel College upgrades itself to 'university' status] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001005648/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/888918.html |date=1 October 2007 }} Haaretz, 2 August 2007</ref> with the latter announcing in 2008 that they would not recognise degrees awarded by the college.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/991836.html Education Council: We won't recognize degrees awarded by Ariel college] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122153529/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/991836.html |date=22 November 2008 }} Haaretz, 11 June 2008</ref> The name change was recognised in 2010, although the college remained without university accreditation until July 2012.<ref>[https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147939517&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Council for Higher Education: Ariel university status years away]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''The Jerusalem Post'', 21 January 2010</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120718034242/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/ariel-academic-center-recognized-as-first-israeli-university-beyond-green-line-1.451782 Ariel academic center recognized as first Israeli university beyond Green Line] Haaretz, 17 July 2012</ref>

On 24 December 2012, Israeli Defense Minister [[Ehud Barak]] ordered the [[Central Command (Israel)|Central Command]] to officially recognize the upgrade of Ariel University to a fully accredited institution of higher learning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=297153|title=Barak authorizes Ariel upgrade to university|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=14 December 2012 |access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref>

On 12 February 2018, the [[Knesset]] passed legislation placing Israeli colleges in [[Judea and Samaria Area|Judea and Samaria]] under the direct authority of Israel's higher education establishment, ending a long-standing distinction between schools in and outside of pre-1967 Israel. Under the new law, the separate higher education council for Judea and Samaria was abolished, and all Israeli colleges operating in Judea and Samaria were placed under the supervision of the Council for Higher Education in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-applies-sovereignty-over-Ariel-University-in-the-West-Bank-542446|title=Knesset applies Israeli law to Ariel University in West Bank|work=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 February 2018}}</ref>

==Students and faculty== [[File:The Ruth and Conrad Morris Medical Simulation Center, Ariel University, Israel.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Medical Simulation Center]] In 2025, the university had 17,000 students, including Jewish (both secular and Orthodox), [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab]], [[Druze]], and [[Circassians|Circassian]] Israeli students. In 2015, it had the largest number of Ethiopian-born students of any Israeli university.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ariel.ac.il/en/about-the-center/students|title=Students|access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=590724 A study in irony] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001111033/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=590724 |date=1 October 2007 }} Haaretz, 22 June 2005</ref><ref>[http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=128&view=item&idx=875 Arabs Studying at ‘Settler’ College] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524093939/http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=128&view=item&idx=875 |date=24 May 2007 }} Israel Today, 18 January 2006</ref> In 2011, there were 600 Arab-Israeli students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148996|title=Apartheid? 600 Arabs Begin Year at Ariel U |work=Arutz Sheva|date=23 October 2011 |access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref> In a report in January 2014, Arab students said they did not feel racially or politically motivated discrimination at the university.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Arab+and+Druze+Students+at+Ariel+University%3A+There+is+No+Racism.-a0239878091|title=Arab and Druze Students at Ariel University: There is No Racism|publisher=Palestine News Network|access-date=30 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3970752,00.html|title=500 Arabs begin studies in Ariel: 'There's no racism here'|author=Yair Altman|publisher=Ynetnews|date=17 October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://chronicle.com/article/Despite-Controversy-Israeli/125423/|title=Despite Controversy, Israeli University in West Bank Attracts Arab Students|author=Matthew Kalman|date=17 November 2010}}</ref> In 2012, Haaretz newspaper reported that there were also faculty members with left-wing views teaching at the university.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/leftist-views-don-t-keep-professors-from-teaching-at-ariel-1.458869|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817115406/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/leftist-views-don-t-keep-professors-from-teaching-at-ariel-1.458869|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 17, 2012|title=Leftist views don't keep professors from teaching at Ariel|author=Chaim Levinson|publisher=Haaretz|date=17 August 2012}}</ref> In 2024-2025, 10 percent of the student population was Arab.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-832167 Ariel University shapes Israel’s tomorrow, fostering next-generation leaders]</ref>

==Visiting lecturers== AUC hosts visiting lecturers from universities around the world. In 2010 [[University of Hartford]] communications professor Don Ellis taught the course "Communication Issues and Political Conflict." He said: "My only goal is to help them improve their critical thinking skills. I don't expect that either side will acknowledge the other side as being right."<ref>{{cite news|last=Blair|first=Russell|date=16 July 2010|title=From West Hartford To The West Bank|work=Hartford Courant|url=http://www.courant.com/community/west-hartford/hc-west-hartford-professor-0718-20100716,0,1068977.story|url-status=dead|access-date=24 September 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119182947/http://www.courant.com/community/west-hartford/hc-west-hartford-professor-0718-20100716,0,1068977.story|archive-date=19 January 2013}}</ref> British professor [[Geoffrey Alderman]] is also a guest lecturer at Ariel University, and has said that those British members of parliament who oppose the university, did so because the university "is Jewish. If it was a Palestinian university they wouldn’t object. For heaven’s sake, this is an educational establishment with many Palestinian as well as Jewish students."<ref>[http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/100162/mps-question-support-ariel MPs question support for Ariel]</ref>

Professor Hilde Leone of [[Leibniz University]], Hanover, was a guest lecturer at the university's school of architecture, speaking about "Between Vision and Reality."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessFeatures/Article.aspx?id=121453|title=Conference Circuit|work=The Jerusalem Post |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=25 July 2015}}</ref>

==International cooperation and programs== {{update section|date=September 2025}} Ariel University Center has signed academic cooperation agreements with over 51 higher education institutions around the world, including the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, [[Costa Rica]], Ecuador, [[Argentina]], Turkey, [[Poland]], Ukraine, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], Kazakhstan, [[Taiwan]] and Armenia.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ariel.ac.il/images/stories/site/management/PublicRelations/divur/cooperation_with_academic_institutions_2012.pdf |title=Ariel University Center of Samaria, in cooperation with academic institutions around the world |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224092947/http://www.ariel.ac.il/images/stories/site/management/PublicRelations/divur/cooperation_with_academic_institutions_2012.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="University-directory.eu">{{cite web|url=http://www.university-directory.eu/Israel/Ariel-University-Center-of-Samaria/Ariel-University-Center-of-Samaria-Scientific-Cooperation-and-Partners.html |title=Scientific Cooperation and Partners | Ariel University Center of Samaria | Israel |publisher=University-directory.eu |access-date=25 October 2011}}</ref> There is a partnership between the [[University of Toronto]] and the Ariel University on the master's degree in [[Business Administration]] (MBA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://translate.google.co.il/translate?sl=iw&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ariel.ac.il%2Fimages%2Fstories%2Fsite%2Fmanagement%2FPublicRelations%2Fpr%2Fcanada_isreal.doc|title=Google Translate|access-date=25 July 2015}}{{dead link|date=February 2025|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

In 2008, the [[Global Association of Risk Professionals]] established a branch in the University Center which conducts operator courses and international conferences in university center.<ref name="Ariel.ac.il">{{cite web|url=http://www.ariel.ac.il/Projects/garp// |title=The GARP site at the Ariel University Center of Samaria; The academic chapter of Israel |publisher=Ariel.ac.il |access-date=25 October 2011}}</ref>

In 2011, Ariel University Center and [[Ural Federal University]] signed a cooperation agreement with the [[Skolkovo innovation center]], a high technology business area near Moscow.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israelsk.com/en/venture_fair/ |title=Venture Fair |access-date=3 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207020053/http://israelsk.com/en/venture_fair |archive-date=7 December 2011 }} Your Way to Russian Silicon Valley</ref> The agreement is intended to provide Israeli companies with access to capital resources and manpower.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://israelsk.com/ |title=Israel Skolkovo Gateway |publisher=Israelsk.com |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930125711/http://www.israelsk.com/ |archive-date=30 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Ariel University participates in the project [[Masa Israel Journey]] in which Jewish students all over the world come for the time between a semester to a year study in Ariel, about 30% of students coming to study in Ariel immigrate to Israel at the end of the project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.masaisrael.org/NR/rdonlyres/25AACC4C-EA3E-4C6D-959A-C32291E628F9/93015/20112012MasaStudyAbroadCatalogue.pdf |title=2011-2012 Masa Study Abroad Catalogue|access-date=25 October 2011 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Due to its location in Israeli-occupied territory, Ariel University was excluded from receiving funding as part of the [[Horizon 2020]] research program signed between the EU and Israel in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Herb|first=Keinon|title=Jerusalem and EU agree on formula that allows Israel to join Horizon 2020 project|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Jerusalem-and-EU-agree-on-formula-that-allows-Israel-to-join-Horizon-2020-project-333101|access-date=21 December 2013}}</ref>

==Academic boycotts==

In April 2005, the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) briefly boycotted [[Bar-Ilan University]] for its academic links with the college.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kis/unions/aut/council.htm |title=Report to members from the AUT national council |access-date=22 May 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060130124019/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kis/unions/aut/council.htm |archive-date=30 January 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The boycott was rescinded in May 2005.<ref>{{cite news|date=26 May 2005 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/may/26/highereducation.uk1 |title=Academics vote against Israeli boycott |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=22 May 2005 }}</ref> [[File:Faculty of Natural Sciences - Building 29, Ariel University, Israel.jpg|thumb|Faculty of Natural Sciences building]] In 2009, the Spanish Housing Ministry disqualified the university from taking part in an international architectural competition in 2009. The [[Government of Spain|Spanish government]] explained that their decision to ban the university was a result of it being located in [[Palestinian occupied territories]].<ref name=ynetboycott>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3779907,00.html Spain boycotts Ariel college for being in 'occupied territory'] Ynetnews.com, 22 September 2009.</ref> The [[Anti-Defamation League]] asked the Spanish Government and the [[US Department of Energy]] to overturn the disqualification of Israeli researchers from an international solar energy competition in [[Madrid]].<ref name="israelnationalnews.com">[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/171732 ADL: Stop Discrimination Against Ariel University] Arutz Sheva, 30 September 2009.</ref>

In early 2011, 165 Israeli academics announced they were boycotting the university to protest Israeli settlement expansion.<ref name=huffpo>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/israeli-academics-to-boyc_n_806598.html Israeli Academics to Boycott Ariel University], ''HuffPost'', 9 January 2011.</ref> They wrote in their petition, "Ariel is not part of the sovereign territory of Israel, and we therefore cannot be required to go there."<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111918558150780.html Israel academics to boycott college] Aljazeera English, 9 January 2011.</ref>

Due to Ariel University's location in a settlement, it is excluded from receiving funds from the EU and the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development. In 2018, prominent international physicists, including [[David Gross]], [[Martin Rees]] and [[Ed Witten]], published an open letter calling for fellow academics not to attend a conference at Ariel University, and not to participate in "attempts to normalise the occupation of Palestinian territories".<ref name="The Guardian">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/31/dont-let-science-legitimise-israeli-occupation-of-palestinian-territories|title = Don't let science legitimise Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories | Letters|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 31 August 2018}}</ref> [[File:Campus Green and Faculty Buildings, Ariel University, Israel.jpg|thumb|View from campus commons, showing classrooms and administrative offices in the background]]

==Notable faculty== [[File:Dayan.JPG|thumb|160px|[[Dani Dayan]]]] *[[Mel Alexenberg]] (born 1937), artist *[[Edward Bormashenko]] (born 1962), Head of the Laboratory of Polymers *[[Dani Dayan]] (born 1955), Chairman of the [[Yesha Council]] and lecturer at Ariel *[[Israel Hanukoglu]], Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and former Science and Technology Adviser to the Prime Minister of Israel *[[Ram Karmi]] (1931–2013), architect *[[Dan Meyerstein]] (born 1938), former president of university

==See also== *[[Education in Israel]] *[[List of Israeli universities and colleges]] *[[Samaria]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Ariel University}} *[https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/en/ Ariel University] official English site *[https://web.archive.org/web/20111208050618/http://www.afauc.org/ Friends of Ariel University] *[http://www.arielrnd.com/ Ariel University R&D Company Ltd, the technology transfer company of Ariel University Center, israel]

[[Category:Ariel University| ]] [[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1982]] [[Category:Universities and colleges in Palestine]] [[Category:Ariel (Israeli settlement)]] [[Category:1982 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate]]