On Strike

As Israel's education woes deepen, the combined student unions for all major universities are about to remind the government and professors that they are also a force to be reckoned with. There is no scheduled class on Sunday, as it is a special day off in celebration of Chanukka. Starting Monday, university students at all 8 major Israeli universities will strike, locking out the professors and any students who would attempt to cross the picket line. All classes would be locked out, including those taught by adjunct professors and other instructors. The strike is in protest to the continued deadlock in negotations over the professors contracts which has robbed them of nearly an entire semester. From what I understand, the university will physically be closed by the student union, with physical barriers including chains and piles of tires. Needless to say, I'm suffering from a touch of culture shock right now.

As far as I am concerned, the whole thing is a damn disgrace. I have supported the professors from the beginning, and I continue to blame the government for an impasse that threatens to cancel the semester. Now the students, who are rightfully pissed off about the situation, are going to exacerbate it with this action. It's just madness. We received a frantic email from the international school office this morning telling us that should the strike be carried out, classes will meet in the moadon of the dorms, or in individual apartments if necessary. At least it would probably entertain my roommates if we held Arabic class in my living room one morning. There's that to look forward to.

I took my Arabic exam this morning and I think it went pretty well. With that out of the way, midterms are officially behind me. I earned an "86" on my midterm assignment in Arab-Israeli Relations. Not too shabby. Frankly I'm not sure how he reached that number, since some classmates of mine got 85's, while at least one guy got an 87. I seriously doubt he used a rubric to grade these exams, so I have to wonder what made the difference in the grades there. Personally, I think he just assigned a number to each paper based on his gut reaction. Exams went pretty well for me this time around.

It's a cold and rainy day outside so I'd like to make weekend plans, but I don't really know what to do. I am going to a dinner party tonight and then hopefully out to the pubs. Some friends invited me over at some point this weekend to play cards so that may or may not happen. My only solid plans are spending part of Saturday night at Carmit and Shani's place for candle lighting and hanging out with the family. I'm sure I'll pull things together in the end. I always do.