Bethlehem University was founded in 1973 as the only Catholic University in the area. As of 1998, two-thirds of the 2,000 undergraduate students were Muslim. Sixty-five percent were women.

It is located in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem, just south of East Jerusalem. It was established almost ten years after the Pope visited and was made aware of the need for more educational facilities for the influx of refugees after Israel's foundation in 1948.

Despite its religious standing, the University has never been shielded from the harsh realities of Israeli military occupation since 1967. Israeli military forces cracked down on non-violent student protests there. In 1987, an Israeli sniper shot and killed a fourth-year student. The usual response by Israeli authorities to any protest is violent - from beatings, to detentions, to the use of torture at interrogations.

Brutal repression has not deterred students at Bethlehem from political activism. Peter DuBrul, S.J., a veteran faculty member, discussed how the courtyard of the University was one of the few safe spaces for political discussion under Israeli occupation. He stated that "after the first period of the morning, groups would gather in the courtyard and sing patriotic songs." He added, "some speeches would be given, often in protest of land seizure and other abuses of rights by the occupying troops." Inevitably, the students would "hoist the Palestinian flag. " It never took long for Israeli forces to react swiftly and brutally. Outward expressions of national aspirations were banned as threats to Israel's security.

BU administrators and faculty faced similarly rough treatment from the occupation authorities. For a week in 1975, the Dean was held by the Jerusalem police with no evidence or charges. Professors are often denied necessary travel permits, and as a result those coming from Ramallah are denied access to the Hebron road, forcing them to take longer indirect routes.

Activism there came with a big price. The Israeli army closed down the University for three years after the Intifada started - forcing classes to be held in homes, churches, mosques, and even hotels. Interestingly, the school was allowed to re-open shortly after the Berkeley student senate passed the bill.

The resolution making BU a sister school to UC-Berkeley was a statement that the denial of the right to education is a violation of human rights. It also sought to increase exchanges between campuses at the research, student, and faculty levels. Student senators drafted a letter to the Israeli prime minister at the time expressing concern for the University and its students and faculty.

Currently, Bethlehem University is shut down again. Even before that, traveling was so obstructed that many students were unable to go to class. The economic reality of Israel's grueling siege leaves them with few means to afford the expenses of an education. Opportunities for graduates are almost nil. Many students find little practical use for their education and are forced to find work that requires little to no education. Israeli closures, curfews, and checkpoints limit their travel, making work and education difficult.

Israeli actions against the University took on an increasingly violent form in March, 2002. On two consecutive nights, Israeli anti-tank missiles smashed into the two newest buildings on its campus. Millennium Hall, a classroom and office building, and the Turathuna Center (Palestinian Heritage Cultural Center) were heavily damaged. Walls and parts of the roofs collapsed. Hundreds of windows were broken.

The type of missiles used were designed for great accuracy from a distance. This, as well as the number of them fired, rules out the accident defense that Israel normally relies on. The damage sustained was considerable, and will be costly to repair. The Vice-chancellor issued a statement saying that "we have been subjected to physical and psychological terror." He and almost a dozen others continue to live on campus despite offers from western diplomats to evacuate them. They asked in response, "What sort of Christian witnesses would we be if we left now?" Peter DuBrul, S.J., the head of the Department of Religious Studies, violates the strict curfew on a daily basis to give Mass.

The terror intensified a few weeks later on April 3rd when Israeli troops occupied the University. The temporary American version of BU's website featured a report that detailed how Israeli soldiers climbed the fences of the campus and forced open the gates. When an administrator, an American named Joseph Loewenstein, opened the front door, they shot at him, barely missing his head. They placed the dozen or so administrators, faculty, and clergymen under house arrest for nearly a week.

Violence surrounds the University. Just recently, Ali Farah of Dheisheh refugee camp was shot and killed near the university as he searched for food for his family. When a nearby Greek Orthodox chapel caught on fire, Israeli troops killed Khaled Abu Siam as he tried to extinguish the flames. The church bell ringer Samir Salman was also shot dead by Israeli soldiers while walking to work. His corpse was left in the church's inner courtyard.

The University of California, Berkeley has not issued a statement of support nor emphasized the fundamental right to an education that is being denied. The Berkeley administration banned the only student group working solely to bring awareness to the struggle of the Palestinians - the Students for Justice in Palestine. During their April 9, 2002 sit-in at Wheeler Hall, they demanded the Administration issue a statement supporting Bethlehem University. It was ignored. UC-Berkeley must end its silence while its sister school is under siege.

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The Chancellor at UC-Berkeley, Robert Berdahl, can be reached at:

e-mail: chanclor@uclink4.berkeley.edu

Mailing Address:
Office of the Chancellor
200 California Hall #1500
Berkeley, CA 94720-1500
Telephone:(510) 642-7464

Will Youmans is a second-year law student at UC-Berkeley and a member of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

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