VZCZCXRO2537
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2279 3571535
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221535Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3569
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002279 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PHUM ASEC IS PBTS
SUBJECT: SETTLERS "UNIVERSITY CENTER" PLANS TO DOUBLE IN 
SIZE 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 248 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The Ariel "University Center," an 
unaccredited Israeli university in the West Bank, plans to 
increase from 8,400 to 20,000 students by 2020, and build 
several more permanent buildings to accommodate and educate 
them, including a new 12,000 square meter library already 
under construction.  Ariel's president claimed that a new 
industrial park is planned next to the college campus. 
According to an Ariel professor, the West Bank settler 
population has doubled in the past 12 years and could reach 
540,000 by 2020.  End summary. 
 
PLANS FOR EXPANSION 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  President of Ariel "University Center" Dan 
Meyerstein showed Poloff the campus "master plan" during a 
December 18 meeting.  There are plans for a spacious new 
library, which is already under construction, a fitness 
center, several new academic buildings, and dormitory 
buildings to replace the caravans that currently house 1,600 
students.  The existing 2,400 square meter library will be 
joined by a new 12,000 square meter library, already under 
construction, and funded by U.S. private donors, according to 
Meyerstein.  PolOff saw several buildings that were expanded 
recently, and two more buildings under construction. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Meyerstein said that, of the college's 8,400 
students, 500 live elsewhere in Ariel settlement, more than 
1,000 are in nearby settlements, and 5,000 are from cities in 
Israel.  Meyerstein said the college aims to increase the 
student body from 8,400 to 20,000 students by 2020.  He noted 
that the college employs 1,000 people, including over 200 
professors. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Meyerstein said the campus was zoned in 1982 as an 
industrial park, but "demand for a center of higher 
education" in the West Bank led to the creation of the 
college.  He said he hopes that an industrial park planned 
for the northeast of the campus will attract investors and 
provide students practical training opportunities. 
 
CURRICULUM AND COOPERATION 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Meyerstein acknowledged that Ariel has not been 
accredited by the Israeli Ministry of Education, but received 
"university center" status about one year ago.  He said he 
expects full accreditation of the college's degree programs 
"soon," which will allow him to add doctoral programs. 
Meyerstein blamed U.S. settlement policy for the college's 
lack of scientific research collaboration with U.S. 
universities, noting that its only partnerships are with 
Russian universities.  According to Meyerstein, the college 
is advancing disciplines such as electro-optics, 
biotechnology engineering, and robotics, including "smart" 
robots that can explore oil pipelines for leaks and unmanned 
ground vehicles capable of engaging in field reconnaissance. 
 
WEST BANK SETTLER POPULATION COULD DOUBLE BY 2020 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Head of Social Sciences Dr. Dan Soen told Poloff 
that he recently published some of the results from his 
analysis of Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics information. 
 Soen said the settler population of the West Bank doubled in 
the past 12 years and is now 270,000.  He noted that, while 
some settlers leave the West Bank, "more people are coming 
than going," and the settlers' birthrate is higher than that 
of Israelis (35 births per 1,000 settlers in the West Bank, 
verus 20 births per 1,000 Israelis in Israel).  He said that, 
at the current rate, by 2020, the settler population could 
double again to 540,000 settlers. 
 
MARCHESE