Four visiting Palestinian students from Bir Zeit University in the West Bank are asking the Danish minister of education, Bertel Haarder, to protest the closure of their school by Israeli authorities.
The visitors are circulating a petition to that effect among Danish students at the University of Copenhagen.
They are also urging Danes to boycott Jaffa oranges and other Israeli fruit imported here.
The Palestinians had difficulty getting Danish entry visas until Justice Minister H.P. Clausen intervened on their behalf. They were given access to the Copenhagen University campus with the blessings of the rector, Ove Nathan, who is Jewish.
At a meeting with Danish students, they called the closure of Bir Zeit a human tragedy.
“We try to study secretly, but we do not have enough books,” they said. They also said student organizers can be arrested and placed in administrative detention for six months without being charged or tried.
The Israeli authorities consider Bir Zeit a hotbed of Palestinian nationalism and have closed it for security reasons.
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