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Introduction of the Blog and WA group guidelines

  Welcome to the first TAU international Volunteers-managed blog! This blog has been created to give complementary information to the graduated students of TAU and to create a community where we can share thoughts and information. This blog is not affiliated to any of the TAU services or bureaucratic apparatus and it is meant to be an informal tool where people can be updated, alongside the Whatsapp group and the informal word-of-mouth. Each student or post-doc is more than welcome to approach and participate in the creation of this blog, acting as a volunteer (with a little basic commitment) but also as an user, where they can collect any sort of information. All of the content posted on this blog is under the responsibility of the person who wrote it and posted it. UPDATE 06.11.23  Guidelines for the WhatsApp group  1.Respect & Kindness: Treat all members with respect and kindness. Be mindful of your tone and language.  2. Stay On Topic: Keep discussions releva...
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We investigated the Broshim issues with the Help of SEGEL representatives and TAU Int. school

 As we know, there are many things going on in Broshim, and many of you approached us with their own stories and concerns while living in the dorms.

In particular, this latter year things are unpredictable and confusing, mainly because of the big societal impact that the war brought up and the delicate, sophisticated equilibrium between TAU and Shikun and Binui, the company that owns the Broshim dorms.

We demanded clarifications on two topics in particular:

  • The situation on the waiting list
  • The housing time limits
At this moment (Dec 2024- Jan 2025) the waiting list is "not very long", due to the war, and the International  School is committed to assist in every possible way when someone requests to leave the dorms mid-contract.

Unfortunately, we asked several times to have more public transparency on the waiting list, but our demand was not met. Therefore, we don't know neither how long the list is, and which position one holds while waiting. 

When we asked about the time limits for the tenants, we were explained that

Each degree program has a set time during which students can live in the dorms. At the end of this period, the room must indeed be vacated to accommodate new students who need it. In special cases, you can reach out to the International School to request a contract extension, and if possible, approval will be granted. It’s important to note that the demand for rooms always exceeds the available supply.

We tried to make a point on the fact that some people who used to live in Broshim, who have lived elsewhere for at least 1 year and who want to come back for the sake of being close to the university and their peers -as of now- are NOT eligible to apply to the dorms again. 

This means that once the natural contract period is done, one could get an extension of another year (supported by a recommendation letter from the PI/supervisor) but then they need to leave, and they are no longer eligible to apply in the future. Thus, if things in life change, coming back to Broshim is not an option, especially if the timings are expired.

Additionally, we pointed out that researchers should have a more flexible contract, since they don't really follow the timings of the academic year. Thus, we asked why can't it be for the researchers, while other academic programs have this flexibility. 

We were answered that

While the contracts for masters and doctoral students (Israeli or foreign) are for whole academic years, The International school does have some contracts for short term students or researchers with different periods, under different conditions, such as payment in USD and not shekels. These contracts cannot be used by masters and doctoral students, and cannot be interchanged, because of the different conditions and completely different contracts. This kind of contract (Editor's note: the flexible contract) does not, for example, provide continuity of staying at the dorms for a few years.

SEGEL proposed to change the contracts to allow subletting or at least allowing a new tenant to sign a lease for the remaining duration of the contract, which could solve the issue of leaving mid-contract. The managing company (aka Shikun and Binui) is not keen on changes to the contracts but they agreed to present this matter to the relevant authorities in the hope that it will be approved.

It's still an ongoing story, but as we learned, by being pushy, in Israel you eventually get attention!




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