This week, the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel has been officially recognized as a university by the office of Defence Minister Ehud Barak.  Israel Beytenu had been working toward this goal in recent years and made the recognition of the Ariel institute as a university a key condition during coalition talks last year.  One Israel Beytenu official offered warm congratulations, “We congratulate the city of Ariel which, today, became a city with a formally recognized university,” she said. “As Israel Beytenu promised when the government was established, in accordance with the coalition agreement, Ariel College is turning into a university less than one year into the government's term.”

Beytenu MK Alex Miller, who serves as chairman of the Student Union in the Knesset and lives in Ariel, praised the decision which, according to him, will strengthen Jewish settlement of the West Bank. "The government gave an important shot of encouragement today to the Jewish settlement in Samaria and to academia in Israel."