A Zionist Safe Space on Campus

While watching the first of many Senate estimates that the Australian National University was called to, many students learned that university management had established a Safe Space for Jewish students on campus. As a Jewish student on campus, I was shocked because I was not aware of the safe space and I did not have access to it.

Now, you might also think that because it was a Jewish safe space, anyone who was Jewish would access it. This is not entirely true. For all other safe spaces, students were automatically considered a member of the department if you identified with the cohort. For example, in the Women’s Department, you had to fill out a form online, and then you were given access to the safe space through your student card. The problem with the Jewish Safe Space is that it is the only space that is ‘owned’ and controlled by a student society or club on campus, rather than an autonomous department. This means that for anyone to get access to the safe space, they have to be members of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS). That’s not too bad, right? Well, unsurprisingly, one of the core pillars of AUJS is Zionism. On their website they state:

“AUJS subscribes to the Zionist ideals espoused in the World Zionist Organisation’s Jerusalem Program. We seek to promote a positive image of Israel on campus; to encourage truth in student political dialogue, and to educate the wider student population about Judaism and Israel.”

So, for me, a Jewish student at the ANU, to get access to the Jewish Safe Space, I had to join a society that strives to uphold the values of Zionism and the state of Israel.

The existence of autonomous Safe Spaces for different groups on campus was not a surprise to me. I was an active member of the Women’s Department for years, which had a Safe Space, and I knew of the Safe Spaces for the other autonomous departments. While I didn’t know of, or much about, the Jewish Safe Space, it was surprising how quickly it was allocated, especially compared with the struggle of establishing a safe space for the Black, Indigenous & People of Colour (BIPOC) Department, which had requested such a space for years. I know that since finally securing a safe space, the BIPOC Department has faced unjust criticisms and attacks, particularly from Zionist students. It is obvious to me how the university views different minority groups on campus, and makes biased assumptions about whose safety matters.

Zionism is what I have been fighting and debating against for so long. This, however, was not my main problem when trying to get access to this safe space. For those who are unaware, Judaism is traditionally passed on maternally, and some very traditional and religious Jews wouldn’t consider someone Jewish unless their mother was. While this is not something I or anyone I know of lives by, I do know that Jews who are not Zionists and actively oppose the state of Israel are viewed as outsiders.

In my case, both of my parents are Jewish and I was raised within the Jewish community in Naarm (Melbourne). There was no way that I could not be considered Jewish; no matter how hard some Zionist Jews tried. Due to this ‘privilege’ I decided to try and get access to this space. A friend of mine had tried and was rejected for blatantly racist reasons, but that is not my story to tell. My story is that an ANU executive member practically told me that I shouldn’t get access to the safe space because of my outwardly pro-Palestine views, and how that might make the Zionist Jewish students feel. As a Jew, I should get access to the Jewish Safe Space. But the truth is that it wasn’t a Jewish Safe Space, it was a Zionist Safe Space. So with that logic, why doesn’t every single group with different political opinions get their own Safe Spaces? Why are Zionists so special? What makes them uniquely deserving? From my experience as a Jewish person on campus, while there has been a rise in Antisemitism, the Antisemitism I’ve seen came primarily from the ultra right-wing Trump sympathisers on campus. And while Antisemitism is real and harmful, many other groups on campus face harsher discrimination and deserve access to a Safe Space more urgently.

While I may have gotten access to the space, I never would have been accepted, and honestly wouldn’t want to be in a space where there were individuals who were Antisemitic towards me. They’d view anti-Zionist Jews as illegitimate. What I wanted to happen was the space to be renamed as the Zionist Safe Space. I knew this would create controversy for the university, which is why they avoided it. One of my regrets is that I did not pursue this renaming further or push harder for recognition of the discrimination I experienced at the hands of ANU executives. Still, the experience ingrained in me, a sense that I was an outsider in my own community, a reality that shapes so much of my life as a Jewish anti-Zionist.

Throughout my life, I have always felt like an outsider, particularly when it comes to Judaism and my relationship to the Jewish community. Not only that, but many of the people I loved, and still love, are a part of the Jewish community. In my mind, there isn’t a clear separation between my extended family and friends, and the Jewish community as a whole. Struggling to get access to the Jewish Safe Space because of my pro-Palestine views deepened the rift I had with the Jewish community. Being quite public about my criticisms of Israel and my support for Palestine, leading to my active involvement in the Encampment, was always going to impact my relationship with the Jewish community, and by extension, my family. I was aware of this from very early on. However, I knew that my staying quiet over the worry of alienating myself further from my community was not worth it.

The allocation of a Jewish Safe Space is just another act of ignorance and discrimination by the university to prove that they are ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their students. I have major concerns with this. First, the safety and wellbeing of Palestinian students (and unfortunately many Muslim students, particularly those who wear hijabs) were completely ignored. Until the BIPOC Safe Space was finally created, Palestinian students did not have a safe space on campus. Alongside this, the leeway that many Jewish students were awarded was not provided as easily, if at all, to Palestinian students. Speaking from the experience of a Jewish student, it was honestly too easy for me to secure an extension on assignments from October 7th, until I finished my degree in 2024. I know for sure that Palestinian friends and classmates were not afforded the same understanding, despite this impacting them significantly more than it affected me. Second, this model of creating Safe Spaces for political ideologies sets a dangerous precedent. This can lead to dangerous and harmful acts due to the lack of monitoring. Safe Spaces are meant for people facing systemic marginalisation, not for political beliefs. People should be allowed to debate and disagree on politics, but no one should be given a Safe Space for an ideology.

Third, the university has established a safe space for Jewish students as a way of publicly showing they are against Antisemitism, but in actuality they are not taking incidents of Antisemitism on campus seriously. Late last year, there was a verbal antisemitic attack, that if it occurred in Naarm (Melbourne), would be illegal due to the recent changes under new Nazi symbols, acts, and language laws. This attack was reported to the university, yet it received very little attention. The way that the university has prioritised one group’s definition of Antisemitism has exposed its own hypocrisy as this prioritisation contradicts the century-old consensus on what Antisemitism entails. This shows a clear example of how the university doesn’t actually care about student safety, Jewish or otherwise. Establishing the Jewish Safe Space at that moment effectively implied that Palestinian calls for freedom on their own land were dangerous to Jewish students. The freedom for one group of people does not, and should not, come at the expense of another. From the river to the sea, means that EVERYONE IS FREE.

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Banner Image by: Marla Amaire

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