I was kicked out of my sharehouse for being a Zionist

It has been a little over a year since I was kicked out of my sharehouse in Canberra for being a Zionist. 

It has taken months of healing to return to the cafes I once frequented, to write my assignments in the library I used to study at, and to attend social events without the paralysing fear of bumping into my ex-housemates, my former friends.

While I tend not to look back on my stream-of-consciousness writings (usually in fear of sounding trite and pretentious), I found great catharsis in reading over a letter I sent to my former housemates after I was kicked out. 

This letter was an attempt to close the book on such a formative chapter of my young adult life — a chapter of hardship and helplessness that will forever be inscribed in my book of life. 

Now, over one year later, I share an excerpt of that letter:

To my former housemates, 

It has taken weeks of emotional distress, actual physical sickness, navigating trauma and grief to write this letter. For my own peace of mind and conscience, I wanted to write to you both to convey my perspective of that Tuesday night and how our friendships since then have been destroyed. 

Being a proud supporter of the existence of the Jewish State in Israel and the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is not new for me. It has always been a part of my identity and advocacy, something which I am not quiet about.