AUJS: “The days of trusting universities to ensure student safety are behind us”

The arrival of the US pro-Palestinian encampment phenomenon to Australia’s shores, and the inability of many universities to effectively tackle the issue, has caused Jewish students to feel evermore isolated – leading the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) to rethink many of its programs and advocacy strategies for the upcoming year.

The pro-Palestinian protests over Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas have stepped up in recent weeks, with so-called “Gaza solidarity” encampments occupying often large areas on campuses across the United States, Europe and more recently, Australia.

Pro-Palestinian encampments have been set up on at least six campuses across Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide, restricting students’ access to public spaces and creating a hostile environment for Jewish and non-involved students alike.

Perhaps the most concerning when it comes to issues of student safety is the growing understanding that many of the most vocal and active players at these campus encampments are not actually students. In New York, almost half of the 282 pro-Palestinian protesters who were arrested last week by police on two campuses in the city were found to be external agitators unaffiliated with either university.

While pro-Palestinian activity on Australian campuses has posed challenges for Jewish students since October 7, and long before then, the current situation seems to have thrown out the window all guidelines, expectations and procedures around protests on campus.