If you do not conform to ‘anti-Zionism’ on campus, you become an outcast

On the one-year anniversary of October 7, I received a chilling reminder that even a year after the attack, Jews are still not safe – especially on campus. I should have been preparing for lectures. Instead, I spent the night on the phone with CST and Surrey Police after a bomb threat was sent to our Instagram page. Fear and uncertainty replaced the normality of student life, and in the months that followed, the stress of an ongoing investigation loomed over me.

As secretary of the Royal Holloway Jewish Society, I reported the threat to the Students’ Union (SU), which assured me that the university leadership would be informed. Months later, in a meeting with senior staff, it appeared to me they had no idea what had happened. It seemed that the SU had simply failed to pass it on.

That question came up again when I started reconnecting with my Jewish identity. I had spent many years separated from it, but last year, I made the decision to embrace it again as a result of rising antisemitism. It didn’t take long to realise this came at a cost. I had assumed my friends were open-minded, but for some, their so-called “anti-Zionism” left no space for me. Suddenly, I was treated with suspicion, excluded from events and subjected to Holocaust jokes. It was then that I realised antisemitism on campus wasn’t just about external threats – it permeated student culture. Today, the ugliness of antisemitism is hidden by a new mask, the guise of “anti-Zionism” – if you don’t conform you become an outcast.

The SU’s handling of Friends of Palestine events was also troubling. They had promised to ensure fairness, yet fundraising events took place on the anniversary of October 7 and Holocaust Memorial Day – right beneath the screens displaying a remembrance service.