On campus, a positive environment should be created to speak honestly about Israel, Palestine and the peace process. However, as it stands, the community seems more intent on loudly championing mythology – for example, “Israel is a model democracy”, ignoring the ongoing occupation and new anti-democratic laws; “we have no partner for peace”, ignoring continued illegal settlement activity and a Palestinian Authority ready to negotiate under reasonable terms – and naively thinking these lines will be swallowed whole by the wider population.

The Jewish Student Union at the University of California Berkeley has decided to ban J Street U's application for membership. A disgusting act that exlcudes a legitimate, pro-Israel voice from the conversation on campus. I know it's hard, but to my friends at Berkeley, I say: Keep fighting. Don't close your mouths and keep voicing your desire to be pro-Israel and pro-peace, to be anti-BDS and anti-occupation. It's terrible that people on our side of the aisle come up against this, but it's important not to get despondent, as hard as it may be. Keep fighting the good fight. It's worth it.

A new campaign from Britain's UJS called "Liberation", will offer a different spin from the traditional, "one-size-fits-all Zionism". Instead, UJS says "the case for a Jewish state, establishing two states for two peoples as the best way to secure this [will be at the forefront of the campaign]. For once, we'll be setting the campus agenda on Israel". There is no reason not to support this campaign, but I can only imagine the howls they're getting in the UK at the moment from parts of the establishment. Keep your chins up, guys, and persist with this -- it's never been more important, especially on campus.

TWELVE months ago, I wrote a column in The AJN about how excited I was to start off the year as chairperson of Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS). I wrote about the strength of the organisation and how I believe that, at its core, AUJS’ mission is to bring Jewish students together and allow [...]

THIS week, an estimated 10,000 Jewish students across the country will nervously embark on their first weeks at university. The reasons for this nervousness are varied: the new classes they face, once again bumping into old flings on campus, or the $450 for textbooks they will hardly use. But for many these aren’t the weightiest [...]