Jewish students yesterday revealed their battle with a growing tide of anti-Semitism on university campuses.? Sydney University student Michael Misrachi, 23 said attacks on his student colleagues, who identified their Jewish faith by wearing skullcaps, had been distressing.

In another incident the slogan “Jews are the new Nazis” was spray painted on the footpath near a Jewish student college at the University of NSW.

Mr Misrachi said the attacks were evidence that people had been unable to separate Israel from the Jewish religion and Australian Jews.

The Jewish students yesterday blamed political groups from the far left, whose members are not Muslim and operate independent of the universities.

“There is an oppressive environment on campus which is supposed to be a somewhat enlightened institution,” Mr Misrachi said yesterday.

“A vast majority of Jews on campus have no involvement in what is happening on the other side of the world and many have reservations themselves.”

President of the Australian Union of Jewish students Greg Weinstein said it was up to all students to encourage tolerance.

“After September 11 we supported Muslim students,” Mr Weinstein said.

Lauren Gingold, 22 said Jewish students at her university in Melbourne had been labelled “bloody Jews” during heated debates in lectures.

“A lot of people are very under educated about the situation,” she said.

“I am aware of threats and people being called a bloody Jew and Zionist lovers.”

Shoshi Borowski, 22 said it was difficult to accept anti-Semitic violence.

“It is not the kind of thing that should be happening in this day and age,” she said.

“I think it is stemming from what is happening in Israel.”

The students will be part of a 15-strong team who will lead young Jewish school leavers and university students on a trip to Israel at the end of the year.

Confronting the stereotypes Jewish people face will form part of the trip.

Mr Weinstein said students would be taught particularly about the history of relations between Israel and Palestine.

“So much of the program is to do with peace and tolerance,” Deon Kamiem, 21 said yesterday.

Roni Fleischer, 21 said religious intolerance had no place in today’s society and urged people to put aside historical prejudice.

“People don’t need to be attacked because of their religion. If people can’t put aside religious prejudices then where do we go?” she said.

Mr Weinstein supported free speech and the rights of others to attack Israel’s actions.

“We acknowledge we all have political differences but that should never translate to racial vilification,” he said.

TDT