Wits students transform anti-Israel narrative into declaration of pride

This wasn’t a week we braced for. It was a week we claimed. 

For years, Jewish students at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) have approached this time of year with a sense of anticipation mixed with unease. What was known as Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) didn’t simply pass through campus, it shaped it. Internationally and locally, IAW has been a source of hostility and intimidation, and a key driver in making Jewish students feel unsafe at university. 

It created an environment where being visibly Jewish came with a cost. Where speaking openly could invite confrontation. Where identity felt like something to manage, rather than something to live. 

And so, for too long, Jewish students adapted. 

We softened our language. We avoided certain conversations. We found ourselves explaining and defending instead of expressing and defining. We were asked, year after year, to respond to narratives about who we are, rather than being given the space to say it ourselves. 

This year, we made a different choice. 

As the South African Union of Jewish Students, we decided we would no longer build our presence around reaction. Instead of arguing what we are not, we started from the beginning: what we are, who we are, and what we stand for. 

We turned the week on its head, choosing to define our identity on our own terms, not as it is framed by others, but as it is lived by us: as proud, unapologetic Jewish, South African, Zionist students. 

Because identity isn’t something to be negotiated under pressure. Every student who walks onto campus carries their own, their religion, their culture, their history, their values. Jewish, Christian, Muslim. Black, white, coloured. Gay, straight, bisexual. Just to mention a few. A healthy campus is one where those identities aren’t suppressed, but expressed. 

Our message was simple: Just as we are proud of our identity, so too should every student be proud of theirs. 

Out of that conviction, we launched Pride Without Apology, a multi-day campaign that explored the many dimensions of Jewish identity. 

Our first day began with Pride in our People. This was about Judaism, not as something abstract, but as something lived. It created a space for Jewish students to gather openly, to engage in conversation, and to participate in practice. It was about community as much as it was about education. In a week where Jewish presence has often felt tense or exposed, we chose to make it warm, visible, and grounded. Not just explaining identity, but living it. 

We then moved to Pride in our History, the day that demanded the most courage. With the simple statement “I’m a proud Zionist, come ask me what that means”, we leaned into one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented aspects of our identity. Instead of avoiding the word, we reclaimed it. We defined Zionism not through slogans, but through conversation about our belief in Jewish self-determination. 

And we did something else: we brought creativity to a space that is often defined by confrontation. 

During the height of campus protest activity, we hosted an interactive graffiti activation, “Come spray your pride”. Students were invited to design and spray paint their own tote bags and T-shirts. What could have been a moment of division became a moment of expression. It drew people in, disarmed tension, and created organic, human conversations. It was bold, visible, and entirely student-driven, a reflection of what happens when identity is expressed with confidence rather than fear. 

Finally, we closed with Pride in our Countries. This day embraced the fullness of who we are: proudly South African and proudly connected to Israel. It challenged the false notion that these identities are in conflict, and instead affirmed that they can coexist, meaningfully and unapologetically. 

Throughout the week, our approach remained consistent: open, confident, and invitational. Not confrontational, but not apologetic either. 

This matters because universities remain one of the most important pillars of our South African Jewish community. Without viable and safe campuses, our community cannot secure its future. If Jewish students feel they must hide in order to belong, then the cost is far greater than one difficult week, it is the erosion of identity itself. 

What this week showed is that this reality is not fixed. 

Through deliberate strategy, sustained effort, and a refusal to be defined by hostility, even the most challenging environments can be reshaped. Spaces can be reclaimed. Conversations can be reset. Confidence can replace fear. 

IAW, once a source of antagonism and anxiety, has been transformed into something entirely different: a space of pride, celebration, and ownership of Jewish identity. 

We are no longer on the defensive. 

We are present. We are visible. And we are unapologetic. 

Proud Without Apology wasn’t just a campaign. 

It was a line in the sand and a statement of exactly who we are. 

• Sasha Said is the chairperson of the South African Union of Jewish Students.