I can no longer pretend that I am just like everyone else on campus. If the world is determined to hate me, then I must be something special. In South Africa amidst the 20,000 non-Jews that constitute my university, I always prided myself on contributing to the diverse ethnic and cultural mix which makes campus life so colorful. I would avidly discuss Jewish practices with Moslem friends of mine, and attentively draw in the fascinating customs of Moslem women. All this has changed with the violence in Israel, marring my rose-tinted view of the world.
Campus life is tense, to say the least.
The Moslem Students Association held a march on campus which culminated in the burning of the Israeli flag. The South African Union of Jewish Students put up posters condemning these acts as perpetuating antagonism towards Jewish students. This was promptly torn down. Anti-Semitism is by no means dead. The perceived might of the Israeli army is merely a vehicle used to allow for free reign of anti-Semitism.