During Brandeis’ 2025 Fall Involvement Fair, which showcased 201 varied clubs and organizations to the student body, one organization found itself facing major intervention from other students and the Department of Student Engagement. The Brandeis Jewish Bund, an anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist group, has been operating on campus for the past year, hosting vigils, sit-ins, protests and Jewish culture events. As I was walking around the Involvement Fair, I witnessed Bund members “tabling” on a blanket near the Shapiro Campus Center, facing verbal aggression and intimidation from students holding “Brandeis Students Support Israel” signs. Five anonymous students gave statements of what they witnessed happening between the Bund and other students at the fair. 

Both first-year students who witnessed the event characterized the Bund as “approachable and conversational” and “friendly and welcoming.” One first-year student detailed their experience at the Bund blanket, stating, “They were very inviting and took the time to ask my name, about me, and if I was interested in their cause. However, some members of the student body made me feel deeply uncomfortable as I was trying to learn more. As I was listening to what the Bund had to say and introducing myself, a group of students hold[ing] SSI [Students Supporting Israel] signs with Israeli flags kept staring me down, giving me dirty looks, and attempting to divest my attention away from the group by pointing and waving their signs at me.” The Students Supporting Israel chapter at Brandeis, also an unchartered club, were in attendance at the Involvement Fair. The other first-year recalled: “I saw students (some displaying Brandeis Stands With Israel flyers, who were lingering all around the fair) take a number of BJB [Brandeis Jewish Bund] flyers from the ground and tear them up while they walked away.” Additionally, the student reported that most interactions with the Bund were positive, and that the Bund did not respond to the provocation. 

A sophomore described further disrespect towards the Bund, claiming “a group of Zionist students went up to their flyers with pictures of murdered children and took selfies while smiling,” before “ripping up two of the flyers” and “taking pictures of the Bund students.” A junior corroborated the claim, stating, “I saw students holding up the Israel signs and taking selfies around the [Bund] area” before expressing that “several of [these students] approached my table and the table next to me continuing to hold up the pro-Israel signs. They didn’t speak to me directly, only held up the signs, but the entire situation made me feel very uncomfortable.”

The Bund was situated near the Shapiro Campus Center — away from the Involvement Fair space in Fellows Garden — first utilizing their own table before being told by DSE staff that tabling was not allowed, according to one student witness tabling for the Bund. They briefly switched to laying their materials out on a blanket, then resorted to personally handing out materials. The sophomore attempted to look further into why the Bund was not granted a table, saying “one of the organizers told me that they were not allowed to table because they were not chartered but a few yards away I saw a different not-chartered club member with a makeshift table,” then asserting that “clearly it was politically motivated and I left feeling disgusted with Brandeis and those Zionist students.”

I received a witness statement from one of the students tabling for the Bund who claimed that ”we faced constant harassment from Zionists,” specifying “multiple Zionist students grouped up next to our ‘Murdered by Israel’ flyers with pictures of dead children on them. A group of those students went up to the flyers and took gleeful selfies while posing.” In the statement, they reference a Substack article they recently posted on their Instagram page: “Later, a friend of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldier depicted on the Bund’s ‘This is a Colonial Campus’ cover came up and ripped up the flyers while hysterically yelling.” The member added that students were “taking nonconsensual photos and recording us.” They hold that “the climate was clearly meant to be hostile to any anti-Israel voices.” This is corroborated by the fact that there were numerous tables allowed to openly express support for Israel, yet one of the few openly pro-Palestine organizations at Brandeis was not permitted to represent itself to the student body, painting a concrete picture for Brandeis students of the political beliefs they are allowed to hold on campus.  

The inconsistent actions taken by the DSE in terms of whether or not unchartered Brandeis organizations are allowed to have a space at the Involvement Fair may point to politically motivated silencing of pro-Palestinian voices. Certain members of some of the Pro-Israel organizations on campus — of which there are many — have repeatedly targeted Bund members and events with no repercussions from Brandeis administration, causing the Bund to end their statement with “we won’t bother with OEO [Office of Equal Opportunity] this time, and we encourage everyone to read our most recent article to learn more about why we have no faith in the conduct process.” The Substack article also details doxxing efforts by chartered pro-Israel clubs, including screenshots that were presented to the OEO, though those investigations were never furthered. 

While college campuses are meant to act as meeting places for diverse voices, the Involvement Fair has demonstrated that Brandeis University only supports one form of involvement in regards to the Israel-Hamas War, and dissenting opinions will not be represented in any official capacity. Despite this, based on the witness testimonies, there is an outspoken population of students who feel deep discomfort with the heavy presence of pro-Israel groups on campus. It seems that Brandeis may soon have to accept that their students intend to create a space for themselves to be heard if one will not be given to them.