In recent weeks, numerous incidents have re-ignited the debate on Jewish participation in queer and progressive spaces. In Rome, Keshet Italia, the sole Jewish LGBTQIA+ organisation in Italy, was excluded from participating in Roma Pride following political disagreements. In Barcelona, two Jewish women were denied entry to a queer sauna for wearing a Magen David, and in Vienna, EUJS member union JÖH has been unable to host its annual Pride party due to safety risks. These incidents are not merely political disputes; at their core, they raise concerns about antisemitism. None of them centred on the behaviour of those involved, but on the fact that they were Jewish and were presumed to hold certain views because of it. Jewish communities across the globe are extraordinarily diverse, with no single Jewish political position and no single relationship to Israel.

The issue is not disagreement, as political discourse is a crucial aspect of democratic societies and of Pride movements themselves. The issue arises when Jewish people are asked about their relationship to the only Jewish state, when Jewish identity is treated as inherently political, and when access to public spaces is only permitted for the “good” Jews. As Jewish students across Europe, EUJS rejects the growing tendency to treat Jewish participation in civic, activist, and queer spaces as conditional. No one should have to pass a political litmus test, conceal a Star of David, or publicly distance themselves from other Jews to gain access to spaces that claim to oppose discrimination. Antisemitism has no place in queer spaces, and there can be no meaningful fight against discrimination that makes exceptions when the targets are Jews.