AUJS: Nurturing tomorrow’s Jewish leaders

For 27 years, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) has brought Jewish university students from across the country to Canberra for the Political Training Seminar (PTS). The program is the cornerstone of our leadership calendar, providing current and emerging Jewish leaders the chance to meet directly with political leaders, journalists and diplomats.

For many it is the first time walking the halls of Parliament and meeting these leaders. PTS provides an unparalleled opportunity for our young leaders to undertake advocacy directly with our national political leaders. Far more than a photo opportunity, it allows students to share their experiences as young Jewish Australians and ask extremely difficult and at times uncomfortable questions.

These experiences matter. They give Jewish students the platform to directly convey to decision makers what is important to us, and to address issues of anti-Israeli and other forms of antisemitism on university campuses and in the wider community.

This year, the urgency was greater. Since October 7, the reality for Jewish students has changed. While the encampments are gone, antisemitism has escalated, misinformation spreads unchecked online, and too often conversations collapse into hostility, leaving little space for dialogue and critical thinking. Many students arrive at PTS carrying the weight of intimidation, exhaustion and isolation. A look at the comment sections on politicians’ posts about PTS reveals how deeply antisemitism persists in the Australian community.

Campus today can feel like everyone is reciting a script. Instead of debate and discussion, ideas and slogans are too often shouted across classrooms and campus lawns. Jewish students in particular are often pushed into corners, expected to defend themselves constantly, or worse, silenced altogether.

It does not help when some in our own community, from behind their keyboards, insist that Jewish students should only be putting their energy towards confronting every irrelevant campus motion on Gaza and the most radical voice on campus.

The reality is that far more is achieved with a sophisticated approach to advocacy that includes building meaningful relationships with other student groups, meeting university leadership and advocating to politicians and other national leaders. That is why this year’s program was especially significant. It helped Jewish students develop the skills they need, discover solidarity among their peers, and reaffirmed for our young leaders that their voices belong in the national conversation.

PTS 2025 was one of the most oversubscribed programs in AUJS’ history. In the end, 50 students were selected.

PTS offers a unique advocacy model. Participants hold a diverse range of political views. They are not given talking points or a script. Instead, the discussions are deliberately robust, and they are asked to listen carefully, frame their concerns clearly, and stay in the room even when conversations get uncomfortable.

PTS is about empowering leaders who can operate in real time with the reality that they face. This is anchored in the Jewish value of machloket l’shem shamayim, argument for the sake of heaven. This teaching, from the debates of Hillel and Shammai, reminds us that disagreement becomes an opportunity, when conducted with integrity and respect.

Advocacy cannot be reduced to slogans or reactive outrage. Too often, Jewish students are pushed to either retreat into silence or to fight fire with fire. Neither approach builds credibility, or creates lasting change.

Our task is more complex. It is about making sure Jewish student voices are not only loud, but clear. That is the kind of leadership AUJS cultivates through PTS and other programs. Leaders who build strong, direct relationships before we need them, who can argue forcefully without losing sight of respect, and who can ensure Jewish perspectives remain part of the national conversation.

At the same time, AUJS is deeply proud to facilitate a vast range of spaces and initiatives that empower different forms of Jewish identity and responsibility. Whether through grassroots initiatives, creating a visible and supportive Jewish voice on campus, or cultivating programs and events that nurture Jewish joy, our community is strongest when we recognise that in 2025, there is not only a place, but a necessity, for many different expressions of our proud Jewish and Zionist identity.

Each student left PTS 2025 with something different. Some gained sharper instincts, and others the courage to take the next steps in their involvement in campus leadership. Collectively, they left with a new network of peers, and renewed confidence that their voices matter.

That is precisely why AUJS will keep running PTS. Even though it is challenging – especially when we don’t get the answers we would like to hear – it is a crucially important place where our young Jewish leaders can learn the skills to stand up for Israel and our Jewish community. And AUJS will continue to give them the skills and support to lead with strength, integrity and vision.

The Jewish community can be assured that its young people are ready. On campus, in politics and beyond. We know, perhaps more than most, that community advocacy has to be credible, nuanced, willing to disrupt when the moment demands it, but always rooted in relationships strong enough to outlast any crisis. That is the real work.

Holly Feldman and Danielle Tischmann are AUJS co-presidents.