The woman, known by the pseudonym Liat, began studying at the Australian National University in 2022.
Speaking at a royal commission into anti-Semitism, she said she had felt scared to speak up about being a Zionist and was uncomfortable each time she walked past a pro-Palestine encampment that existed for more than 100 days in the middle of the Canberra campus.
While Liat said she was "sure it was possible" to criticise the actions of Israel without being anti-Semitic, she had not seen examples of it at her university.
She referred to an article in a magazine distributed by the university's student association that described Zionism as a far-right political project and the state of Israel as run by supporters of genocide.
"It plays on the very classical anti-Semitic trope that Jews are particularly murderous," the woman said.
Liat added many of her friends had stopped speaking to her entirely after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, during which at least 1200 people were killed, because she was a Zionist and both of her parents were born in Israel.
The royal commission is probing the experiences of students and academics, and investigating university responses to anti-Semitism, during hearings in Melbourne throughout the week.
Opening the hearing on Monday, commissioner Virginia Bell SC said some Jewish witnesses had been subject to "ugly anti-Semitic attacks" after giving evidence.
Human Rights Commission president Hugh de Kretser and academic Andy Smidt, who led a SafeWork NSW complaint against Sydney University over its alleged failure to protect Jewish staff, are among the witnesses to be called.Notably, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has also been given leave to appear.
"If the royal commission is to fulfil its purpose effectively and to make recommendations which will truly benefit social cohesion, it must hear directly from the communities whose rights, experiences and voices have too often been sidelined," APAN president Nasser Mashni said.
"More than 1000 days into Israel's assault on Gaza, with more than 73,000 Palestinians killed and thousands more still missing beneath the rubble, the circumstances that gave rise to these protests must not be forgotten."
Notably, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has also been given leave to appear.
"If the royal commission is to fulfil its purpose effectively and to make recommendations which will truly benefit social cohesion, it must hear directly from the communities whose rights, experiences and voices have too often been sidelined," APAN president Nasser Mashni said.
"More than 1000 days into Israel's assault on Gaza, with more than 73,000 Palestinians killed and thousands more still missing beneath the rubble, the circumstances that gave rise to these protests must not be forgotten."
The witness list also includes Students for Palestine's national co-convener Yasmine Johnson, a Jewish University of Technology Sydney student who will on Monday speak against claims the group's activism is anti-Semitic.
"We have seen the royal commission extensively smear the pro-Palestine campaign as inherently anti-Semitic," she told AAP.
"I'm appearing before the royal commission in order to defend the pro-Palestine movement as a movement for justice."
Freedom of expression was being eroded across higher education, including at her own university, she said.
"We were told we couldn't use the word genocide on a leaflet we produced and that's the kind of atmosphere that we've seen extended across campuses nationally."
Multiple Australian universities housed pro-Palestine encampments in 2024 before several were shut down, sparking fears among students and staff that their views were being stifled.
Education Minister Jason Clare earlier said universities had been "caught flat-footed" by anti-Semitism on their campuses and more still needed to be done to prevent the issue.
From Monday, the government will strengthen university governance standards, including a requirement that institutions adopt anti-racism standards with definitions on anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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