Read UJS' National Council Meeting Report from their 8th Sep 2024 Meeting

Introduction

UJS National Council, according to the UJS Constitution, exists to scrutinise decisions made by the President, ensure the President upholds the core values of UJS, and provide feedback from students to the President about matters relating to UJS. Having been elected your new National Council, we are committed to revamping how we work so that we better serve you, the Jewish students of the UK and Ireland. As part of that work, and in accordance with UJS policy ‘Your Union 3: Ensuring an Accountable UJS’, we will be publishing detailed reports after each of our meetings. The reports are designed to ensure the transparency of National Council’s work, and allow students to scrutinise how we use our elected roles to support Sami and, if needed, hold her to account. Each report will be accompanied by a response from the President, and will be posted on the National Council page on the UJS website. We will also provide video updates via UJS social media. It’s an honour to serve as your National Council this year, and we hope that the changes outlined in this first report will help create a more transparent, accountable and inclusive UJS democracy than ever before!

Louis Danker
Chair, UJS National Council 2024/25

Meeting Agenda, 8^th September 2024

Our Objectives This Year

The first part of our 8/9/24 meeting was spent setting our objectives for the year ahead. We discussed the need to increase the National Council’s visibility and activity in order to truly play our role as representatives of all Jewish students. We also agreed that UJS policy must be tracked more closely so that UJS democracy is felt all year round, not just during convention. Three clear objectives for the year ahead were agreed upon.

National Council 24/25 – Objectives

1. Create a more visible, accountable and active National Council.
2. Ensure UJS policy is monitored and remains front-of-mind all year round.
3. Amplify a more diverse range of student voices to broaden UJS democracy.

Actions We Will Take

Attention then turned to how to achieve these objectives. We set out the following plan for National Council activity this year:

1. Regular National Council meetings will be held once per month. Emergency meetings can be called as required by Sami, UJS President, or Louis, National Council Chair, if there is a matter that requires urgent discussion, such as a controversial statement or event. This will surpass the constitutional obligation to meet at least six times per academic year. All meetings will have an agenda written by Louis, and minutes will be taken.
   
   
2. A National Council member will write a report after each meeting and publish it on the National Council webpage. This will be accompanied by regular social media content before and/or after meetings, encouraging student engagement with the National Council and increasing our visibility.
   
   
3. The National Council webpage will also include a contact form for students to use to get in touch with the National Council with questions for us or for us to put to the President. National Council members will continue to work to find out the views of Jewish students in their network.
   
   
4. Between each monthly meeting, National Council members will aim to speak to approximately five students from a diverse range of campuses, backgrounds, opinions, and levels of UJS engagement. At the start of each meeting, each member will present what they have learned about students’ views of UJS activity. The contact form will ensure a diversity of perspectives is heard each month.
   
   
5. Each regular meeting, Sami will update National Council on recent and future UJS activity. Questions will be put to her by National Council members. Particular areas for focussed questioning have been derived from UJS policy: international coordination, Jewish culture and Israel engagement.
   
   
6. In accordance with UJS policy ‘UJ33 A More Transparent UJS’, the National Council will ensure that the campaign’s sabbatical officers compile a Policy Tracker. This will monitor the extent to which each UJS policy has been implemented. The National Council will oversee the Tracker and request updates at each meeting.

Taking These Changes Forwards

We discussed how this year will act as a pilot for this new framework for the National Council. If successful, these changes will be reflected in motions/constitutional changes put before the upcoming UJS Conference 2024. We also discussed hosting an event at the 2024 Convention to a) receive in-person feedback to put to Sami and her team and b) advertise what the National Council role entails for those considering standing for election for 2025/26.

Recent and Future UJS Activity

As with all of the coming year’s National Council meetings, we ended with an update from Sami on recent and future UJS activity and a chance for the National Council to ask questions and scrutinise UJS’s actions and plans.

• JSoc committee training day (the first in-person in recent years) and subsequent Pizza in the Park received excellent feedback.
• A number of events are taking place for parents and freshers, which are helping to calm nerves and boost excitement for the start of term.
• Sami briefed Universities UK and Vice Chancellors on campus antisemitism before the start of the new academic year.
• The UJS sabbatical team visited Israel on a UJIA-organised trip alongside different youth movement workers. The trip was meaningful and informative, and they heard a breadth of different opinions. A video was made at the Nova festival site in collaboration with Jewish News.
• Feedback on plans for Scotland and Southern Conventions has been good, with hopes that it will allow more students to engage in UJS democracy.
• The Freshers’ schedule is extremely busy, and the team will not be in the office together until mid-October.
• A new sabbatical officer, Alice, started work on September 9th. She is responsible for UJSix and Schools.
• Preparation has begun for the national October 7^th commemoration, with plans afoot for a memorial garden and participation in the community-wide rally

President’s Response

Thank you, Louis, for the thorough report from our meeting on September 8th. I appreciate all the time and effort the National Council has put into setting your three objectives for the year. It was great to have our first meeting with elected Chair Louis Danker, Student Trustee Harry Isaacs, and the rest of the National Council—Eve, Hannah, and Raphi.

I fully support the three key objectives you’ve established. It's crucial that our democratic processes are felt throughout the year. Your commitment to regular meetings, better communication, and active outreach shows a strong approach to achieving this. Transparency and engagement are essential for building trust within our union.

I’m excited about the plans to publish reports and provide regular updates on social media. This will keep students informed and promote a two-way dialogue that enriches our community’s perspectives. The contact form on the National Council webpage will also help us gather diverse viewpoints, ensuring every student feels heard.

I'm looking forward to our monthly discussions, during which National Council members will share insights from their conversations with students. This grassroots approach will help us stay in touch with our communities' evolving needs.

Sami Berkoff

UJS President 2024/25

Members of National Council can be found here.