We are excited to announce the UJS Sabbatical Team 2019-2020!

After multiple rounds of interviews, we are so excited to have put together the team to work with your J-Socs over the next year. Everyone is looking forward to facilitate and support your activities on campus. Esther and all of the other officers can't wait to continue leading, defending and enriching Jewish life on Campus in UJS' 100th year and beyond. Keep reading to find out more about the new team!

Welcome to UJS’ Pesach themed, cross-communal educational resource!
Five leading educators from within our community, from different denominations and backgrounds, have produced in partnership with UJS, four awesome pieces to inspire you this Pesach! (plus an extra activity launched by Lead for your dinner table..) Click here to read more!

Last night, the 16^th of April, we hosted our annual UJS Student awards where over 120 students, partners and community came together to celebrate everything that was achieved on campus over the last year. We received almost 100 nominations, and we were proud to see our campus leaders come together for this special evening to acknowledge the amazing work they have done.

Since my time as a student (Leeds University ‘07-’10) I have been overwhelmingly impressed by the work of UJS. From the thousands of Friday night dinners served, to the game-changing national campaigns, to representing and standing up for students on campus; UJS is a dynamic, boundary-pushing and difference-making movement, and I am excited to be a part of it once more.

It’s Sunday 31^st March 7.40am (after the clocks have gone forward) and I’m at Paddington Station bound for Bristol Temple Meads. I’m talking to my inner self and asking, “Remind me why I do this job?” Not only is it very early on a Sunday, but it’s Mothers’ Day and my two teenage daughters are miffed that they’re not going to be able to post mother and daughter selfies on their social media feeds. I’m also feeling a bit guilty that I probably won’t have a chance to speak to my own mother today as I’ll be home too late. I try to remain resolute, thinking of my quest for purpose today rather than pure pleasure.

So the Israeli elections are almost upon us, and I was tasked with simplifying the process to understand what is going on.

UJS President Hannah Rose and Campaigns Organiser Daniel Kosky met with Universities Minister Chris Skidmore along with the Jewish Leadership Council, CST and the Antisemitism Policy Trust. Topics discussed included recent incidents on campus, challenges facing Jewish students and the ways in which the government can support Jewish students.

Two weeks ago, I was with students at UJS Liberation Conference. A few days later I was sharing my experience of being an LGBT+ Jew on an interfaith panel at Cardiff university. As my penultimate week as UJS CEO, this seemed a fitting farewell to supporting UJS Presidents and their teams fighting for Jewish students and all marginalised groups to live fully and freely without fear of harassment or hatred.

After receiving nearly 100 nominations and deliberating for a long time, we are delighted to announce this year’s nominees for the 2019 UJS Student Awards!

As Israel Apartheid Week approaches, as Jewish students around the country, we have to consider the role that we play in promoting the Jewish state. It is clear, through Israel Apartheid Weeks gone by, that we have seen hostility on campus, with some students calling for a hard-line policy of Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against the State of Israel. One thing is evident though – rather than polarising the debate so that both sides feel as though they must get one up on the other, we should instead be creating an environment that fosters good relations and respect – an environment that would in the future be conducive to peace.