On the 2^nd of march 2020 at 10pm the polls closed in Israel for the third time since there was a viable Government. Despite this being a third election in a year and expectations of "voter fatigue", we actually saw an increase in voter turnout -the highest since 1999. With the number of parties diminishing to 8 (lowest ever!), less votes are wasted on parties that don't pass the threshold and we get a more accurate representation of Israeli society.

A few weeks ago, we started to talk about International women’s day in the office and the first thing that popped into my head were the words of “Kol Isha” (קול אישה). Literally those words mean “the voice of a woman” in Hebrew – in Judaism, “Kol Isha” is the concept that a man is prohibited from hearing a woman’s voice in song or prayer. Now, I won’t be discussing the actual concept; that is a topic I will let myself grapple with at another time. Rather, it made me think how we are using our voice as women.

READ the UJS President Esther Offenberg's address at the Board of Deputies February meeting.

Click here to watch the video

Running interfaith events can, like all other events, be both challenging and extremely rewarding. Planning interfaith events takes time and effort, especially because it’s important to be aware of, and sensitive to, the religious requirements of those participating. However, it is very satisfying when all the elements of an event come together and the event runs smoothly.

Tu B’shvat (or Tu Bishvat) is the Hebrew term for the date ‘the 15^th of Shevat’ which the Mishna (Rosh Hashana 1:1) lists as being ‘the New Year of the Trees

Our job as student leaders is to fight for those in our society who need us most, leading a student culture which celebrates diversity and standing up for each other when we need it most. That’s why we are proud to mark LGBT+ History Month, both as a celebration of our LGBT+ Jewish community, and as a focus on how much further we can go to expel homophobia, transphobia and biphobia from our Jewish student society and beyond.

This year’s LGBT+ History Month aims to educate-out prejudice and make LGBT+ people visible in all
their rich diversity. For current students and recent graduates, one way of highlighting this is through
diversity and inclusion in the workplace.