As part of our work to protect and promote free speech and to counter hate speech and incitement towards violence, UJS provided oral evidence and a written submission to the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into free speech on campus.

UJS is aware of allegations of homophobia made against a J-Soc committee member. As the national representative organisation for Jewish students in the UK and Ireland, providing cross-communalism for all Jewish students and promoting tolerance and understand between our members is fundamental to our organisation. We are therefore treating this matter with the utmost severity and will investigate fully. We are also providing support to the students involved and if any other student is concerned, we encourage them to get in touch.

L-R: Josh Holt, Sam Gyimah MP, Jonathan Arkush and Joel Salmon

Yesterday the recently appointed Universities Minister Sam Gyimah met with Josh Holt, UJS President, in what was his first meeting with representatives of the Jewish community. Josh was accompanied by Board of Deputies President Jonathan Arkush and Parliamentary Officer Joel Salmon.

120 guests ranging in age from 10 to 85 gathered for a never-been-seen-before event last night at JW3. Hosted by UJS together with René Cassin and the Jewish Music Institute, Together in Tune brought the Jewish and Roma communities together for a night of music and dance, celebrating and recognising our communities’ cultural similarities. The atmosphere in the room was buzzing and everyone had a fantastic time.

David Davidi-Brown from UJS running a session with York J-Soc and York LGBT+ Society. The signs the group are holding say 'Some people are gay. So what?' in Hebrew - part of a Stonewall campaign. See the English poster here. Photo credit: Emmett Stone

February is LGBT+ History Month. With cross-communalism as one of our core values, we’re dedicated to being a fully inclusive union; a welcoming place for all our Jewish student members, regardless of their background. Moreover, with the passing of motion CO6 at UJS Conference 2017 we are proudly committed to celebrating and commemorating LGBT+ History Month (as well as the relevant months for other marginalised groups – see the full list in the motion text linked above.)

So how did we mark LGBT+ History Month at UJS this year?

As President of UJS I was saddened and somewhat surprised to read the open letter recently published by nine of the talented and dedicated student leaders that I and my team have the honour to represent and work with, many of whom have submitted motions to UJS Conference, participated in UJS Israel trips, attended UJS Israel events, and are or have been involved in UJS’ representative structures.

Abdi visited Auschwitz-Birkenau with UJS and HET last week

A photo taken by the author in Jerusalem

This evening I feel frustrated and weary of this. Last year, while I was president of the J-Soc, BDS disappeared twice. Now, we are doing this again.

Walking through the gates of the first Auschwitz camp was a genuinely harrowing experience.

UJS are disappointed that City SU passed a motion to support the BDS campaign last night, for the second time in 15 months, at a meeting attended by around 150 students. A third BDS motion proposed to City SU last year was pulled by the proposers prior to being debated, due to lack of support.

BDS is a divisive movement that prioritises a single narrative in place of nuanced and respectful discussion. It divides peers, alienates Jewish students and creates an atmosphere that can and has fuelled antisemitism on campuses across the UK.