The past year has seen numerous attempts to create and entrench divisions in society, especially between those of different faith groups and ethnicities. The most recent example of this is the attack in Westminster just a month ago;

'Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity for speaking today. My name is Josh Seitler and I am the elected president of the Union of Jewish Students of the UK and Ireland and an Executive Member of the World Union of Jewish Students. I stand here in front of you representing the 8,500 Jewish students across 64 university campuses in the UK.

UJS President Josh Seitler attended the 15th World Jewish Congress in New York on April 23-25 2017. He was part of a delegation from the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Just before Jewish students sat down to Seder night, it was revealed that Brunel SU President Ali Milani has previously published a number of Tweets containing antisemitic tropes. Milani is seeking election to the role of NUS Vice President (Union Development) at the upcoming NUS National Conference later this month.

Last night 150 people gathered for the ninth annual UJS Student Awards. Celebrating Jewish student life on campus, and honouring the incredible hard work put in by the students who make it happen, were representatives from J-Socs throughout the UK and Ireland.

Today, Rob Young, NUS Vice President Society & Citizenship published his report into Jewish students’ experiences which can be found here:http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/articles/jewish-students-have-told-us-about-their-experiences-now-we-must-act. UJS were proud to be involved in the development of the survey.

So the UJS Reclaim campaign is officially over for another year. This year saw more engagement from more campuses and more online engagement with our website (www.reclaimtheconversation.com) that last year. We had three times the number of campus events this year than last year which is incredible in itself.

Students from J-Socs across England and Scotland gathered in London on Sunday to attend UJS’ second annual Liberation Conference. The Conference provided a space for Jewish students who self-define as women, disabled and/or LGBT+ to meet each other, discuss their experiences, empower their peers and be empowered and inspired.

Pots were sizzling, knives were chopping and the heat was on. The Great Jewish Cook Off was a new and innovative competition that I was proud to implement as a new UJS National Event this year.

Jonathan Arkush’s public suggestion that Jewish students should avoid the London School of Economics (LSE) troubled me as the President of Union of Jewish Students, as a representative on the Board of Deputies, and also as a proud alumnus of LSE.