As president of Nottingham JSoc, which included both Nottingham University and Nottingham Trent, he helped to “revitalise” Jewish life on campus post-Covid. “I inherited a JSoc that was struggling in the wake of Covid. The students were looking for something. They wanted that source of connection, but the infrastructure and culture in Nottingham weren’t there.
“But I’m proud to say that we went from finding it difficult to get people to turn up to events to becoming one of the strongest JSocs in the country, with over 1,000 Jewish students now on campus.
Josh Cohen (left) with UJS Campaigns officer Samantha Cass (centre) and UJS president Sami Berkoff (right)[Missing Credit]
“We had lots of support from UJS to grow that infrastructure, and to a big extent, the work I did as JSoc president led me to wanting to become a sabbatical officer at UJS and to work with other JSocs around the country.”
In his current role at UJS, Cohen has learnt that “no two communities are alike and nor should they be treated as such.My approach has always been about listening first, to understand the unique needs of each community, and collaborating to create meaningful solutions that enable them to thrive.”
Despite having lots of experience working at and with membership unions, Cohen says he came onto the WUJS scene as a “relative outsider”, with his campaign manifesto running on advancing “unity, advocacy, and accountability” within the global body.
Succeeding against incumbent WUJS president, Yana Naftalieva, Cohen won the delegate-based election, made up of leaders from all the represented unions. He will now follow in the steps of former WUJS presidents such as Albert Einstein and David Ben-Gurion.
The member unions themselves support students under their care, and it is the role of WUJS to support the unions, working to unite and represent independent Jewish associations throughout the world.
Josh Cohen (on podium, left)[Missing Credit]
UJS, which represents 9,000 students and 80 societies across the UK and Ireland, and is one of the largest and oldest member unions, holds a permanent position on the WUJS board.
As part of his new appointment, Cohen will be moving to Israel in May. “I’m very excited to both be elected to the role and to live in Israel,” he said. “Moving there was vaguely in my plans anyway, and it’s something I’m very keen on, so I’m very much looking forward to it. It’s a perk of the job.”
Despite his move, Cohen doesn’t intend to spend a huge amount of time in the country.“Jerusalem is the base and the centre of operations, but I’ll be supporting students on the ground wherever they are, and that’s something I’ve committed to in my manifesto. I won’t just be sitting in Jerusalem with occasional Zoom calls. I’ll be attending as many university conferences and summits as I can to ensure that up-and-coming Jewish life around the world is as strong and unified as it can be,” he said.
Cohen is the seventh Brit to be elected, the last being Yos Tarshish who was WUJS president from 2016 to 2018.
Sami Berkoff, UJS President 2024-25, said: “We are incredibly proud of Josh’s election as WUJS President.
"This achievement reflects the strong foundation provided by JSocs and UJS in nurturing and developing leadership skills among Jewish students across the UK and Ireland. It has been amazing to witness Josh’s journey from serving as JSoc President in Nottingham, and we look forward to seeing him thrive in this new role.”
