By, Marcus Dysch
2 min read
The Union of Jewish Students chair says the organisation will approach the new academic year with optimism, despite a potential wave of anti-Israel action on campuses.
Adam Pike said UJS would stand up to the threat of boycott motions, antisemitism and attacks and pledged to not “cower in the corner”.
Last year was one of the most challenging UJS has faced. Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last December and January sparked furious demonstrations on Britain’s campuses.
Anti-Israel groups staged co-ordinated “occupation” sit-ins, covered lecture halls with “Free Palestine” banners, set up blogs encouraging support and issued demands to universities.
But Mr Pike said UJS and university Jewish Societies would remain resolute in the face of possible fresh action when studies resume this month.
He said: “The sit-ins were the actions of smaller, fringe, minority groups who campaign on issues to do with the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Most occupations did not involve huge swathes of people and were in small, disused areas of campuses.
“Yes, there was an increase in antisemitic incidents on campuses, but they were mostly verbal incidents. Still, we take it very seriously and we are not complacent. It was a challenging time and a very difficult period. Students did feel threatened.”
Mr Pike said the action had given rise to a resurgence of Jewish activism, with students travelling around the country supporting friends on other campuses and challenging their universities to respond to protestors.
“The situation in the Middle East has always been a point of controversy on campus,” he added. “It’s nothing new. These groups will come back year after year, having boycott motions and apartheid weeks. The challenge remains the same.”
In response to potential new threats, UJS has increased its campaigns team and will focus attention where the threat is expected to be most significant. Universities with the largest JSocs – including Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham - are expected to be among the most heavily targeted.
Mr Pike is the first chairman since Alan Senitt in 2001/02 to stay in the role for a second year.
The 23-year-old oversaw an increase in UJS financial backing for JSocs last year, with 43 societies helped compared to just 17 the previous year.
More than 1,500 new members signed up during Freshers’ Week, with UJS also serving up 12,000 Friday night Shabbat meals and enrolling 5,000 students on social and cultural programmes.
Mr Pike said he was serving a second term to encourage further improvements: “I wanted to finish what I started. We achieved a lot last year. We have a new team of recent graduates who were the most passionate and dynamic Jewish students.”
A new UJS website was launched this week, encouraging the use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs and podcasts, to co-ordinate student life.
Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks has already recorded a Rosh Hashanah podcast for the site, and each JSoc will have its own microsite.
Mr Pike said: “We will recognise the good on our campuses and what our students do for their communities through social work, not just political activism.”