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By Anonymous
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Sajid Javid spoke out against Israel boycotts in a speech that took a strong stance on artistic censorship at the UJS conference.
"I will always be proud to stand up and resist calls for boycotts of Israel, he said. "I know that such calls are nothing more than a smokescreen for the oldest hatred."
Speaking on Sunday at the UJS's annual policy-making forum, Mr Javid talked about the summer protests against Israeli theatre company Incubator at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and cited the Tricycle theatre's refusal to host the UK Jewish Film Festival because it received funds from the Israeli embassy.
"The moment I heard about the Tricycle ban I knew I couldn't just let it go.
"It's completely unacceptable for a theatre to act in this way, and I didn't shy away from telling its directors that.
"Let me be very clear - I don't believe in artistic and cultural boycotts. Because culture is bigger than politics. It should rise above what divides us, not be used to create that division," said Mr Javid.
The cabinet minister also spoke of his moving visit to Auschwitz and his own experiences dealing with prejudice, telling the forum how he got into a fight at school after being called "Paki", as well as being faced with discrimination when he became a City of London banker.
Mr Javid told the JC: "I was privileged to get an invite to the UJS conference, I think it's a hugely important organisation. I remember the UJS from when I was at university. One of my closest friends, who is now an MP, Robert Halfon, was an active member. So I attended a couple of their events at that time.
"This was something that reminded me of how important the organisation is and I was very happy to accept.
"I think it is very important for politicians of all political parties to communicate with young people as often as they can and this was a fantastic opportunity to do that."
Students in the audience didn't shy away from the tough questions, asking the culture secretary about rising taxes, cuts to arts funding and the European Human Rights act.
More than 100 students gathered at Jewish Care in Golders Green to vote for the next UJS president and debate policies for the coming year. Joe Vinson, NUS vice-president for further education, also addressed the conference.
Hannah Brady, 21, from Newcastle stood unopposed for UJS president and won with 81 per cent of the 146 votes.
Motions were passed on a wide range of topics including creating a partnership with social-action group Tzedek; minimising food-waste at JSoc events; and appointing a Scottish JSoc representative to the conference.
Motions re-affirming UJS's commitment to a two-state solution in Israel and commending the union's opposition to the BDS movement were also passed.
Current UJS president Ella Rose said: "Debate was incredibly respectful and vibrant. It really showed Jewish students are passionate about the wider student world, their Jewish life, and Israel, and that they want to make a difference in the world."
Leo Brosh, 19, studying international relations at Nottingham University, said: "I thought it was great to have an opportunity to debate issues and to prove UJS is accountable and a representative of Jewish students across the country."