The National Union of Students (NUS) has re-elected Shakira Martin as its president, with the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) extending its “sincere congratulations.”
Ms Martin’s re-election was announced on Wednesday at the NUS’s annual conference, which is taking place in Glasgow.
Last year, Ms Martin beat Malia Bouattia, the sitting president, to take over the position. Ms Bouattia had been viewed with concern by Jewish students due to her previous negative comments about Zionism, and the relationship between the NUS and UJS deteriorated markedly during her tenure in charge.
By contrast, Ms Martin expressed a willingness to work closely with the UJS, which hailed her election last year as “demonstrating a rejection of the divisive rhetoric”, used by Ms Bouattia.
In her response to her re-election today, a spokesperson said the UJS extended "sincere congratulations to Shakira."
The spokesperson added: “We have been delighted to work with her on a number of projects and campaigns over the past year, including #OurLivingMemory, a campaign run jointly by UJS in partnership with NUS and the Holocaust Educational Trust.
“As part of the campaign, Shakira’s vlog reflecting on her trip to Auschwitz reached 15,000 people and helped us to engage more students than ever before in marking Holocaust Memorial Day on 40+ campuses across the UK.
“Shakira also spoke alongside UJS campaigns manager Liron Velleman in Parliament on a panel titled ‘Antisemitism on campus: where do we go from here?’, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism and the Antisemitism Policy Trust.
“Shakira’s commitment to improving her understanding of the interests of Jewish students has been exceptional. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship in the year ahead and we wish her every success as she continues in the role of president.”
