Annual Review 2016/2017 Our year… In words. In pictures. In numbers. Looking back… and forward 1

“Over the past year Looking back… …and forward

Jewish students Josh Seitler, UJS President in Scotland, with interfaith, social Josh Holt, UJS President 2016-17 action and so much more in between. 2017-18 I can’t believe I am writing Campus is buzzing with activity and Since Jewish students put Jewish students are leading so much have grown stronger this at the end of the of it. New J-Socs are starting and their faith in me to lead our 2016/17 year. It feels like more Jewish students are standing up union back in December, I’ve only just started – and and fighting for what they believe in. I have been itching to now it’s the end of my time start delivering for Jewish and stronger.” UJS is only as strong as the students as UJS President, and the we represent, and over the past year students and I am so excited close of our Union’s 98th Jewish students have grown stronger to get started. Josh Seitler, UJS President 2016-17 chapter. and stronger. There have been tough times on campus over the last year and we have come out fighting. The past year has not been without This time last year, people looked its challenges to our community, but at Jewish students with pity. There I was advised by a former President thanks to the work of the dedicated was concern about antisemitism to aim to leave UJS in a better place team of 2016/17, Jewish students on campus, worry that anti-Israel than when I started. Thanks to the now find themselves in a far stronger movements were growing in strength incredible UJS team that I have been position. It is my honour to be able to and a negative tone around Jewish privileged to lead and the thousands start my term from this place, building students’ experiences on campus. of Jewish students across the UK on what has been achieved and who have worked tirelessly for others working to deliver my mandate. I am I am so proud to be able to say – and who have given you a glimpse looking forward to ensuring our union with confidence that a year later, of their stories within this Annual is as inclusive as possible, empowering campus is not just a safe space for Review – I can safely say that we Jewish students across the country, Jewish students. It’s better than that: have achieved that goal. widening the scope of opportunities Jewish students continue to thrive available, and ensuring we can express on a daily basis. Up and down the I cannot wait to see what next year our convictions loudly and proudly. UK, Jewish students are pioneering will bring and I want to say thank J-Socs are at the core of our union, new initiatives, from Antisemitism you to everyone who has helped to and I cannot wait to work with them, Awareness Week in to ensure that Jewish students can do helping to make Jewish life on campus innovative pro-Israel campaigns more Jewish things across the UK. the most amazing it can possibly be. 2 Our year in numbers 3

Our year in numbers 360 350 6,000 3,500 60 6,576 activists benefitted from UJS student Labour Club members were students engaged in our ‘Bridges students, university staff and local students ran in local and national students celebrated Shabbat and leadership training and development trained in identifying and combatting not Boycotts’ campaign that ran community members, including elections, including full- and Jewish festivals at events directly opportunities in Europe, Israel and antisemitism, following reports concurrently to a week of anti-Israel Jewish people and those of other part-time leadership roles within supported by UJS. Together with the UK. of antisemitism within the Oxford hostility in February. On campuses faiths, cultures and backgrounds, their Students Unions and the campus partners, our J-Socs University Labour Club. from Exeter to Manchester and on attended one of 38 J-Soc Holocaust National Union of Students. 45 were hosted thousands more community social media, ‘Bridges not Boycotts’ Memorial Day commemorations successful and have already begun celebrations, including Purim offered dialogue and discussion as this year. representing their peers, electing parties, Shavuot learning nights an alternative to divisiveness new NUS leadership and passing a and Chanukah carnivals. and intimidation. range of policy including combatting antisemitism in the student movement at a national level. 4,943 3,825 1,450 772 3,050 120 Jewish students strengthened their students benefitted from educational people engaged with our Reclaim Jewish students donated their time, students participated in peer-led potential lifesavers were recruited to relationships with Israel through opportunities provided by UJS, mental health campaign and money, preloved possessions and interfaith initiatives throughout the Anthony Nolan register by Jewish activities that celebrated the vibrancy including campus sessions, keynote Liberation Conference that created even their stem cells to deserving the year, from panels and discussion student volunteers through our of Israeli culture and heritage, speakers and scholarships to safe spaces for those of marginalised causes this year. groups in Bristol and London to partnership with the national blood grappled with the challenges of and March of the Living. identities, including disabled, LGBT+ celebrating Shabbat and Iftar cancer charity, now in its fifth year. the region, and allowed students and women students across digital together in Birmingham to connect in ways that they found and physical platforms. and Cambridge. personally meaningful. Educational and social events across the country included lectures, conferences, concerts, Yom Ha’atzmaut barbecues, film screenings and discussions, and meeting with Israeli nonprofits and Jewish and Arab activists. 4 In our own words 5

Aim: To raise awareness of mental health issues that students face, Championing statistically proven to be on the rise at present, and play our part in erasing the stigma. diverse Jewish Action: We ran our second annual Reclaim week, engaging students concurrently on digital and physical platforms. A dedicated website hosted identities students’ blogs and vlogs, giving them a way to voice their own experiences, Natasha Zack, Leeds J-Soc whilst experienced speakers visited J-Socs across the country to facilitate  conversations about awareness of mental health issues, how to support each other and how to practice self “My experience with Reclaim was “I am delighted that UJS’ brilliant care. very rewarding. It has been a really Reclaim campaign is entering its good way of speaking up, as well second year. For too long, mental Result: Award-winning mental health as meeting other people who are illness has been treated as a taboo campaigner Jonny Benjamin OBE as passionate about mental health subject and there is no exception addressed 120 students at a Friday positivity as I am. Reclaim has been within the Jewish community. I am Night Dinner hosted by Birmingham such an amazing project and helped incredibly proud that UJS is at the J-Soc, speaking about his personal bring people together. Mental health forefront of this fight against stigma. journey tackling mental health issues. is becoming a much bigger issue The positive impact of this hard work Events were also held at Manchester, for students as we are put under so will be felt not only by students, but Leeds, Nottingham and London J-Socs, much pressure, so our generation by families and friends as well. I look reaching over 300 students in total. needs to do as much as we can to forward to seeing the campaign’s Across the website, campus-based make it easy to talk about mental success continue.” events and our Liberation Conference, health – and Reclaim definitely over 700 people engaged with Reclaim. does that!” Luciana Berger MP, President of the We received tens of emails from Labour Campaign for Mental Health students expressing their gratitude and ex-Shadow Minister for for the campaign, saying that it had Mental Health empowered them to speak up or to feel like they were not alone. 6 In our own words 7

Aim: To provide a diverse range of educational opportunities, allowing Educating students to critically explore and engage with Jewish history, culture, texts and society. ourselves Action: We offered a variety of multi- day trips, day-long conferences and shorter campus-based sessions, aiming to cover as wide a range of topics and others as possible to ensure that there was something for everyone. Ilan Fisher, City and Cass J-Soc Result: We provided full or partial scholarships to Limmud and March of “March of the Living was straining, the Living for 33 students, facilitated complex and uplifting. Engaging Lunch and Learn sessions on campuses with the Holocaust, the issues it in England, Ireland, Scotland and raises, the sheer magnitude and the Wales, and hosted our second annual unbelievable complexity is a journey. Liberation Conference, educating What I will take from this experience about the diversity of Jewish students’ is perspective of how little I know, of identities. The 12 students who how much was lost and that there is attended Limmud on UJS scholarships still so much that needs to be done to were able to learn from their peers remember the Holocaust. I would like and run sessions for others, passing to thank UJS and the Sir Martin on the benefits of their educational & Lady Esther Gilbert Scholarship opportunities. Likewise, UJS supported for facilitating my journey to Poland. J-Socs in hosting a record 38 Holocaust I hope to take what I have learnt Memorial Day events that reached a and developed over this week total of 3,500 people, ensuring that and remember the past, to Jewish students are not only engaging shape the future.” in educational opportunities themselves but are reaching out to educate others too. Finally, 17 Sabbatical Officers from Students’ Unions around the country visited Poland with UJS and the Holocaust Educational Trust. 8 In our own words 9 9

Aim: To encourage Jewish students who are not only creating and strengthening Contributing their own campus communities, but are also actively contributing to the world around them. to the world Action: With a J-Soc Officer partly dedicated to assisting the development of social action initiatives, we provided funding and support for students to get around us involved in pre-existing social action initiatives and to create their own, Boaz Goldwater and Gabi Mendelsohn, Leeds J-Soc according to their passions.

Result: Over 350 students got involved “As co-chairs of the Leeds J-Soc Ball in Mitzvah Day on campus, our committee, we gathered our whole Valentine’s Day ‘Give Your Heart Out’ Jewish student community together campaign for Save a Child’s Heart, for a fun night that also helped us the UJS Great Jewish Cookoff that to raise awareness and funds for a raised funds for the Trussell Trust, and really important cause. Knowing that local J-Soc initiatives. Jewish student we have made a difference to others volunteers also registered 120 potential by raising £10,000 for a mental lifesavers to the Anthony Nolan register health charity is a fantastic feeling.” as part of our ongoing partnership, which includes a recruitment drive at UJS Summit, the annual national leadership training weekend; J-Soc recruitment events on campuses across the country throughout the year; and Jewish students supporting Anthony Nolan’s recruitment drives at NUS Conference each year. David Gould, a Leeds J-Soc graduate, donated his stem cells in March after signing up to the Anthony Nolan register at a J-Soc drive six years ago. 10 In our own words 11

Aim: To equip and empower Jewish students to stand up and represent their Standing up peers, including their fellow Jewish students as well as those of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds, at all levels. nationally Action: We offered training opportunities at various points Izzy Lenga, Birmingham J-Soc throughout the academic year for Jewish students who chose to engage in their Students’ Unions or other representative bodies. Jewish students running in local or national elections “UJS empowers students like me through their Students’ Unions received by equipping us with the tools further support from the UJS team, to make change for ourselves. as did the students who were elected I always knew I could make a as delegates to NUS Conference to difference, but I couldn’t do it on represent their peers from their places my own – logistically, financially of study. or emotionally. UJS supported me to be vocal about the issues Result: 60 Jewish students stood that Jewish students face and to for election in full- or part-time successfully run to represent my leadership roles within the National peers on a national scale. All the Union of Students (NUS) and their hurdles placed in my way were Students’ Unions. Some of these overcome thanks to guidance from students were elected as delegates UJS. When times get tough, it’s easy to NUS Conference 2017, where they to lose sight of the goal. But being campaigned and spoke on a range part of a national union is like having of motions, including working with a family. Just knowing UJS is at the allies to secure NUS’s commitment to other end of the phone helps me tackle antisemitism within the student to face challenges head on, and as movement. Additionally, Izzy Lenga of long as they are there to support Birmingham J-Soc was elected Vice Jewish students like me, we’ll keep President (Welfare) of NUS at on going.” the Conference. 12 In our own words 13

Aim: To nurture and empower Jewish students of all affiliations to be the Nurturing leaders of the next generation. Action: We provided leadership training for 257 students at events throughout tomorrow’s the year including our UJS Summit Shabbaton, Time to Lead one-day conference, Activist Training Weekend and Manhigut, our flagship leadership leaders trip to Israel. A further 33 students received UJS’ support to attend Lauren Keiles, Leeds J-Soc leadership development opportunities around the world, including the New York University and World Union of Jewish Students Global Leadership “Through opportunities that UJS gave programme; the World Jewish me, I’ve met inspirational Jewish Congress in New York; the American leaders ranging from politicians to Jewish Committee Global Forum in social activists. It’s been invaluable, Washington DC; and the European motivating me to become a leader Union of Jewish Students’ delegation to in our Jewish community in order the European Parliament in Brussels. to make positive change on the issues I’m passionate about, like Result: The students who have interfaith work on campus, as well benefitted from these opportunities as campaigning for gender and are taking leadership roles in a huge denominational inclusivity in our range of areas. They are co-ordinating community. Meeting international local and national campaigns against Jewish student leaders from cultures BDS, creating communities, celebrating as varied as India and Russia has Jewish festivals in far-flung cities, allowed me to witness the positive building relationships with other faith power of global Jewish student societies on campuses, challenging activism, and I can’t wait to see antisemitism, championing inclusivity, where we’ll go next.” pioneering social action initiatives and shaping the world around them in so many more ways. 14 In our own words 15

Aim: To challenge the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Fighting and movement wherever it arises on UK campuses, as part of our wider activity promoting fair, balanced, respectful dialogue and discussion surrounding the defeating BDS Israel-Palestine conflict, and to ensure that Jewish students feel safe on their Gabriella Soffer, City and Cass J-Soc campuses.

Action: We supported Jewish students like Gabriella at City, University of “For my first 3 years of university, I London, the University of Bath, the only experienced positivity towards and Dublin, my Judaism and affiliation to Israel. as well as allies in Ulster, to defeat BDS However, in my fourth year, there motions in their Students Unions. We was a constant barrage of anti-Israel also ran a two week campaign, ‘Bridges (and often antisemitic) activity. At not Boycotts’, on digital and physical times, this felt very isolating but it platforms, to help Jewish students raise was exceptionally reassuring to be the profile of coexistence initiatives as able to reach out to UJS, who guided alternatives to the divisive and hostile me in defeating BDS motions and BDS movement on campuses. curbing the aggressive anti-Israel tide on campus. On multiple occasions Result: Using the campaigning UJS went above and beyond to resources, assistance in research and ensure that our actions worked for all training in speechwriting and debating the Jewish students on our campus, provided by UJS throughout the year, of varying political and religious Jewish students, peers and allies backgrounds. This enabled us along successfully defeated four BDS motions with our friends of other religions, this year. This achievement goes hand- faiths and backgrounds to defeat BDS in-hand with the ‘Bridges not Boycotts’ motions at City – not once, but twice campaign which reached more than this year!” 6,000 students through a combination of campus-based events and online blogs and resources. 16 In our own words 17

Aim: To provide opportunities for students to strengthen and enhance Strengthening our their relationships with Israel from cultural and religious angles, including art, food, travel, music, sport and more. multifaceted Action: We led, created, supported or facilitated a whopping 225 events on 35 campuses throughout the year, including shakshuka workshops, film relationships screenings, Israeli speakers, Yom Ha’atzmaut barbecues, student-led conferences and more. We also hosted six national events: a concert by Israeli with Israel musicians David Broza and Miri Awad; the year-long Incubator programme Itamar Rashkovsky, Manchester J-Soc and Lauren Good, Middlesex J-Soc and its final exhibition; a student bus to support Israeli football team Hapoel Be’er Sheva when they played against “ Each artistic contributor amongst our “Participating in Incubator allowed Southampton; a talk by Hadassah [Incubator] group was able to draw me to explore my own identity as a hospital’s medical clown about the upon different meanings in their progressive Jew and a grandchild innovative paramedical technique work and this opened my mind to the of Holocaust survivors, as well as pioneered by his team; and a dance innumerable ways in which British my ever-changing and evolving showcase featuring Israeli and understand their relationship relationship with Israel, through my student performers together. with Israel. This was a beautiful creative passions and talents. The way for us to express our emotions works I produced depict my belief Result: The campus-based and national towards Israel. I cherished the that Israel’s existence is imperative events were attended by just over opportunity to have discussions with for Jewish people of all backgrounds, 12,000 students, all of whom explored different contributors as it allowed us as a diverse and inclusive society. I and celebrated their multifaceted to expand and develop our own ideas was honoured to be able to give back relationships with Israel from personal and works. ” to the community by showing my standpoints and in the ways that they work at ‘Making Connections’, the connected to the most. Incubator exhibition and I would like to say thank you for the opportunity.” 18 Financial review 19

Financial review The charts below show the breakdown of our programme costs and total estimated expenditure for 2016/17.

This year we have honed our well- The hard work by our trustees and In summary, UJS remains the go-to, established events to run them more staff involved in fundraising has been umbrella provider for all Jewish effectively from a logistics, marketing rewarded, with total annual income, students on campus, with the widest Student programmes Expenditure and financial perspective, while including grants from our partner reach and range of activities. We will simultaneously delivering new national charities, expected to increase by 10% continue our successful work while for the year events and campaigns to inspire and to c.£875,000. remaining mindful of costs. We engage Jewish students nationally. anticipate a substantial reduction in However, our total costs have risen the deficit next year based on current UJS Summit, UJS Student Awards, by more than this and therefore we spending levels and anticipated income. Jewish life leadership trips to Israel and anticipate an increased deficit this year on campus elsewhere, Friday night and festival in excess of £100,000. This is because £115,000 meals, bringing inspiring speakers to we incurred expenditure on some large Student campus and Israel engagement are one-off projects, we have received a programmes all examples of flagship activities and far higher proportion of ring fenced Campaigns £634,000 events that were more successful, grants, and we have been required to £251,000 based on higher student attendance make additional investment following and positive student feedback. some unique challenges on campus. We continue to work hard to secure We also witnessed the positive impact additional funding for our core Israel engagement of four J-Soc officers compared to two activities. Notwithstanding this, our £89,000 Student services £124,000 in previous years, in terms of wider and expected deficit will be far below the more regular student engagement. deficit recorded in 2013 of £650,000. We have visited more campuses and Our expenditure is also focused Leadership Running our £179,000 National Union helped to launch two new J-Socs this in the right place; the proportion £222,000 year. Our loyal donors have continued of our spend on students through to support us, and we have been programmes and student services has successful in winning new donors, risen to 77% of total spend this year. including new patrons, friends, trusts and foundations. 20 Thank you

Thank you to Guardians and Patrons Communal supporters and partners Keith Black, Sir Victor & Lady Blank, everybody who Leon & Cara Blitz, Richard Bolchover made this year & Jo Rosenfelder, Paul & Peggy Brett, Sir Trevor Chinn, Sir Ronald Cohen, possible and such Sir Mick Davis, Graham Edwards, Ruth Berkowitz Charitable Trust, John a success. We Robert Gibber, David Goldberg, Jonny Black Charitable Trust, Tony Bloom Goldstein, Marc Gordon & Caroline Foundation, Children’s Aid Committee, would be unable Marcus, Maurice & Danielle Helfgott, Jewish Youth Fund, Jewish Leadership to achieve what Alan & Louise Jacobs, Nick Leslau, Council, Pears Foundation, The Catherine Lewis Foundation, Lord Rothschild Foundation we have without Jon & Nicola Mendelsohn, Richard such strong Mintz, The Rosemarie Nathanson UJS Team 2016/17 Charitable Trust, Rachel Charitable Stacey Abendstern, Emanuele Boccia, support from the Trust, Roy & Nina Sandler, Sir Harry & David Brown, Christian Buckle, Louise community. Lady Solomon, Marilyn Stowe, Wohl Cohen, Zachary Confino, Lindsay Foundation, Marc & Hilda Worth, Davidson, Naomi Davis, James Poju Zabludowicz Graham, Jamie Isaacson, Leanne Mitchell, Josh Nagli, Josh Seitler, Friends and Family Trusts Hannah Sharron, Amanda Shoffman, Hannah Brown, Sheila & Denis Cohen Nick Sunshine, Liron Velleman, Charitable Trust, Muriel & Gershon Natacha Woodcock Coren Charitable Trust, The Craps Charitable Trust, The Esterson Trust, UJS Trustees Joe and Rosa Frenkel Charitable Trust, Sir Victor Blank, Carolyn Bogush, Henry Grunwald OBE, J E Posnansky Hannah Brown, Henry Grunwald OBE, Charitable Trust, Rubin Foundation Maurice Helfgott, Alan Jacobs, Charitable Trust, Shoresh Charitable Philip Keane, Paul Koopman, Trust, Adrienne Sussman MBE, David Lord Jon Mendelsohn, Ella Rose, Uri Memorial Trust, Della Worms, Nina Sandler and Mitchell Simmons The Deborah Louise Zamet Charitable Foundation

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