● London JSoc has made a busy start to the term with a number of well-attended events.
A winter-wonderland Friday night dinner saw a record turnout of 80 students.
JC editor Stephen Pollard held a discussion at the Café Hillel event, and Israeli hip-hop group Shtar performed a special gig for students.
London Booze for Jews will take place on March 27.
● World Bnei Akiva's twelvth international conference took place in Jerusalem with more than 150 representatives from 30 countries taking part. Seven British delegates represented BA UK.
The opening ceremony took place at the Jerusalem Theatre, where Israeli President Shimon Peres made an address.
Recorded greetings by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Natan Sharansky and Israel's Chief Rabbis were screened.
The evening also featured the Maccabeats in their Israel debut.
Daniel Goldman, a graduate of Newcastle BA and chairman of the World Friends of BA, said: "We heard about BA members who had made incredible contributions over the years and we saw the many hundreds of wonderful participants from every corner of the globe coming together to discuss the main themes of the conference."
● Tribe Israel hosted a concert in Jerusalem for its members on gap years in Israel. Former West End performer Caroline Pakter, who is Jewish, performed songs and spoke about her life at drama school and on the stage. She told 50 girls studying at seminaries about the difficult choices she had made in order to make the transition from the glamour of showbiz to the spirituality of Judaism. Merissa Gross, Tribe Israel executive and event organiser, said: "The girls were totally mesmerised by Caroline's stories and songs. Her music speaks straight to the heart, so it's perfect for Tribe which is trying to appeal to different types of people from different backgrounds."
● Oxford University JSoc and UJC chaplain Daniel Braune Friedman are hosting a special parents' Shabbat next weekend.
Guest speaker at Friday night dinner on February 11 will be Jonathan Arkush, senior vice-president of the Board of Deputies.
Parents can book places for all Shabbat meals through JSoc by emailing Samuel Heitlinger at samuel.heitlinger@st-annes.ox.ac.uk.
Rabbi Braune Friedman can be contacted on 07717 742 835.
● A group of graduates have completed the five-month Masa programme in Israel.
Hayden Krasner, Ben Baliti, Yael Phillips, Naomi Friend, Efrat Doron, Debra Belnikoff and Tim Gordon worked on internships including postings at the World Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv and alongside Knesset politicians.
Ben and Hayden have decided to stay in Israel, with Ben working for a firm of architects and Hayden becoming the first European representative for Masa's Israel Pathways programme.