‘It’s been challenging to hold a broad tent since October 7’ says Union of Jewish Students

The vice-chair of Warwick JSoc ,Ari Joseph, said while some Jewish students stood on different sides of the fence when it came to Israel, the role of the JSoc was “to unite everyone. We have difficult conversations, and at Friday night dinners, there are amazing debates around the table. But I think this helps combat polarisation.”

A source of division was sometimes “single-issue” organisations which work with Jewish students, said one JSoc leader. “Too often, organisations which are politically motivated come onto campus and make a lot of noise and leave us to clean up the mess. This is not acceptable.”

While declining to name any particular organisations, Danker said: “All their work is very well-meaning, but my ask to all of them is that before arranging a campus event, they liaise with UJS and JSocs first, so they can follow our lead.”

Speaking at a later session titled: “Is cross-communalism a thing of the past?” Cambridge graduate Naomi Bernstein, who now works as a sabbatical officer at UJS, said that pre-October 7, the relationship between the Orthodox and egalitarian minyans at her former JSoc had been “pretty civil”, and in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas atrocities, there was a sense of solidarity. “But then the groups became more polarised, and it seemed you had to be very pro-Israel to be in the Orthodox group and anti-Israel to be in the egalitarian one. Things are now getting better, but it showed how the political world does impact the religious one,” she said.

Bernstein said that UJS had plans to launch the Gesher – meaning “bridge” – Project. “We’re keen that it will lead to a better conversation on the conflict, which we have shied away from. The goal of it is to break down barriers so that people can open up.”

UJS inclusion and mental health awareness officer Eve Cohen said she had seen “more polarisation in the last two years”, but that UJS runs fellowship trips to Israel and elsewhere, including Cyprus and Northern Ireland, focusing on conflict resolution. “It’s difficult to hold a wide tent, but we are trying to give students the tools to engage with this.”

In the meantime, Danker was keen to point out that despite the challenges of polarisation within the community and an increase in antisemitism on campus since October 7 and the war in Gaza, Jewish student life was thriving. “We took 40 Jewish students on a UJS Fellowship trip and asked how many of them felt their campus was one of the better ones for Jewish students. Thirty-eight of them said they did.”

Asked by one audience member if students were considering moving to Israel in response to antisemitism, Danker said: “We want to stay here to create a proud and resilient Jewish student community.”