![2 EUJS[18].jpg](https://api.thejc.atexcloud.io/image-service/view/acePublic/alias/contentid/1tcro8atjbue5v1tfot/0/1tcro8atjbue5v1tfot.webp?f=4%3A3&w=3840&q=0.6)
The Union of Jewish Students has won the European Jewish Student Union of the Year award at the annual EUJS Summer U.
UJS was recognised for “investing in the leaders of tomorrow through record-breaking leadership programmes and events”, said host of the night, EUJS Vice President Matty Fisher.
Fisher commended UJS for how “they powered their local communities across over 1,000 events, sold out 1,200 national event tickets in minutes, united students cross-communally, brought 2,800 students to Holocaust education events, and trained over 1,400 university leaders to tackle antisemitism...They showed that Jewish life doesn’t just survive, it thrives.”
UJS were praised for their landmark [Time for Change] report into antisemitism on campus “that gained unprecedented media attention”, Fisher said. “Students refused to be defined by the challenges around them, instead reclaiming their identity with pride, resilience and joy.”
Regarding the recognition, current UJS President Raphi Leon praised his predecessor Louis Danker and his team, saying: “The hard work, the dedication and the love they put into building a thriving Jewish student life up and down the country is truly remarkable, so this is absolutely their success.”
Leon also thanked the UK and Ireland’s own JSoc members “who turn up to events and refuse to be intimidated by the challenging environment on campus”.
He continued: “The story we’ve been wanting to tell in UJS over the past year, and we will continue to tell, isn’t defined by those who hate us. It isn’t defined by those who try to shout us off campus. It’s a story of Jewish student pride. It’s a story that exists on campuses around the UK, but also, as we find out, in some of you, on campuses around Europe.”
He finished by saying: “Tell your story. Be proud… Let’s tell our own stories and let’s make a proud, diverse, united EUJS.”
More than 300 young people were in Portugal for EUJS’s Summer U.
To get more from community, click here to sign up for our free community newsletter.