World Union of Jewish Students
Encyclopedia
The World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS ˈ) is the international
, pluralistic, non-partisan umbrella organisation of 48 national independent Jewish Student Unions from all over the world, founded in 1924, with Albert Einstein
as its first President
. Other previous Presidents have included Amos Oz
and Chaim Herzog
.
The aim of The World Union of Jewish Students is to "foster the unity of Jewish students worldwide and to strive to ensure their participation in the fulfillment of the aspirations of the Jewish people, its continuity, and the development of its religious, spiritual, cultural and social heritage."
The headquarters of WUJS are located in Tel Aviv
, Israel
and its current Chairman is Oliver Worth, a British immigrant from the United Kingdom
.
threw his weight behind the union. Then a lecturer
in Berlin
, Einstein was equally concerned with growing anti-semitism
across Europe, himself having been verbally attacked when lecturing. In 1925 Einstein accepted Lauterpacht's invitation to be the union's first President
.
On April 30, 1924, the opening Congress was held in the Maccabi
Sports Hall in Antwerp, Belgium
. The Congress opening was attended by over 2,000 people including the Chief Rabbi
of Belgium and the Military Governor of Antwerp. Following this 76 delegates from 17 countries met for 4 days to hear reports on the realities of Jewish students in various countries, and to discuss the problems affecting them. Amongst the sentiments expressed were that "The best method for the work before us appears to be a strong, organized union of all Jewish Students throughout the world." The first Congress resulted in the establishment of the WUJS Executive that would sit in London
and the election of Lauterpacht as the first Chairman. For the next few years the role of WUJS was to greatly increase, with new programs developed to redirect students from Hungary
, Poland
and Russia
to Western Europe where there were greater opportunities for Jewish students to be admitted.
, they were less successful, where Jewish students who had made it to France were running into many financial difficulties. In January 1929, Lauterpacht told a convened group of students in Paris
, France
, that the conditions for Jewish students in Eastern Europe were still bleak, and that in fact anti-Semitism was still on the rise, especially in Germany with the rise of Hitlerist youth. At the thirst WUJS Congress, to which Einstein sent a message highlighting the plight of German Jewry, the opening session was presided over by the renowned British philosopher Samuel Alexander
who finished his opening statement with the line "I have become a Zionist", which was met with wild applause. It was decided at the congress that Einstein would remain President alongside a group of Vice-Presidents that would include Chaim Bialik, Sigmund Freud
and Chaim Weizmann
.
, which he had helped to create. The World Jewish Congress was to become one of WUJS' main support mechanisms after the war, and continued to be so up until the present day. In 1939 the offices of WUJS moved to Switzerland
for the duration of the Second World War. While little is known of WUJS activities during the period of the war, it is known that WUJS members were particularly active in the French resistance. Following the war, the WUJS offices were moved to Paris
. A Congress was held shortly after the war, and another in 1948. The third congress after the war was convened in August 1950. Shortly thereafter, the new Chairperson, Brian Sandelson, and Secretary General Louis Bartfield launched a new global newsletter, but their intention to make this a monthly publication was never realized as WUJS was sorely lacking in funds. This financial paralysis, soon coupled with the lack of a Secretary General, brought WUJS activities to a halt until the early 1960's.
in 1962. Bitan re-established connections to member unions in Europe
and Latin-America and began preparations for the 13th WUJS Congress to take place in Jerusalem. The Congress saw 50 delegates represent 20 countries, with much of the content focusing on post-war related issues. The Congress condemned Jews living in Germany and refused to recognize the German Jewish student union. The following Congress saw a more liberal approach to the issue and Jewish students were again recognized from Germany, although motions were passed insisting they should move from Germany and Austria.
But the more open policy toward German Jewish students accepted by Congress was perhaps inevitable considering the new Chairperson elected at this event was Michael Hunter, a former Chairperson of the British union, which had long favored the inclusion of German Jewish students within WUJS. In general, the coming years were to be influenced greatly by Hunter's vision. Under his leadership, the World Union began its formal commitment to Zionism and affiliation with the World Zionist Organization. At the same time, perhaps ironically, it began to espouse left-wing political positions in order to continue to be meaningful to a student activist community that was increasingly liberal.
During the summer prior to Hunter's election
, WUJS had already begun to move towards a more campaigning union by organizing a seminar in Brussels
on "The Situation of the Jews in the Soviet Union." This led to the "European Action on Behalf of Soviet Jewry," a traveling exhibition transported to cities throughout Europe. The ultimate goal of the exhibition
, the gathering of signatures for a petition, was achieved quite successfully with 15,000 signatures from the United Kingdom and another 15,000 from across Europe. The campaign received a tremendous amount of publicity, from local newspapers to the broadcast media, including the BBC
World Service and Israel Radio. in May of 1966, the WUJS campaign climaxed in London with a demonstration over 1,000 people strong in front of the Soviet Embassy.
The 1967 Six Day War changed the political dynamics WUJS operated in. While the war won Israel unprecedented support from most sectors of the Jewish community, the new territorial realities of 1967 prompted a strong wave of anti-Israel sentiment from other camps. This "New Left" sentiment was heard loudly on campus and forced the Jewish student movement to reassess its positions regarding Israel, Zionism and its own self-definition. Such assessments began at the 14th WUJS Congress, held at Ramat Rachel months after the war. The venue itself was symbolic, as only two months earlier it had been an outpost along the Jordanian border. With Israel's June victory, it had become a part of extended Jerusalem, miles from Jordanian territory. The Congress included Shabbat in the newly-liberated Old City and was addresses by Hebrew University Chancellor, Labor Minister Yigal Allon, and Honorary WUJS President, David Ben-Gurion. Also symbolic of new perspectives was the election of British-born Chairperson Mike Hunter and Latin American-born Secretary General Edy Kaufman.
The Congress itself reflected the delicate balance required between the internal Jewish need for support for Israel and Zionism
and the external concerns captivating so many young Jews around the world. On the one hand, Congress determined that WUJS should add a staff member to its Secretariat in the form of a Political Officer, noting that it was the "duty of WUJS to struggle for the solution of humanitarian, political and international problems." At the same time, Congress turned its attention to the matter of Zionism. It was noted that Israel required "significant aliyah
and that no responsible Jewish student body" could "neglect its responsibility to aliyah." The Congress resolved that WUJS appoint an Aliyah Officer whose role would be to encourage aliyah from member unions. In addition, the Israel office of WUJS was asked to prepare an adequate framework to deal with the social absorption of students, including the establishment of a hostel
for WUJS members studying at the Hebrew University and/or working in Jerusalem."
Following the Six Day War, the WZO, with its new Executive Chairman Aryeh Pincus, sought to reinvigorate itself. Among the routes toward this goal was the proposed formal inclusion of youth and students within the WZO. Explaining the rationale behind WUJS' agreement to affiliate with the WZO, Chairperson Hunter wrote of the "serious lack of continuity in Jewish leadership" due largely to the fact that youth were "almost totally absent from both Jewish and Zionist institutions." The World Union believed that this alienation
represented a "grave danger...for the future of the Jewish People" and thus in spite of "certain doubts and reservations" had chosen to join hands with the official Zionist movement. The relationship between WUJS and the Zionist establishment was tenuous. While it was "one of the commonest cliches repeated by Jewish leaders [that] the youth, including of course the students, should be the vanguard in the Zionist organizations," Hunter noted, in reality these young people were not given sufficient representation and were used "purely for decorative purposes." Furthermore, WUJS believed, representation in general within the Zionist Organization was problematic, as the election
of delegates from many countries was non-democratic.
The Zionist Congress of 1968 resolved "to grant voting and all other delegates' privileges" to youth
, students and aliyah
movements and to see to it "that the competent authorities take appropriate steps for ensuring that such delegations take part in all future Congresses as delegates with full rights." The WZO constitution was also amended to grant youth, student and aliyah movements seats in the Zionist General Council that directed policy between Congresses. The Congress took very seriously issues relating specifically to the student age group, noting that campus Jewry, in particular, was faced with the task of combating anti-Israel sentiment. They therefore resolved to strengthen WZO efforts "among Jewish students in the Diaspora
organized in bodies like WUJS" and recommended the provision of a special budget toward that end.
Against this backdrop, the WUJS Executive staged a walk-out from the 1969 Zionist General Council meetings. Led by Secretary General Edy Kaufman, WUJS representatives came prepared with a series of demands: that the WZO convene a Zionist Congress - the movement's formal decision-making assembly
- within six months and that the delegates to this gathering be elected democratically; that Zionist ideology
be discussed seriously within the WZO; and that the WZO provide a forum for youth and students to conduct their own debate on Zionist ideology. When, in the end, the General Council adopted a resolution that did not stipulate an earlier date for the upcoming Zionist Congress, the WUJS delegation determined to leave the assembly. This foreshadowed strained relations that would continue between WUJS and the Zionist establishment for years to come.
WUJS began to see meaningful participation from the United States
. Though support for independent student initiatives was scarce — as all communal funding for U.S. Jewish students was already earmarked for Hillel
— by early 1968 WUJS branches were beginning to function in California
and[ Pennsylvania
. In 1969, a group of Jewish students came together in Brewster, New York
to create the North American Jewish Students Network. "Network," headed by Malcolm Hoenlein, became the first North American affiliate of WUJS. By the 15th Congress held in Arad in July 1970, WUJS had indeed expanded on many fronts. For the first time, Congress welcomed an official delegation from Network, the new North American student organization. Thirty-five other countries were also represented, and Chilean
Edy Rauch was elected Chairperson.
Continuing the trends set in motion in the 1960's, Congress adopted a general platform opposed to the political, economic or cultural oppression of any people. In particular, they called for the withdrawal of "all foreign forces" from Vietnam
, Cambodia
, Thailand
and Laos
, lauded the liberation efforts in Africa
, Latin America
and Asia
, and condemned "the colonial war waged by Portugal
against the peoples of Angola
, Bissau
, Guinea
and Mozambique
," "the racist policies of the regimes of South Africa
and Rhodesia
," the "fascist" leadership of Greece
and "the intervention of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact
in Czechoslovakia
." . They also gave a great deal of attention to the Zionist movement. They reaffirmed pre-existing policy insisting that the Middle East conflict could only be resolved if the Palestinian
nation were given the right of self- determination and called upon the Israeli Government to recognize this right immediately. At the same time, they condemned acts of terror
on the part of Palestinian organizations. WUJS attracted major hostility from the Zionist establishment, in the months leading up to the Zionist Congress, as countries throughout the world conducted membership drives for Congress delegates, WUJS member unions suffered attacks on local levels, internationally, the WUJS budget, and thus its lifeblood, was threatened. In November 1970, the special budget given by the WZO for WUJS' Zionist work was cut, leaving WUJS unable to participate in the upcoming elections. Appeals to the Zionist leadership were to no avail. As the Zionist Congress of 1972 approached, it appeared that WUJS was sure to be destroyed. Indeed, political parties in Israel began presenting proposals for an alternative to WUJS, a world Zionist student organization of some kind. Beyond a proposed replacement for WUJS, this type of organization was truly threatening as it represented an attempt to base student membership in the Zionist movement on the Israeli political party
system. This was in fact the polar opposite of what WUJS had hoped to initiate within the WZO, representation of the Jewish world without ties to party politics.
It was not until 1977, with the election of Aneta Josefowicz - WUJS' first female Chairperson - that the central core of WUJS began truly to move toward Israel. During this period, Education
Officer Shifra Horn organized a number of seminars in Israel, particularly targeting smaller communities such as Turkey
, Iran
and countries of Latin America
. Also at this time, Talya Fishman created WUJS Areivim, or the Jewish Peace Corps, a project sending young Israelis to serve the Jewish communal and educational needs of struggling Diaspora communities. In September 1979 the WUJS congress was held in Jerusalem, and Uruguayan Alfredo Trapunksy was elected WUJS Chairperson by an overwhelming majority. At this congress, one of the major unions (UJS - The British Union) walked out owing to differences regarding the management of WUJS, and in 1980 the WUJS offices were transferred from London
to Jerusalem.
In 1983, Danny Katz, a former AUJS vice President, was elected Chairperson, and he began negotiations toward a union between WUJS and the World Jewish Congress
, a union which would help to alleviate the ongoing struggle with the Zionist system and which remains intact until today.
With tensions between WUJS and the Zionist community beginning to subside, the organization was able to return to the activist concerns of previous years. Indeed, the union entered one of its most active periods in history. In 1984 after Danny Katz stepped down for personal reasons, the Executive appointed David Makovsky as Chairperson. He was a former Network President and leader of the U.S. student campaign for Soviet Jewry. In September of 1984, he walked out of a meeting of the World Presidium on Soviet Jewry because they would not include the plight of Ethiopian Jewry in their discussions.
WUJS threw itself into the campaign for Ethiopian Jewry with full force, providing assistance to newly arrived immigrants and organizing events for Western students in Israel to help the new community. In the summer of 1985, the Ethiopian Encounter in Israel attracted students from around the world.
Of necessity, programming would gradually move away from the grand campaign format of preceding decades and turn toward the internal growth and development of individuals. The most striking of these new programs was the WUJS Women’s Project, a leadership training initiative for young Jewish women throughout the world. While the initial proposal for the project was written by Abramowitz, the idea took shape during the term of his successor, Heather Harris. Harris, who took office in 1990, was the third in a string of North American Chairpersons as well as the second woman ever to hold the position. Global communication and cooperation was made increasingly viable as the availability of fax
communication brought all unions into radically closer contact. It thus became easier to share even in the advances of member unions operating oceans away. In South Africa, for example, Harris accompanied a SAUJS delegation on their meeting with the African National Congress
only months after the ban on the organization was lifted. This marked the beginning of an ongoing working relationship between SAUJS and the ANC.
Indeed, WUJS was now active on many fronts within the spectrum of Zionist activity. Committed to the rescue and absorption of Jewish immigrant communities, it was also concerned with the internal struggles of the community in Israel. In January 1991, a matter of days before the outbreak of the Gulf War
, WUJS hosted a conference entitled 'Paths to Peace,' including Jewish students from around the world and Israeli students, both Jewish and Arab
.
WUJS threw itself into the campaign for Ethiopian Jewry with full force, providing assistance to newly arrived immigrants and organizing events for Western students in Israel to help the new community. In the summer of 1985, the Ethiopian Encounter in Israel attracted students from around the world.
Of necessity, programming would gradually move away from tht at even-handedness. Palestinian leadership was included in each program, and groups were often hosted at the home of the Egyptian Ambassador
. One such group to visit Israel during Dan Levy’s term was the Youth League of the African National Congress. The tour, run in cooperation with the South African Union of Jewish Students, was the first official visit of an ANC delegation to Israel. On other political fronts, WUJS organized a worldwide campaign on behalf of Syrian Jewry as well as a critical visit to the Jewish communities and political bodies of war-torn Yugoslavia
. Still, by the end of Levy’s tenure, it was clear that while political crises and struggles would always mark the Jewish historical landscape, this was no longer the major thrust of Jewish student concern. The new priorities of literacy and personal leadership set in motion during Levy’s term were fostered and enhanced by subsequent Chairpersons.
Australian David Gold, who assumed the position in 1994, termed the new direction of the World Union 'Jewish Revitalization.' In his own statements, he confessed that this would 'not generate media publicity or meetings with politicians, it [was] an internally directed issue.' But popular or not, the notion took hold. It was formalized by Belgian Claude Kandiyoti, the Chairperson who in 1996 produced 'The WUJS Vision,' a document stressing the idea that 'a Jew of substance is a Jew of knowledge.' More than a mere slogan
, the statement reflected the new array of priority issues and program areas within WUJS, among them Jewish literacy, the connection to Israel, and the promotion of tolerance and pluralism, it also incorporated the emerging theme of Israel-Diaspora Relations that would fully evolve during the coming years.
At the extraordinary Congress of 1997, celebrating a century of Modern Zionism, Sasson Melchior was elected WUJS’ first Israeli Chairperson. During her term, Sasson Melchior continued Kandiyoti’s emphasis on pro-active, educational programming and at the same time expanded on the Israel-Diaspora theme of the preceding years. As part of the current WUJS vision, every member union visiting Israel takes part in a meeting with Israeli students to explore similarities and differences. In 1998, together with the National Union of Israeli Students
, WUJS spearheaded a campaign entitled 'Am Echad' to send Israeli students to Diaspora communities for Passover
.
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
, pluralistic, non-partisan umbrella organisation of 48 national independent Jewish Student Unions from all over the world, founded in 1924, with Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
as its first President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. Other previous Presidents have included Amos Oz
Amos Oz
Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
and Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:...
.
The aim of The World Union of Jewish Students is to "foster the unity of Jewish students worldwide and to strive to ensure their participation in the fulfillment of the aspirations of the Jewish people, its continuity, and the development of its religious, spiritual, cultural and social heritage."
The headquarters of WUJS are located in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and its current Chairman is Oliver Worth, a British immigrant from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Governance
The World Union of Jewish Students is administered by its Executive. Chaired by a full-time Chairman, the Executive is composed of the Presidents of WUJS' continental and special status unions.- Chairman: Oliver Worth
- Australasian Union of Jewish StudentsAustralasian Union of Jewish StudentsThe Australasian Union of Jewish Students is a federation of Jewish student societies at Australian and New Zealand universities and other higher education institutions. It was founded in 1948 at the University of Sydney and is affiliated with the World Union of Jewish Students. It is politically...
(AUJS): AustralasiaAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes... - Canadian Federation of Jewish StudentsCanadian Federation of Jewish StudentsThe Canadian Federation of Jewish Students or Federation Canadienne Des Etudiants Juifs , in French, is the representative organization of Jewish students across Canada...
(CFJS): CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - European Union of Jewish StudentsEuropean Union of Jewish StudentsThe European Union of Jewish Students is an umbrella organization for 34 national Jewish student unions in Europe and the FSU, representing over 200,000 Jewish students...
(EUJS): EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... - Federacion Universitaria Sionista Latinoamericana (FUSLA): Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
- National Union of Israeli StudentsNational Union of Israeli StudentsThe National Union of Israeli Students is the national representative body of university students in Israel.-Members:...
(NUIS): IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... - Union des étudiants juifs de FranceUnion des étudiants juifs de FranceThe Union des étudiants juifs de France is a French organization whose aim is to assist French Jewish students....
(UEJF): FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - Union of Jewish StudentsUnion of Jewish StudentsThe Union of Jewish Students of the United Kingdom and Ireland was established in 1919, when it was known as the Inter-University Jewish Federation...
(UJS): United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... - South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS): South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
1924-1929
The World Union of Jewish Students was founded in 1924 by Zvi Lauterpacht, an Austrian Jew who was aggrieved by the injustices regarding the admittance of Jews to European universities, which at the time had quotas for Jewish students. As this quota system spread throughout Europe, Lauterpacht saw the need to spread his campaigning efforts. From this the concept of an organized international union began to materialize. The union, however, only began to truly develop when Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
threw his weight behind the union. Then a lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Einstein was equally concerned with growing anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
across Europe, himself having been verbally attacked when lecturing. In 1925 Einstein accepted Lauterpacht's invitation to be the union's first President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
.
On April 30, 1924, the opening Congress was held in the Maccabi
Maccabi (sports)
Maccabi may refer to:* The Maccabi World Union, Maccabiah Games or any one of the following sport organizations around the world:...
Sports Hall in Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The Congress opening was attended by over 2,000 people including the Chief Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of Belgium and the Military Governor of Antwerp. Following this 76 delegates from 17 countries met for 4 days to hear reports on the realities of Jewish students in various countries, and to discuss the problems affecting them. Amongst the sentiments expressed were that "The best method for the work before us appears to be a strong, organized union of all Jewish Students throughout the world." The first Congress resulted in the establishment of the WUJS Executive that would sit in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the election of Lauterpacht as the first Chairman. For the next few years the role of WUJS was to greatly increase, with new programs developed to redirect students from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to Western Europe where there were greater opportunities for Jewish students to be admitted.
1929-1933
Although similar efforts were made to assist Jewish students coming to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, they were less successful, where Jewish students who had made it to France were running into many financial difficulties. In January 1929, Lauterpacht told a convened group of students in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, that the conditions for Jewish students in Eastern Europe were still bleak, and that in fact anti-Semitism was still on the rise, especially in Germany with the rise of Hitlerist youth. At the thirst WUJS Congress, to which Einstein sent a message highlighting the plight of German Jewry, the opening session was presided over by the renowned British philosopher Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander OM was an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college.-Early life:...
who finished his opening statement with the line "I have become a Zionist", which was met with wild applause. It was decided at the congress that Einstein would remain President alongside a group of Vice-Presidents that would include Chaim Bialik, Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
and Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
.
1933-1939
Maurice Perlzweig, a young, British Liberal rabbi, was elected Chairperson at the 1933 Congress. By 1936, Perlzweig was also a leader of both the Zionist Organization and the World Jewish CongressWorld Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
, which he had helped to create. The World Jewish Congress was to become one of WUJS' main support mechanisms after the war, and continued to be so up until the present day. In 1939 the offices of WUJS moved to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
for the duration of the Second World War. While little is known of WUJS activities during the period of the war, it is known that WUJS members were particularly active in the French resistance. Following the war, the WUJS offices were moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. A Congress was held shortly after the war, and another in 1948. The third congress after the war was convened in August 1950. Shortly thereafter, the new Chairperson, Brian Sandelson, and Secretary General Louis Bartfield launched a new global newsletter, but their intention to make this a monthly publication was never realized as WUJS was sorely lacking in funds. This financial paralysis, soon coupled with the lack of a Secretary General, brought WUJS activities to a halt until the early 1960's.
1962-1969
A new period of WUJS activity began with the appointment of Dan Bitan as General SecretaryGeneral Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
in 1962. Bitan re-established connections to member unions in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Latin-America and began preparations for the 13th WUJS Congress to take place in Jerusalem. The Congress saw 50 delegates represent 20 countries, with much of the content focusing on post-war related issues. The Congress condemned Jews living in Germany and refused to recognize the German Jewish student union. The following Congress saw a more liberal approach to the issue and Jewish students were again recognized from Germany, although motions were passed insisting they should move from Germany and Austria.
But the more open policy toward German Jewish students accepted by Congress was perhaps inevitable considering the new Chairperson elected at this event was Michael Hunter, a former Chairperson of the British union, which had long favored the inclusion of German Jewish students within WUJS. In general, the coming years were to be influenced greatly by Hunter's vision. Under his leadership, the World Union began its formal commitment to Zionism and affiliation with the World Zionist Organization. At the same time, perhaps ironically, it began to espouse left-wing political positions in order to continue to be meaningful to a student activist community that was increasingly liberal.
During the summer prior to Hunter's election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
, WUJS had already begun to move towards a more campaigning union by organizing a seminar in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on "The Situation of the Jews in the Soviet Union." This led to the "European Action on Behalf of Soviet Jewry," a traveling exhibition transported to cities throughout Europe. The ultimate goal of the exhibition
Exhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
, the gathering of signatures for a petition, was achieved quite successfully with 15,000 signatures from the United Kingdom and another 15,000 from across Europe. The campaign received a tremendous amount of publicity, from local newspapers to the broadcast media, including the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
World Service and Israel Radio. in May of 1966, the WUJS campaign climaxed in London with a demonstration over 1,000 people strong in front of the Soviet Embassy.
The 1967 Six Day War changed the political dynamics WUJS operated in. While the war won Israel unprecedented support from most sectors of the Jewish community, the new territorial realities of 1967 prompted a strong wave of anti-Israel sentiment from other camps. This "New Left" sentiment was heard loudly on campus and forced the Jewish student movement to reassess its positions regarding Israel, Zionism and its own self-definition. Such assessments began at the 14th WUJS Congress, held at Ramat Rachel months after the war. The venue itself was symbolic, as only two months earlier it had been an outpost along the Jordanian border. With Israel's June victory, it had become a part of extended Jerusalem, miles from Jordanian territory. The Congress included Shabbat in the newly-liberated Old City and was addresses by Hebrew University Chancellor, Labor Minister Yigal Allon, and Honorary WUJS President, David Ben-Gurion. Also symbolic of new perspectives was the election of British-born Chairperson Mike Hunter and Latin American-born Secretary General Edy Kaufman.
The Congress itself reflected the delicate balance required between the internal Jewish need for support for Israel and Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and the external concerns captivating so many young Jews around the world. On the one hand, Congress determined that WUJS should add a staff member to its Secretariat in the form of a Political Officer, noting that it was the "duty of WUJS to struggle for the solution of humanitarian, political and international problems." At the same time, Congress turned its attention to the matter of Zionism. It was noted that Israel required "significant aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
and that no responsible Jewish student body" could "neglect its responsibility to aliyah." The Congress resolved that WUJS appoint an Aliyah Officer whose role would be to encourage aliyah from member unions. In addition, the Israel office of WUJS was asked to prepare an adequate framework to deal with the social absorption of students, including the establishment of a hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
for WUJS members studying at the Hebrew University and/or working in Jerusalem."
Following the Six Day War, the WZO, with its new Executive Chairman Aryeh Pincus, sought to reinvigorate itself. Among the routes toward this goal was the proposed formal inclusion of youth and students within the WZO. Explaining the rationale behind WUJS' agreement to affiliate with the WZO, Chairperson Hunter wrote of the "serious lack of continuity in Jewish leadership" due largely to the fact that youth were "almost totally absent from both Jewish and Zionist institutions." The World Union believed that this alienation
Alienation
Alienation may refer to:*Alienation , the legal transfer of title of ownership to another party*"Alienation", the medical term for splitting apart of the faculties of the mind...
represented a "grave danger...for the future of the Jewish People" and thus in spite of "certain doubts and reservations" had chosen to join hands with the official Zionist movement. The relationship between WUJS and the Zionist establishment was tenuous. While it was "one of the commonest cliches repeated by Jewish leaders [that] the youth, including of course the students, should be the vanguard in the Zionist organizations," Hunter noted, in reality these young people were not given sufficient representation and were used "purely for decorative purposes." Furthermore, WUJS believed, representation in general within the Zionist Organization was problematic, as the election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
of delegates from many countries was non-democratic.
The Zionist Congress of 1968 resolved "to grant voting and all other delegates' privileges" to youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
, students and aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
movements and to see to it "that the competent authorities take appropriate steps for ensuring that such delegations take part in all future Congresses as delegates with full rights." The WZO constitution was also amended to grant youth, student and aliyah movements seats in the Zionist General Council that directed policy between Congresses. The Congress took very seriously issues relating specifically to the student age group, noting that campus Jewry, in particular, was faced with the task of combating anti-Israel sentiment. They therefore resolved to strengthen WZO efforts "among Jewish students in the Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
organized in bodies like WUJS" and recommended the provision of a special budget toward that end.
Against this backdrop, the WUJS Executive staged a walk-out from the 1969 Zionist General Council meetings. Led by Secretary General Edy Kaufman, WUJS representatives came prepared with a series of demands: that the WZO convene a Zionist Congress - the movement's formal decision-making assembly
Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
- within six months and that the delegates to this gathering be elected democratically; that Zionist ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
be discussed seriously within the WZO; and that the WZO provide a forum for youth and students to conduct their own debate on Zionist ideology. When, in the end, the General Council adopted a resolution that did not stipulate an earlier date for the upcoming Zionist Congress, the WUJS delegation determined to leave the assembly. This foreshadowed strained relations that would continue between WUJS and the Zionist establishment for years to come.
1968-1986
During these days of student radicalismPolitical radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
WUJS began to see meaningful participation from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Though support for independent student initiatives was scarce — as all communal funding for U.S. Jewish students was already earmarked for Hillel
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
— by early 1968 WUJS branches were beginning to function in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and[ Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. In 1969, a group of Jewish students came together in Brewster, New York
Brewster, New York
Brewster is a village within the town of Southeast in Putnam County, New York, United States. Its population was 2,162 at the 2000 census. The village is the most densely populated portion of the town...
to create the North American Jewish Students Network. "Network," headed by Malcolm Hoenlein, became the first North American affiliate of WUJS. By the 15th Congress held in Arad in July 1970, WUJS had indeed expanded on many fronts. For the first time, Congress welcomed an official delegation from Network, the new North American student organization. Thirty-five other countries were also represented, and Chilean
Chilean people
Chilean people, or simply Chileans, are the native citizens and long-term immigrants of Chile. Chileans are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian descent, with small but significant traces of 19th and 20th century European immigrant origin...
Edy Rauch was elected Chairperson.
Continuing the trends set in motion in the 1960's, Congress adopted a general platform opposed to the political, economic or cultural oppression of any people. In particular, they called for the withdrawal of "all foreign forces" from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, lauded the liberation efforts in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and condemned "the colonial war waged by Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
against the peoples of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Bissau
Bissau
Bissau is the capital city of Guinea-Bissau. The city's borders are conterminous with the Bissau Autonomous Sector. In 2007, the city had an estimated population of 407,424 according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Censos...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
," "the racist policies of the regimes of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
," the "fascist" leadership of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and "the intervention of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
." . They also gave a great deal of attention to the Zionist movement. They reaffirmed pre-existing policy insisting that the Middle East conflict could only be resolved if the Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
nation were given the right of self- determination and called upon the Israeli Government to recognize this right immediately. At the same time, they condemned acts of terror
Terror
Terror may refer to:*Fear, an emotional response to threats and danger*Terror, a political strategy of the asymmetrical use of threats and violence against enemies using means that fall outside the routine forms of political struggle operating within some current regime*Terrorism, the fact of...
on the part of Palestinian organizations. WUJS attracted major hostility from the Zionist establishment, in the months leading up to the Zionist Congress, as countries throughout the world conducted membership drives for Congress delegates, WUJS member unions suffered attacks on local levels, internationally, the WUJS budget, and thus its lifeblood, was threatened. In November 1970, the special budget given by the WZO for WUJS' Zionist work was cut, leaving WUJS unable to participate in the upcoming elections. Appeals to the Zionist leadership were to no avail. As the Zionist Congress of 1972 approached, it appeared that WUJS was sure to be destroyed. Indeed, political parties in Israel began presenting proposals for an alternative to WUJS, a world Zionist student organization of some kind. Beyond a proposed replacement for WUJS, this type of organization was truly threatening as it represented an attempt to base student membership in the Zionist movement on the Israeli political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
system. This was in fact the polar opposite of what WUJS had hoped to initiate within the WZO, representation of the Jewish world without ties to party politics.
It was not until 1977, with the election of Aneta Josefowicz - WUJS' first female Chairperson - that the central core of WUJS began truly to move toward Israel. During this period, Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
Officer Shifra Horn organized a number of seminars in Israel, particularly targeting smaller communities such as Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and countries of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Also at this time, Talya Fishman created WUJS Areivim, or the Jewish Peace Corps, a project sending young Israelis to serve the Jewish communal and educational needs of struggling Diaspora communities. In September 1979 the WUJS congress was held in Jerusalem, and Uruguayan Alfredo Trapunksy was elected WUJS Chairperson by an overwhelming majority. At this congress, one of the major unions (UJS - The British Union) walked out owing to differences regarding the management of WUJS, and in 1980 the WUJS offices were transferred from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Jerusalem.
In 1983, Danny Katz, a former AUJS vice President, was elected Chairperson, and he began negotiations toward a union between WUJS and the World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
, a union which would help to alleviate the ongoing struggle with the Zionist system and which remains intact until today.
With tensions between WUJS and the Zionist community beginning to subside, the organization was able to return to the activist concerns of previous years. Indeed, the union entered one of its most active periods in history. In 1984 after Danny Katz stepped down for personal reasons, the Executive appointed David Makovsky as Chairperson. He was a former Network President and leader of the U.S. student campaign for Soviet Jewry. In September of 1984, he walked out of a meeting of the World Presidium on Soviet Jewry because they would not include the plight of Ethiopian Jewry in their discussions.
WUJS threw itself into the campaign for Ethiopian Jewry with full force, providing assistance to newly arrived immigrants and organizing events for Western students in Israel to help the new community. In the summer of 1985, the Ethiopian Encounter in Israel attracted students from around the world.
1987-1988
In 1987, Makovsky was succeeded by another North American, Yossi Abramowitz, who at 22 years old when he assumed the Chair was the youngest to date. In spite of his young age, Abramowitz maintained and expanded upon the high level of output achieved during the preceding years. He saw to it that WUJS continued to champion the cause of Ethiopian Jewry, organizing an international petition, hosting an international conference on the topic and implementing an awareness campaign featuring Ethiopian bracelets.Of necessity, programming would gradually move away from the grand campaign format of preceding decades and turn toward the internal growth and development of individuals. The most striking of these new programs was the WUJS Women’s Project, a leadership training initiative for young Jewish women throughout the world. While the initial proposal for the project was written by Abramowitz, the idea took shape during the term of his successor, Heather Harris. Harris, who took office in 1990, was the third in a string of North American Chairpersons as well as the second woman ever to hold the position. Global communication and cooperation was made increasingly viable as the availability of fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
communication brought all unions into radically closer contact. It thus became easier to share even in the advances of member unions operating oceans away. In South Africa, for example, Harris accompanied a SAUJS delegation on their meeting with the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
only months after the ban on the organization was lifted. This marked the beginning of an ongoing working relationship between SAUJS and the ANC.
Indeed, WUJS was now active on many fronts within the spectrum of Zionist activity. Committed to the rescue and absorption of Jewish immigrant communities, it was also concerned with the internal struggles of the community in Israel. In January 1991, a matter of days before the outbreak of the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, WUJS hosted a conference entitled 'Paths to Peace,' including Jewish students from around the world and Israeli students, both Jewish and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
.
WUJS threw itself into the campaign for Ethiopian Jewry with full force, providing assistance to newly arrived immigrants and organizing events for Western students in Israel to help the new community. In the summer of 1985, the Ethiopian Encounter in Israel attracted students from around the world.
1987-1988
In 1987, Makovsky was succeeded by another North American, Yossi Abramowitz, who at 22 years old when he assumed the Chair was the youngest to date. In spite of his young age, Abramowitz maintained and expanded upon the high level of output achieved during the preceding years. He saw to it that WUJS continued to champion the cause of Ethiopian Jewry, organizing an international petition, hosting an international conference on the topic and implementing an awareness campaign featuring Ethiopian bracelets.Of necessity, programming would gradually move away from tht at even-handedness. Palestinian leadership was included in each program, and groups were often hosted at the home of the Egyptian Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
. One such group to visit Israel during Dan Levy’s term was the Youth League of the African National Congress. The tour, run in cooperation with the South African Union of Jewish Students, was the first official visit of an ANC delegation to Israel. On other political fronts, WUJS organized a worldwide campaign on behalf of Syrian Jewry as well as a critical visit to the Jewish communities and political bodies of war-torn Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Still, by the end of Levy’s tenure, it was clear that while political crises and struggles would always mark the Jewish historical landscape, this was no longer the major thrust of Jewish student concern. The new priorities of literacy and personal leadership set in motion during Levy’s term were fostered and enhanced by subsequent Chairpersons.
Australian David Gold, who assumed the position in 1994, termed the new direction of the World Union 'Jewish Revitalization.' In his own statements, he confessed that this would 'not generate media publicity or meetings with politicians, it [was] an internally directed issue.' But popular or not, the notion took hold. It was formalized by Belgian Claude Kandiyoti, the Chairperson who in 1996 produced 'The WUJS Vision,' a document stressing the idea that 'a Jew of substance is a Jew of knowledge.' More than a mere slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
, the statement reflected the new array of priority issues and program areas within WUJS, among them Jewish literacy, the connection to Israel, and the promotion of tolerance and pluralism, it also incorporated the emerging theme of Israel-Diaspora Relations that would fully evolve during the coming years.
At the extraordinary Congress of 1997, celebrating a century of Modern Zionism, Sasson Melchior was elected WUJS’ first Israeli Chairperson. During her term, Sasson Melchior continued Kandiyoti’s emphasis on pro-active, educational programming and at the same time expanded on the Israel-Diaspora theme of the preceding years. As part of the current WUJS vision, every member union visiting Israel takes part in a meeting with Israeli students to explore similarities and differences. In 1998, together with the National Union of Israeli Students
National Union of Israeli Students
The National Union of Israeli Students is the national representative body of university students in Israel.-Members:...
, WUJS spearheaded a campaign entitled 'Am Echad' to send Israeli students to Diaspora communities for Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
.
See also
- Chabad on Campus FoundationChabad on Campus FoundationChabad on Campus International Foundation is the college wing of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. It has branches on over 130 North American campuses, and serves an additional 200+ campuses globally....
- Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus LifeHillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus LifeHillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
- CampusJCampusJCampusJ Jewish Collegiate News was a website covering Jewish news on college and university campuses with a network of student journalists. CampusJ was launched in February 2005 by editor and publisher Steven I. Weiss of Canonist. The last posting was dated May 20, 2007...
- Religion and the internetReligion and the internetReligions are represented in the Internet in many ways. There are sites which attempt to cover all religions, traditions, and faiths, such as Religious Tolerance, and Beliefnet, in addition to sites that are specific to a religious tradition. Many sites are discussion groups, others theological...