Jewish students dive into Freshers Week across the UK and Ireland

The UK and Ireland’s estimated 9,000 Jewish students returned to campus in recent week, with a dramatic increase in Jewish student activity reported.

Over the famous Freshers’ Week, an array of events took place across Scottish Jewish Societies (J-Socs), with 200 students attending a Rosh Hashanah event in Edinburgh. In Ireland, a new J-Soc was born in Cork, where the first event involved hot chocolate in the succah, attended by more than 30 students.

J-Soc Freshers’ stalls saw the return of ‘Aleph’, the magazine of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), which was active in the 1980s and 90s. It was relaunched this year, the first edition showcasing the diversity of Jewish student thought.

The UJS sabbatical team visited 50 universities and handed out 2,000 Freshers’ packs to new students, while the popular ‘Jewniversity Challenge’ quiz show also made a return, ahead of the annual conference in February.

“We found it incredibly energising to visit the thriving Jewish student communities we’re privileged to represent,” said UJS president Joel Rosen.

“From Cardiff to Keele, Belfast to Birmingham, Jewish life on campus is flourishing. I was delighted to visit some of our smaller J-Socs where our committees tirelessly volunteer their time to sustain inclusive communities.”