President of Durham JSoc elected as next UJS president

More than 1,000 Jewish students from across the UK and Ireland have voted for the 2024 Union of Jewish Student (UJS) president.

Sami Berkoff, current president of Durham Jewish Society (JSoc), was declared the winner at UJS Conference on Sunday, 10th December, becoming the seventh woman to be president of UJS since 2001.

The election took place over two weeks of campaigning by three dedicated candidates, Sami Berkoff, Samantha Cass, and Josh Cohen. The campaign also included three rounds of debates where students had the opportunity to scrutinise the candidates’ plans for their presidency.

Berkoff was announced winner after three rounds of voting at the end of the annual UJS Conference where 400 Jewish students voted on new policies for UJS.

Her ‘Stand Strong With Sami’ campaign covered a wide range of issues around Jewish student life. Her manifesto focussed on strengthening ties between JSocs, including ‘sibling JSocs’, as well as enhancing welfare provisions for Jewish students.

Berkoff will take up the role of UJS President in the summer of 2024 following the completion of Edward Isaacs’ tenure.

Following the announcement of her victory, Sami Berkoff said: “Coming from RSY and a small but growing JSoc, the last two and a half weeks have been the most tough but rewarding weeks ever. Running a JSoc whilst trying to write a dissertation while running a campaign has been a challenge but I just want to say thank you so much for voting for me. I can’t wait to start and help grow and enrich Jewish life on campus. We got 7 female presidents in 21 years!”

Incumbent UJS president, Edward Isaacs, said: “I want to congratulate Sami on her victory. Jewish students will be lucky to benefit from her fantastic leadership and I know that UJS will be in safe hands when she takes over in the summer of 2024.”

Click here for a full list of former UJS presidents.