International Jewish students group elects Israeli as president
Avigayil Benstein was elected president of the World Union of Jewish Students at its 44th World Congress of Jewish student leaders held in Jerusalem.
Avigayil Benstein was elected president of the World Union of Jewish Students at its 44th World Congress of Jewish student leaders held in Jerusalem.
Some 157 Jewish college students from 36 countries served as delegates at the five-day Congress that ended Monday. The students came from Eastern, Central and Western Europe, North and South America, Australasia, South Africa, India, Turkey and Israel.
Benstein, 24, was elected at the General Assembly held as part of the Congress. Benstein is the daughter of WUJS alumni from the United States and the United Kingdom.
Born and raised in Israel, she served as a foreign press liaison in the European desk of the IDF Spokesperson’s Office, and currently is completing her undergraduate degree in International Relations and Middle East Studies at Hebrew University. She succeeds Yosef Tarshish, 26.
The American Union of Jewish Students voted in this election for the first time after being promoted to partial member from observer status.
WUJS also passed a number of binding policy motions during its General Assembly, including a declaration against the normalization of right-wing extremism in light of the formation of the new government in Austria that includes the populist Austrian Freedom Party, or FPO.
In the motion, WUJS condemned the FPO and its inclusion in the Austrian government and committed to not work with members or affiliates of the FPO and to boycott its government officials.
WUJS resolved to remember the Armenian Genocide, and to condemn and reject any attempt to deny, distort, or ignore its historical reality.
Another resolution called to raise consciousness and encourage public discourse on matters of Jewish pluralism in the State of Israel, and to seek partnership with existing organizations fighting for religious pluralism in Israel.
The group also declared March “Anti-Semitism Awareness Month,” and laid the groundwork to coordinate and launch an international anti-Semitism aware campaign on campuses worldwide. PJC
comments