European Union of Jewish Students

The European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) is a Europe-wide umbrella organization for Jewish student unions and Jewish youth networks. Founded in Grenoble in February 1978, it was created when approximately 150 Jewish students developed and approved a constitution intended to address the contemporary needs of Jewish student life in Europe. The organization subsequently established its office in Brussels, where it remains headquartered. EUJS describes itself as Jewish, Zionist, pluralistic, inclusive and non-partisan. Its work combines Jewish communal development with youth representation, civic participation, human-rights advocacy and engagement with European and international institutions. Rather than operating primarily as a consumer-facing brand, EUJS functions as a membership-based civil-society network: it supports national Jewish student unions, helps them cooperate across borders, and provides a collective platform for advocacy and educational programming. The organization represents member groups in European and international forums, including European institutions, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations Human Rights Council and other Jewish and non-Jewish organizations. It is a constituent member of the European Youth Forum, a member of the World Union of Jewish Students, and has held special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. EUJS is also supported through relationships with bodies including the Council of Europe and the European Commission. EUJS’s activities have included leadership development, policy advocacy, interfaith and intergenerational dialogue, Holocaust education, seminars and study sessions at the European Youth Centre, and the annual Summer University, described in reference material as its largest recurring event for Jewish youth in Europe. Its programmatic history also includes advocacy for Soviet Jewry during the 1980s, responses to antisemitism and far-right politics, and participation in international debates concerning racism, conflict and human rights. The organization’s historical activism has often connected Jewish student identity with broader democratic and human-rights concerns. In the 1980s, EUJS coordinated demonstrations, educational activities and lobbying efforts related to the rights of Soviet Jews. In 2000 it organized a demonstration in response to the participation of Austria’s Freedom Party in the Austrian government, and in 2001 it sent a delegation to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban. It later participated in demonstrations in Brussels against antisemitism during the Second Intifada. EUJS is governed through a General Assembly in which member organizations elect the leadership and board for two-year terms. The leadership structure includes a president, executive director, treasurer and board members, supported by professional and program staff. Reference material identifies 36 member organizations, spanning countries from Russia and Scandinavia to the United Kingdom. Its present role is therefore both regional and representative: it maintains a network for Jewish students while serving as an interlocutor between Jewish youth organizations and European, international and civil-society institutions.

EUJS was established in February 1978 at a gathering in Grenoble attended by approximately 150 Jewish students from Europe. The participants adopted a constitution and created an action plan covering multiple dimensions of Jewish student life. The organization then moved its office to Brussels in 1978, initially operating near Porte de Namur. In 1980 it moved to premises at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, reinforcing Brussels as its institutional base and placing it close to major European political and civic institutions. From its early years, EUJS developed as an umbrella rather than a local student club. Its purpose was to connect national Jewish student unions, help them develop leadership and programming, and provide a common voice on issues affecting Jewish students and Jewish communities. The organization’s identity combined Jewish communal activity with Zionist affiliation, pluralism, inclusivity and non-partisan civic engagement. A significant part of EUJS’s early international advocacy concerned Soviet Jewry. The organization’s involvement intensified around the World Youth Festival in Moscow and continued through public demonstrations and diplomatic advocacy. On November 17, 1985, Jewish students from several European countries joined a solidarity demonstration in Geneva during the meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. In April 1986, during a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting in Bern, EUJS worked with the Swiss Union of Jewish Students to organize a Seder honoring Jews in the Soviet Union. It also encouraged national member organizations to lobby their foreign ministries so that the issue remained visible in official discussions. EUJS later broadened its international human-rights and anti-racism engagement. In 2000, after Austria’s Freedom Party entered a coalition government, EUJS organized a protest in Strasbourg. The demonstration was held alongside an EUJS leadership seminar and proceeded past the European Parliament and Council of Europe to the Austrian embassy. Its symbolism invoked historical Nazi persecution and was intended to protest antisemitic and xenophobic statements associated with the party’s leadership. In 2001, EUJS sent a delegation led by then-president Joelle Fiss to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban. The delegation participated in the Youth Summit, the NGO Forum and the governmental conference. Together with the World Union of Jewish Students and the South African Union of Jewish Students, EUJS proposed a statement opposing violence by both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urging students to advocate for peace. The proposal was not adopted after a Palestinian student delegation voted against it. EUJS also signed a joint declaration with Roma student representatives concerning cooperation on Holocaust education; this relationship later contributed to an EUJS-led seminar in Budapest in November 2003. During the same Durban events, EUJS representatives met figures including Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel and Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer. These activities illustrate the organization’s strategy of combining grassroots Jewish student mobilization with direct engagement in intergovernmental and civil-society forums. During a particularly violent period of the Second Intifada, EUJS joined wider Jewish communal mobilization against antisemitism and sent a student delegation to demonstrations in Brussels in April 2002. In subsequent years, its institutional role continued to focus on member support, youth leadership, educational programming, interfaith and intergenerational dialogue, and representation before European and international bodies. EUJS became a constituent member of the European Youth Forum, where it is described as the only Jewish organization represented at that level. It also became affiliated with the World Union of Jewish Students and obtained special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, enabling participation in wider international civil-society processes. The organization reports support or cooperation from the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Its recurring activities include the Summer University, international seminars and study sessions at the European Youth Centre, and programs bringing together Jewish students from different countries and backgrounds. Reference material identifies 36 member organizations spanning territories from Russia and Scandinavia to the United Kingdom. Governance is conducted through a General Assembly held every two years, at which member organizations elect a president, executive director, treasurer and board members. EUJS remains headquartered in Brussels and continues to operate as a transnational network for Jewish students and their representative organizations.

• 2003

  Budapest seminar on Holocaust education

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  A seminar involving EUJS and Roma student partners follows a joint declaration made during the Durban process.

• 2001

  Delegation to the Durban World Conference Against Racism

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  EUJS participates in youth, NGO and governmental forums and engages in initiatives concerning racism, Holocaust education and Israeli-Palestinian peace advocacy.

• 2000

  Protest against Austria’s Freedom Party

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  EUJS holds a demonstration in Strasbourg opposing the entry of the Austrian far-right party into government.

• 1986

  Bern solidarity Seder

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  EUJS and the Swiss Union of Jewish Students organize a Seder during the CSCE meeting to draw attention to Soviet Jewry.

• 1985

  Solidarity action for Soviet Jewry in Geneva

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  EUJS students participate in a demonstration connected with the Reagan–Gorbachev meeting and the campaign for Soviet Jewish rights.

• 1980

  EUJS moves to premises at the Université Libre de Bruxelles

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  The organization relocates its Brussels premises to the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

• 1978

  EUJS is founded in Grenoble

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  Approximately 150 European Jewish students approve a constitution and establish an umbrella body for Jewish student life.

• 1978

  Headquarters move to Brussels

  [1]European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org

  EUJS opens its first office in Brussels after its founding congress.

A regional Jewish student umbrella organization combining Jewish communal life, youth leadership, pluralism, Zionist identity, civic participation and advocacy against antisemitism and discrimination.

• Youth leadership and educational event

  EUJS Summer University

  EUJS’s annual Summer University is a major gathering for Jewish youth in Europe. It provides an international setting for education, leadership development, Jewish communal exchange and discussion of social and political issues affecting Jewish students. The event is part of EUJS’s broader effort to connect national unions and cultivate cross-border participation.

• Education and civic engagement

  International seminars and study sessions

  EUJS organizes international, interfaith and intergenerational seminars, including study sessions at the European Youth Centre. These programs support dialogue, leadership skills, human-rights education and cooperation between Jewish student organizations and wider youth or civil-society networks.

• Umbrella-network services · 1978

  Member-union support and representation

  EUJS supports Jewish student unions across Europe through coordination, advocacy, networking and representation. It brings national organizations into European and international forums and helps members engage with institutions such as the European Youth Forum, the Council of Europe and United Nations mechanisms.

• 2002Brussels demonstrations against antisemitism

  Belgium

  EUJS sent students to demonstrations in Brussels organized during a period of heightened violence and concern about antisemitism connected with the Second Intifada.

  Source
• 2001World Conference Against Racism engagement

  South Africa · Europe · International

  EUJS participated in the Durban Youth Summit, NGO Forum and governmental conference, advocated an end to violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and developed cooperation with Roma student representatives on Holocaust education.

  Outcome. The proposed youth statement on the conflict was not adopted, while the Roma student relationship led to a later Budapest seminar.

  Source
• 2000Strasbourg protest against Austrian far-right politics

  France · Belgium · Austria

  EUJS organized a demonstration against the participation of the Freedom Party of Austria in government and against antisemitic and xenophobic rhetoric associated with its leadership.

  Outcome. The action expressed opposition to far-right normalization and connected student leadership training with public advocacy.

  Source
• 1985Soviet Jewry solidarity campaign

  Europe · Switzerland · United Kingdom · Netherlands

  EUJS mobilized Jewish students around the rights and participation of Soviet Jews, including a Geneva demonstration and lobbying efforts directed at national foreign ministries.

  Outcome. The campaign kept Soviet Jewry visible in student activism and European diplomatic discussions.

  Source

• 2001

  Expansion of international anti-racism and Holocaust-education engagementStrategy

  Background

  EUJS participated in the World Conference Against Racism and sought to connect Jewish student advocacy with wider human-rights and minority-education initiatives.

  Action taken

  The organization joined Jewish student partners at the Durban conference, supported a peace-oriented youth proposal and signed a declaration with Roma student representatives.

  Aftermath

  The proposed conference statement was rejected, but the Roma partnership contributed to a later Budapest seminar on Holocaust education.

  Source

• 1978

  Adoption of a pan-European umbrella modelStrategy

  Background

  Jewish students from multiple European countries sought a structure capable of addressing shared student-life and communal issues across national borders.

  Action taken

  EUJS adopted a constitution and created a common action plan while organizing as an umbrella body for national Jewish student unions.

  Aftermath

  The structure enabled EUJS to develop regional representation, cross-border programs and institutional relationships.

  Source

1. 1European Union of Jewish Studentsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2European Union of Jewish Students official websiteeujs.org