Eight Hillel student presidents recently joined Jewish student leaders from around the world at the 2004 World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) Congress in Israel. More than 200 Jewish student activists attended "Leading the Future" in Haifa last week to discuss the challenges of Jewish leadership today.
Anna Solomon-Schwartz of Harvard University, Ruth Yomtoubian of the University of Southern California, Rebecca Israel of Columbia University, Rachel Schiff of California State University-Fullerton, Adam Daum of Cornell University, Elana Sondel of the University of Minnesota, David Steinberg of the University of Illinois-Chicago and Jonathan Tannen of Florida State University were Hillel's representatives to the congress.
"Hillel's student presidents hoped to create a vehicle for the voice of American students in the congress," said Jay Rubin, Hillel's executive vice president, international division.
WUJS is the representative body of Jewish student unions around the world. Highly engaged in political activities, such as Israel advocacy and combating anti-Semitism, WUJS serves as the voice of Jewish students in a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish global forums.
Hillel and WUJS have worked on parallel tracks on behalf of Jewish college students due to differences in their organizational structures. In the past 10 years, however, Hillel has greatly expanded its presence internationally and is working closer with the student unions to learn from and support one another. Canadian students are also putting together an entity of their own, Rubin said.
For more information about WUJS, visit www.wujs.org.il.