Defiance: Second edition of the EUJS Magazine - the Bridge

The Bridge is a publication by the European Union of Jewish Students, co-funded by the European Union. The second edition has the theme ‘defiance’, which the editor describes as ‘the resilient, driven, and passionate essence of what our European Jewish identity means for us as Jewish Students in Europe.’

Defiance

The second edition of the EUJS magazine is available here.

‘We are at a turning point in the 21st century… and this is no breaking news. History is being made as we live alongside it. The power structures we grew up with are now changing, or perhaps no longer exist. The compass that we used for making sense of the world around us finds itself reconfigured. In the many world crises that we observe, who thinks of Jewish Students?

When the theme of this edition of The Bridge – Defiance! – was thought through and developed, the Russian invasion and consequent war in Ukraine had not yet taken place. Thus, the theme of defiance has found itself more relevant than ever: all around Jewrope, no-one organised with more chutzpah than Jewish students, from fundraising for refugees and loading trucks of supplies to delivering aid at the very border of Ukraine. Defiance, because, as Jewish Students, we stand ready to take on the challenges of our times, countering the threats against Jewish life and showing solidarity, whenever it is needed.

We are not the future of the community, but the present. We are the most exposed to anti-Jewish hatred. We are the ones battling in universities and confronting antisemites on our campuses. We are the ones reinventing our identity and activism as we go forward, and against all odds, we are the ones making the conscious and bold choice to continue life in challenging times, building a future on this continent: we are here to stay.

Abraham, Myriam and Esther, Elie Wiesel and Ruth Baden Ginsburg, Simone Veil and Volodymyr Zelenskyy: so many Jewish heroes that we (rightly so!) take pride in, because we are the heirs of a lineage of activism that spreads from biblical times to the 21st century. This is the testament to the core belief that Jewish students are never as empowered as when their voices are visible, heard and elevated.

EUJS carries the essence of that within itself: the generations before us, the strength of resilience, the spirit of defiance.

I would like to thank all the writers, artists and contributors to the Bridge for their thoughtful and enlightening contributions, as well as the unions, who helped tremendously in providing talented writers and artists. I wish to thank the magazine's editor, Caterina Cognini, who has worked relentlessly to create the second edition of The Bridge, as a continuation of the celebration of Jewish student thought and expression in Europe.

An intellectual, sharp, reflected and thought-provoking experience: that is what you can expect to find in this edition of The Bridge. The synthesis of Jewish Students’ place in the world: a student voice in the Jewish world and a Jewish voice in the political world.

Enjoy your reading!’ - Elias Dray (EUJS President 2021-2022)