Over 70 members of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) have met in Sydney for Basic Training, the annual four-day territory training conference.

In training

The conference included high-level guest speakers, leadership training, skills and team building, as well as opportunities for students to informally meet and plan social events for the year ahead.

“Basic Training this year was themed ‘From Clark Kent to Superman’, with the key aspiration being to equip students with the required skills to be successful on campus in the year ahead” said Nicola Kobilski, AUJS National Chairperson.

“This goal was enabled by the extraordinarily high quality of our guest speakers, ranging from Immediate Past President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Ron Weiser, to Holocaust Studies and Jewish Civilisation academic, Dr Avril Alba” Ms Kobilski said.

“Students also had the opportunity to learn from professionals and rabbis about creating meaningful Jewish life on campus” Ms Kobilski continued.

National Political Affairs Director Matthew Lesh said that this year’s conference had a particular focus on practical political skills.

“Students are on the front line against the vitriolic rhetoric and political activity of the extreme left on campus. This makes it vitally important to teach practical skills and knowledge to combat their lies and propaganda on Israel” Mr Lesh said.

“We had sessions from community members investigating the history of Israel, as well as various courses examining campaigning techniques, basic political skills, and how to respond to incidents on campus.”

First year commerce law student at Monash University Gilad Harel lauded the conference as a fun and engaging way to learn the necessary skills for the year ahead.

“I particularly enjoyed acquiring the knowledge required to deal with problems, including the sessions about contingency planning, responding to political issues on campus, and discussions related to negative publicity for Israel” Mr Harel said.