World Union for Progressive Judaism

World Union for Progressive Judaism

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Abbreviation	WUPJ
Formation	10 July 1926 (1926-07-10)
Founder	Claude Montefiore
Headquarters	Mercaz Shimshon, Eliyahu Shama 6, Jerusalem
Membership	~1.8 million
President	Daniel H. Freelander
Chair	Carole Sterling
Affiliations	URJ, JRF etc.
Budget (2014)	~5,000,000$

The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries with 1,275 affiliated synagogues, of which 1,170 are Reform, Progressive or Liberal and 105 Reconstructionist. It claims to represent a total of some 1,800,000 million people, both registered constituents and those who identify with it. The WUPJ states that it aims are to create common ground between its constituents and to promote Progressive Judaism in places where individuals and groups are seeking authentic, yet modern ways of expressing themselves as Jews. It seeks to preserve Jewish integrity wherever Jews live, to encourage integration without assimilation, to deal with modernity while preserving the Jewish experience and to strive for equal rights and social justice.

The WUPJ was established in London in 1926 as the Union of all Progressive (also Liberal or Reform) movements. It moved its headquarters to New York in 1959 and to Jerusalem in 1973. In 1990, the Reconstructionists – who espouse a philosophy different from that of the former – joined the WUPJ under an observer status, being the first and only non-Reform member. The WUPJ has regional offices in London, Moscow and New York.

The current President of the WUPJ is Rabbi Daniel H. Freelander, and the Chair is Carole Sterling. Past presidents included Claude Montefiore (1926-1938)), Rabbi Leo Baeck (1938-1956), Lily Montagu (1955–1959), and Rabbi Solomon Freehof (1959-1964).

Mission statement

• The establishment and support of synagogues and schools wherever there are Jews searching for meaningful access to modern Jewish life.
• Recruitment, training and placement of rabbis, cantors and educators.
• Publication and distribution of liturgical and educational materials in languages Jews speak.
• Sponsorship of international programs for youth, education, leadership development, and all aspects of community building.
• Bringing together like-minded Jews to derive strength from one another...blending ancient traditions with the changing world of today.

Regional affiliates

Continental Europe

Main articles: Union of Progressive Jews in Germany and Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom

Reform Judaism began in Germany, led by Rabbi Abraham Geiger. It stagnated considerably after the 1840s. In 1898, German Liberal rabbis organized the Union of Liberal Rabbis in Germany under Heinemann Vogelstein. In 1908 the laity formed the Union for Liberal Judaism in Germany. At its height, it had some 10,000 members and half the rabbis in the country. The ULJ was a founding member of the World Union in 1926. After the destruction of the Holocaust, Germany's Jews, mostly refugees of foreign descent, largely favoured Orthodoxy. Liberal Judaism managed to gain inroads slowly, and first prayer groups appeared in 1995. The Union of Progressive Jews was founded in 1997.

The first new branch established by the WUPJ was in the Netherlands, in 1931, eventually coalescing into the Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom.

United Kingdom

Main articles: Liberal Judaism (UK) and Movement for Reform Judaism

Claude Montefiore, a major theologian, named his religious ideology "Liberal Judaism", founding the Jewish Religious Union as a platform in 1902. His movement was a founding member of the WUPJ in 1926. British Reform, established officially in 1942, joined the global organization in 1945.

North America

Main articles: Union for Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism

The URJ is by far the largest member organization of the WUPJ, with a solid constituency of over 750,000 Jewish members (along with further 90,000 unconverted gentile spouses) and over a million non-members who identify with it in the U.S., and further 30,000 constituents in Canada. German immigrants and rabbis brought Reform to America, though a short-lived congregation that espoused a somewhat similar ideal existed in Charleston between 1824 to 1833. The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, URJ since 2003, was founded in 1873.

North America is also home to the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, which has 105 affiliates, only two of them outside the continent (in Delft, Netherlands and Curaçao). The JRF joined as an observer in 1990. It is the only non-Reform organization in the WUPJ, the other members of which do uphold the basic tenets of ongoing revelation, personal God and the like. In 2013, it had some 65,000 constituents.

Israel

Main article: Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism

A first congregation was formed at Jerusalem during 1958. The movement was incorporated in 1971. The Israeli surrounding encouraged a more conservative approach on behalf of the local branch. The prayer in vernacular, for example, was Hebrew anyway, and the populace was relatively more familiar with rabbinic sources. Patrilineal descent is not recognized by the IMPJ, as by many other smaller affiliates, which cannot antagonize the religious establishment. There are some 50 communities affiliated with the IMPJ, a solid constituency of several thousands (there were 5,000 in 2000) and a growing number of Israelis partaking in occasional activity.

Other

• Union for Progressive Judaism comprising congregations in Australia, New Zealand, China, India, and Singapore.
• European WUPJ providing regional support to congregations in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Switzerland. Within the European region there are also subregional associations for Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and the UK.
• "WUPJ – Former Soviet Union" providing support for congregations in the Former Soviet Union.
• South African Union for Progressive Judaism supports congregations in South Africa.
• Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean supports congregations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

There are also, Arzenu – the international umbrella organization for progressive religious Zionist organizations, and Netzer Olami, the international youth wing of the progressive movement, jointly sponsored by Arzenu and the WUPJ.

Communal life

Rabbis, cantors and communal leaders

Rabbis, cantors and communal leaders for the worldwide progressive movement are trained in one of three rabbinic institutions: Leo Baeck College, Abraham Geiger College and Hebrew Union College. While all three train rabbis for the worldwide progressive movement, each has a different regional focus: The Abraham Geiger College focuses on providing leadership for communities in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. Leo Baeck College, located in the UK, focuses on leadership for the UK Reform and UK Liberal. Hebrew Union College, with campuses in the USA and Israel, trains rabbis and communal service leaders for work in North American Reform and Israeli Progressive congregations. It also provides a year in Israel program for students at the Leo Baeck College and Abraham Geiger Institute.

External links

• World Union for Progressive Judaism
• Create a world filled with Cooperation, Love, Truth and Justice Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp.