Print This Page
Email this pageIssue # 305
Issue #305 – 27 March 2008 / 20 Adar II 5768
IN THIS SPECIAL ISSUE:
WORLD UNION'S EUROPEAN REGION HOLDS BIENNIAL CONFERENCE IN VIENNA
VICE CHAIR BERGMAN HONORED BY AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT
The World Union European Region Conference in Vienna, March 13-16, 2008:
A Milestone Gathering With an Eye to the Future
by Rabbi Joel Oseran, Vice President, International Development
It was a historic gathering of over 250 participants from Progressive, Liberal and Reform communities across Europe, the former Soviet Union, Israel, and even North America and South Africa. It was a statement as well – coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Anschluss, the horrific forced exodus of Jews from Vienna in World War II, and recalling the tragic destruction of European Jewry during the Shoah. As such, this particular conference of the European Region of the World Union in Vienna symbolized the resiliency and power of the Jewish spirit.
For the World Union leadership in Europe and around the world, the Vienna conference was an ideal opportunity to meet, review our recent achievements and consider the challenges facing our organization. The pre-conference sessions included meetings of the World Union's Executive Board and International Assembly, during which we enjoyed the hospitality of our Progressive congregation in Vienna, Or Chadasch. Concurrently, there was a most successful gathering of Progressive rabbis from Europe, the FSU and Israel to study together, discuss issues of common concern and strengthen ties of collegiality that are so important in a part of the world where Progressive rabbis often work alone and under most difficult conditions.
World Union leaders convene in Europe: (l-r, seated) Rabbi Uri Regev, president; Leslie F. Bergman, senior vice chair; Ruth Cohen, European Region president and past World Union president; Steven M. Bauman, chairman. Standing: Dr. Theodor Much, president of Vienna’s congregation Or Chadasch.
Rabbinic gathering in Vienna.
The grand opening session of the conference took place at the impressive Vienna City Hall, an imposing gothic structure situated along the famous Ring Road. Participants were welcomed by Sonja Kato, an official of the city's municipal government who spoke about the importance of Jewish life in the past and present, referring directly to the infamous Anschluss, the need for tolerance, and respect for diversity and pluralism.
My colleague and friend, Rabbi Michael Marmur, dean of the Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, delivered the keynote address. Michael was simply sensational in his presentation of the unique message of Progressive Judaism in contemporary society, contrasting our approach to those of other Jewish religious and secular attempts to deal with modernity and tradition. His address was both thoughtful and humorous – a combination that only he could pull off with such aplomb.
Rabbi Michael Marmur delivers the keynote address.
Workshops included discussions on program initiatives across Europe; ways to promote Progressive Judaism in congregational settings; Israel, Zionism and anti-Semitism; the work of the World Union in the FSU (all of our FSU rabbis were present); study in Israel through the Saltz International Education Center; and a number of other topics related to our movement in Europe. An impressive exhibit was on display throughout the conference in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Union Liberale Israelite de France, known as the Rue Copernic Synagogue – the first Progressive congregation in France.
Rabbi Alexander Dukhovny, chairman of the Rabbinic Council of the Former Soviet Union, in Vienna.
An additional highlight of the conference was the celebration of key rabbis in the European Region who had earned special recognition from Leo Baeck College and Abraham Geiger College. Rabbis Tony Bayfield, Andrew Goldstein, David Goldberg, Harry Jacobi and Edward Van Voolen were all presented with citations by Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire of Leo Baeck College recognizing their 25 years in the field of rabbinic service. Rabbi Andrew Goldstein was recognized as a senator of Abraham Geiger College by its rector, Rabbi Dr. Walter Homolka.
These presentations were not only a fitting tribute to the rabbis, but an important milestone in the history of Progressive Judaism in Europe. No religious movement will succeed without strong rabbinic leadership to sustain it and lead it into the future. Recognizing outstanding rabbis with whom our European Movement is blessed, and the existence of effective rabbinical seminaries to train rabbis for the future, served to reassure us that we not only have a noble past but a promising future, as well.
As is customary at our European Region gatherings, the conference concluded with the Annual General Meeting, which was particularly well attended. Rabbi Dr. Andrew Goldstein, Chair of the European Region, reviewed the region's progress and identified a number of critical challenges that will occupy much of our movement's agenda in the years to come. Business matters included the welcome of Bet Orim in Budapest as the latest affiliate of the ER; the conclusion of Katarina Seidler’s tenure as vice president; the election of Lauren Rid from Munich and Jonathan Wootliff from Prague as new vice presidents; the conclusion of Leslie Bergman’s term as vice chair and Alex Dembitz of Hungary being elected in his place.
The conference also marked the close of Linda Kann’s tenure as staff for the European Region and Exodus 2000, the program that twins Reform and Liberal congregations in Britain with Progressive congregations in the FSU. Many tributes were bestowed upon Linda for her dedicated service to our European movement, along with well-wishes for success in her future leadership roles for our movement.
Rabbi Dr. Andrew Goldstein addresses the Conference.
Linda Kann is thanked by Alex Kagan, director of FSU programs for the World Union, and Rabbi Joel Oseran for her service to Exodus 2000.
We also extend our sincere appreciation to all the volunteers of Congregation Or Chadasch in Vienna, and to its president, Dr. Theodor Much, for helping to organize such a wonderful gathering.
As we concluded this most successful conference, it was clear to all that there is much work remaining on our European agenda. We must more effectively reshape our European Region administrative and programmatic capabilities to respond to the growing needs of our European movement. We must dramatically increase our financial resources to support the emerging communities that play such an important role for all Jews in Europe. We must do better in connecting our European Region to other World Union constituencies, primarily those in Israel and North America. And we must redouble our efforts to ensure that Progressive Judaism becomes a fully and officially recognized member of all European Jewish communities.
These are certainly ambitious challenges that we must take on if we are to succeed as the world's leading Jewish religious movement. The Vienna conference left us all encouraged that we are indeed ready to work for our future as members of a proud Jewish heritage.
Rabbi Joel Oseran addresses the Vienna conference.
ADDRESS TO THE EUROPEAN REGION CONFERENCE
RABBI JOEL OSERAN
VIENNA, MARCH 13, 2008
I would like to thank the European Region leadership for inviting me to address you this morning as we open our Vienna Conference. I believe the invitation reflects the growing level of cooperation between our international office in Jerusalem and our regional European office in London - a most productive development indeed. Since our March, 2007, international convention in Jerusalem, I have had the pleasure to work quite closely with my friend, Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, and with other ER honorary officers, and with Linda Kann as well. I truly appreciate the growing sense of trust and cooperative spirit which is developing and which characterizes our mutual efforts.
Linda - I will miss your voice at the other end of the phone call, your indomitable spirit and knack for getting the job done, and your sincere motivation to help our Jewish People throughout the region. As leader of Exodus 2000, you have single-handedly made a huge difference in the lives of thousands of our Progressive movement members in congregation after congregation in the FSU. Your name is synonymous with the European Region, and our achievements over the years are yours as well. Yashar koach and much success as you continue to exercise leadership in different ways within our Jewish community and world.
On a deeper level, however, this increased cooperation between our World Union centers in Jerusalem and London is a reflection of the urgency of this historic moment for the Jewish People in Europe and, therefore, for the World Union in Europe. Consider the following:
* More Jews are living today in Europe than at any time in the past half century. Jewish communities throughout Europe are in the dynamic process of reconstituting their religious, cultural, social, educational, and, yes, even national identities.
* Buildings – be they synagogues, churches converted into synagogues, cultural centers, schools, sports centers and the like – are continually being established these days. We see this in Germany, France, Hungary, the UK, the Czech Republic and Poland – in nearly every European center.
* Governments throughout Europe, and especially the European Union framework, have never had more ongoing contact and involvement with Jewish communities than we see in this historic moment. I am not suggesting that all this contact is harmonious and problem free – but I am suggesting that Jewish communities now have a greater self-confidence, greater expectations of governments and a greater willingness to be seen and heard in public than perhaps ever before in the past half century.
* And this contact with governments and with the EU often includes tremendous financial reward. Millions upon millions of euros, kronen, pounds sterling and other currencies are transferred from governments to Jewish communities each year. The traditional European model of Church/State symbiosis is still alive and well in this historic moment in Europe. We see it, in one form or another, wherever we look. More on this point in a moment.
* Jewish religious, educational and cultural programs have been established and are growing in centers throughout Europe. More children are learning in Jewish schools, attending summer and winter camps, visiting Israel as part of organized Jewish community programs than at any time in the past half century.
* And on the most personal, human level, we see tremendous movement before our eyes as well. Not a day goes by in Poland, in Hungary, in Germany and elsewhere across Europe when someone – not aware of having Jewish roots, not identifying as a Jew – doesn’t suddenly begin to question his or her identity, begin the personal search for religious meaning, posing the question: I want to know more about what it means to be Jewish - I just might be Jewish myself? More and more Jews – some according to Halacha, some according to patrilineality, some according to memory, some through being told by others and some through sheer intuition – more each day are thirsting for Jewish knowledge and connection. Sharing one common denominator - wanting to understand what it all means.
In light of these historic challenges facing Jewish life in Europe today, we who sit in this hall in Vienna, March 13, 2008, must ask the question: How should we, as the leaders of Progressive Judaism in Europe, seize this moment in history and respond in ways commensurate with our worldwide stature as the largest Jewish religious denomination in the world?
First, some encouraging news:
1. Our World Union leadership, lay and professional together, have undertaken a critical strategic process review of our geographical priorities. Development of Jewish life in Europe is one of our key strategic initiatives and accordingly, Rabbi Goldstein and I, together with the honorary officers, are engaged in ongoing discussions as to how to best position our movement in different European centers. A comprehensive document is being prepared which outlines our step-by-step work in Europe. Part of the process includes fact-finding initiatives which are already under way. Rabbi Goldstein, honorary officers and I have visited our European centers to evaluate existing programs and design new and more effective strategies for setting goals and steps to achieve them. More precise and helpful community profiles are being prepared, based on information to be gathered in questionnaires, which are being sent out to all our congregations, including personal interviews, as well.
2. We have seen some interesting examples that when a few basic building blocks of community development come together, results can be overwhelmingly positive. By building blocks I mean: basic funding, a rabbi in place, a suitable facility, community leadership with effective connections to the Jewish and non-Jewish establishment, some backing from the European Region and World Union international when necessary. These are the building blocks which have enabled success in parts of Germany, especially with Geiger College and its high public profile, but also with congregations in Hanover, Munich, Hameln and others.
Prague is another interesting example. In summer, 2005, just prior to the World Union's international convention in Moscow, the World Union organized a mission to Prague and Budapest. One family on that mission from Long Beach, California, fell in love with Beit Simcha and told us they wanted to help strengthen Jewish life in that community. They also gave us some funding to help make that happen. Rabbi Tom Kucera, as you know, rabbi for our Progressive Munich congregation, is a native Czech speaker and with the strong support of Beth Shalom congregation in Munich which is greatly appreciated, Rabbi Kucera was able to spend one Shabbat a month in Prague, using funds made available from the Long Beach family. Well, one thing led to another, the Federation of Czech Jewish communities was petitioned to recognize Progressive Judaism – given that there was a rabbi in place to serve the community – and now Rabbi Kucera's monthly visits are covered by the Czech government and Federation together. We are now working on the return of a grand synagogue building in the Lieben neighborhood of Prague, using important connections our local leaders have with the Jewish establishment.
Warsaw is another example. With funding support from Severyn Ashkenazi and others; with a well-positioned physical facility to use; with Rabbi Burt Schuman and now Rabbi Tanya Segal in place and Gosia Syzmanska, graduate of HUC communal service as well; and with support offered not only by the European Region and World Union international, but also by other international support groups, Beit Warszawa is developing into a strong Progressive Jewish community for Jews in Warsaw and throughout Poland.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention some encouraging steps which are beginning to take place in France. The ER Board meeting and special Francophone gathering in Paris this past November was a clear expression of our need to widen our ER orbit and better integrate our continental leadership into our organization. But in particular, the November meetings gave rise to an initiative to solidify our Progressive Movement presence in Paris and establish a more effective "steering committee" of congregational leaders from the cross section of Parisian Progressive communities. I am delighted that this initiative is moving forward with the full cooperation of the MJLF, Copernic and Federation communities in Paris. Progressive Judaism in France is a tremendous neches, a tremendous asset to our European Region, venerable in the centenary accomplishments of Copernic and absolutely crucial for our future development as a movement in Europe. We welcome this step forward by our Parisian Progressive communities and look forward to continued cooperation and mutual support in the future.
Time doesn't permit mention of other successful stories from around our European region. We all know there have been accomplishments in other centers and we are delighted this is the case. We hope that with our strategic process initiative gaining momentum, more and more communities in the ER will benefit from renewed activity and progress.
But the challenges ahead of us are formidable indeed:
1. One of the most essential building blocks we lack is the necessary funding to fuel our growing needs in Europe. Our European Region budget is less than miniscule – emerging congregations require much more assistance than we are able to provide. Our own institutional structure is simply inadequate to meet the historic challenges I have addressed. We need full-time professional staff to carry the load along with our immensely committed volunteer leaders. We know this is true, we all agree that more funding is essential, but we have yet to take the necessary steps to improve the situation. Here are a few recommendations which I am suggesting we put into effect immediately. They are not new – some, actually, have been raised a few times in the past. But as of yet, they are still waiting to be implemented.
A. One immediate step we can take is to push harder for funding from the European Union. This is the most obvious source of huge resources for our European efforts. Every day Chabad sends dozens of shlichim to the offices of EU ministers and department heads, claiming to represent the Jewish People and presenting project proposals which are precisely what the EU is looking to fund. Yes, the EU road is cumbersome and requires near full-time effort to prepare proposals, meet officials, lobby for our cause, etc. But there are wonderful volunteers waiting to be of help to us, some at this very conference, and we have funds to use for this purpose if we only decide to act. We have made some modest attempts with the EU and we appreciate all the work which has gone into this in the past. But frankly, we did it as amateurs do things, and the results show. We can do better and we must do better if we expect to break into this untapped source of funding. The only obstacle to our receiving EU funding is our own lack of trying hard enough.
B. There are several European centers where the entrenched Jewish establishment still refuses to recognize Progressive Judaism and therefore refuses to share government funding which could be instrumental in helping our movement grow. One obvious example is the Hungarian Jewish Communal Association called the Mashihitz. I was just in Budapest a few weeks ago, meeting with our dedicated leaders at Sim Shalom and Beit Orim, together with my colleague Professor Paul Liptz and our dear friend, Alex Dembitz. Hungary is high on our strategic priority list of European Centers. With over 100, 000 Jews and tremendous Jewish cultural and educational interest, we simply must be better situated in Budapest than we presently are. And this requires funding. The ER has been a major source of funding in the past, but the time has come to focus our attention on the real target – the Mashihitz.
The Mashihitz is receiving perhaps as much as $30 million annually from the government, and has tremendous property revenue as well, with virtually nothing going to our congregations because we are not recognized by the Mashihitz. Everyone with whom we spoke in Budapest, across the spectrum of the Jewish community, is outraged at the undemocratic nature of the Mashihitz and embarrassed that in this post-Communist age, the Jewish community in Hungary still functions according to secretive arrangements and under-the-table agreements. In my meeting with the President of the Mashihitz I was clear that the Progressive Movement is too important a player in contemporary Jewish life to be excluded from the communal table in Hungary. I stressed our desire to bring about change peacefully and cooperatively. But we are not waiting around. Rabbi Regev is already working on the legal front together with our leaders in Hungary and the Mashihitz monopoly is going to be challenged. We must lead this fight – it is the right course of action to take – and Jews in Hungary will respect and admire us for the attempt. We will not grow as we should in Hungary without access to these communal funds.
C. The last challenge I wish to stress may seem strange indeed to include but, in my opinion, it is at the heart of our problem. We liberal Jewish leaders in Europe have so deeply internalized our minority status, our meager numbers, our limited resources and our shortage of rabbinic leadership, that we simply do not ultimately believe in ourselves, in our message, or in the urgency of our action. Too often too many of us are content with the status quo. Too often, too many of us fail to realize that Jews across Europe need us, are waiting for us, are searching for a modern religious connection to their Jewish hearts and minds.
When I was in Budapest I saw clearly the powerful Neolog traditional denomination, absolutely uncontested as the religious leaders of the community, with their rabbinic school, rabbinic association, beit din, synagogue structures and what have you – all backed by the mighty Mashihitz structure. Everywhere you look, if it is Jewish and religious, it is probably Neolog. But when you ask, how many of Budapest's Jewish community is involved in any way whatsoever with organized Jewish Neolog life, the answer is, perhaps, five percent. And the same is true throughout Europe in community after community where Orthodox majorities are so prominently positioned. When you look deeper into the matter, you see clearly that the Jewish people are not looking to find their religious, spiritual answers from orthodoxies, whether Chabad, or Hassidic, or even Neolog. Jews all over the world are not all that different actually. Whether in New York, London, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Sydney or Budapest, modern Jews are searching for appropriately modern yet traditional ways of reconnecting to their Jewish hearts and minds. If we are able to present ourselves as a viable, serious option, with the key building blocks I mentioned previously, we will be over-subscribed because that is where Amcha is and wants to be.
So my friends – let this Vienna conference be that time and that place where we Progressive Jewish leaders in Europe declared in unison that we will not be content with what is, but will commit ourselves to that which must be for our brothers and sisters in Jewish communities across the continent in search of Jewish meaning and promise. We must believe in them – we must believe in ourselves.
Back to In This Issue
VICE CHAIR BERGMAN HONORED BY AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT
The World Union salutes its senior vice chair, Leslie F. Bergman, who on March 25th received the Officer's Cross of the Austrian Merit Order for his support of cultural, academic and religious matters. A full report will appear in the next issue of WUPJnews.
Back to In This Issue
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 15-19, 2008 – World Union mission to St. Petersburg, Russia for the preview open house of Sha’arei Shalom Synagogue-Center
May 23-24, 2008 – Biennial conference of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
June 13-15, 2008 – Biennial conference of the South Africa Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) in Cape Town
July 3-13, 2008 – World Union mission to Brazil and Argentina, culminating in the biennial conference of the World Union’s Latin America region, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
July 4-6, 2008 – Biennial conference of the British Movement for Reform Judaism in Leicester, UK
March 17-23, 2009 – CONNECTIONS 2009 – The 34th international convention of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
