WUPJ News

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bella Hirsch, wife of Rabbi Richard (Dick) Hirsch, Honorary Life President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.

On the 8th of May, 2019, Bnei Sefarad Reform congregation of Valencia, Spain celebrated with great joy and much excitement the donation of the Torah scroll written in Sephardic script, made by the congregation Shir Ami, Newtown, PA, USA.

We are very pleased to welcome the Beth El Congregation – one of the oldest Congregations in Latin America – to the World Union family.

Ec Chajim held its inaugural Kabbalat Shabbat service and dinner at the Hotel Modré Růže Blue Rose Hotel in Prague . About 120 people aged between one and 91, attended the event.

The World Union mourns the passing of Rabbi Harry Jacobi, a formative figure in the founding and growth of Liberal Judaism in the UK and Europe on April 24th, at the age of 93.

What can one say about a life lived so well and so thoroughly, in only a couple of minutes? David was an extraordinary man and I call myself privileged to have gotten to know him not only as a much respected senior colleague and mentor but also as a friend. My very first encounter with […]

Here we are in our Exodus, a process that, being a part of as it happens, seems completely normal and even ordinary. At Shaarei Shalom, we were readying and preparing for a robust schedule of Pesach activities. We had gathered together – a large, noisy group comprised of individuals from every age-range – for our community Seder. We drank wine, and ate everything on our Seder plates.

What if everyone we knew stood up against the spread of hate? This year, in honor of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) on May 1, we are asking our leaders, congregations, and youth movement members and graduates worldwide – and everyone who stands against the prevalence of hatred and incitement online – to report six incidents of hatred on social media.

The World Union for Progressive Judaism join other groups of good faith in condemning the senseless and murderous shooting in the Chabad Synagogue in Poway California.The world has now seen hundreds of deaths just in recent months, of  people at prayer. 

Rabbi Alfred Nathan’s infant son (United Hebrew Congregation, Singapore) had been diagnosed with serious medical issues which the local hospital insurance will not cover. The costs have been enormous. Our Singapore congregation is trying to help any way they can, and has started a more public, global fundraising campaign to cover medical expenses.