WUPJ News

For more than 15 years, the Passover Project has sent rabbinic students from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion to Reform congregations across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus to lead Passover celebrations. Every year, students join growing congregations for traditional and innovative programs and services designed to bolster the communities.

In August 2017, the World Union and its partner region in Latin America, Union for Reform Judaism (URJ-AmLat), launched the Iberoamerican Institute for Reform Rabbinical Education in Buenos Aires to recruit and train rabbis and educators for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Reform congregations. As the first school of its kind in the region, the Iberoamerican Institute lays vital groundwork for the growth of Reform Judaism across Latin America.

The March 24 March for Our Lives coincided with the annual international Netzer Leaders Assemby (Veida), sponsored by ARZENU, KKL and WZO, where teen delegates from over 14 countries gathered to discuss the future of the Progressive Youth Movement. This year’s conference focused on Tikkun olam: As Reform Jews, does it require action or is […]

On March 18, more than 200 members of the Jewish communities as well as representatives of Christian congregations, non-governmental organizations, diplomats, schoolchildren, students, foreign visitors and residents of Grodno gathered at “March of Remembrence” in Grodno to honor the memory of Grodno ghetto demolition that happened 75 years ago. The event began with prayer led […]

In May 2017, Russian-born Rabbi Alona Lisitsa presented ten conversion candidates from Spain and Portugal to the European Beit Din in London. The fi rst female Reform Rabbi in Israel to be appointed to a religious council, Rabbi Lisitsa’s comprehensive conversion course, which includes on-site meetings and counsel, has been attracting individuals interested in Judaism since its launch in May 2014. […]

  In February, there were 10 intense days of activities, with hands-on classes on the streets of Israel. The 18 participants, representing 13 different countries (Brazil, Australia, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Spain, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Canada, England and Germany) also had intense debates about topics proposed by the Beutel Seminar for Jewish Reform […]

With the impressive number of 19 students from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Spain, the IberoAmerican Institute for Reform Rabbinical Education (IIFRR) began the classes of its first year of operation, after 18 months of intense planning by its founding partners: the World Union for Progressive Judaism, the WUPJ-Latin America, Fundación Judaica, and Centro de […]

This past week, the National Belorussian Jewish School – Atikva in Gomel, Belarus hosted a conference on pedagogy in formal Jewish education. Take a look below to experience the conference first hand and learn how a Jewish day school in Belarus celebrates Purim. The opening ceremony of the conference, featuring a performance by some of […]

I have just returned from an amazing trip to the Caribbean with the World Union for Progressive Judaism. We visited congregations in San Juan, St. Thomas, Curacao, and Aruba, some of the oldest congregations in the Western hemisphere. We shared our stories, our music, and our prayers with each of these communities. As you know, […]

Twenty representatives of six Asian Progressive communities met in Hong Kong in late January for the 2018 Asian Progressive Jewish Summit, and were joined by World Union leaders Carole Sterling, Chair, and Rabbi Daniel H. Freelander, President. Delegates from Shanghai, Singapore, Myanmar, Bali, Tokyo and Hong Kong were joined by Rabbi Fred Morgan, Regional Rabbi […]