WUPJ News

In 2019, Netzer Olami welcomed Nicki Braun to the inaugural position of Mazkira, Chair, of Netzer Olami, the global Progressive Zionist youth movement affiliated with the World Union. The position reflected a new strategic plan for Netzer and the World Union’s engagement with youth and young adults and heralded a new opportunity for Reform and […]

The World Union congratulates its partners, the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), who, through the leadership of its legal advocacy center, the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), have secured a landmark ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court to recognize non-Orthodox conversions carried out in Israel for the purposes of Israeli citizenship under the […]

The leadership of the global Reform Movement vigorously condemns the most recent attacks on the Israeli Reform Movement and on Rabbi Gilad Kariv, a candidate in the upcoming Knesset elections.

The World Union for Progressive Judaism strongly opposes the plan of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) to expand Jewish settlements by purchasing private land in the West Bank, within and beyond existing settlements. WUPJ has long opposed the proliferation of settlements.

As part of this year’s Connections, Facing our Jewish Future Together, we’re launching an International Shabbat Pulpit Exchange to match congregations from two different regions of our movement for Shabbat services or activities. 

The European Union’s raison d’etre is to promote tolerance and protection to minorities. The European Union of Progressive Judaism recently opened an office in Brussels because it believed that the Union was taking strong action to fight anti-Semitism and promote Jewish life in Europe. Unfortunately, the European Court of Justice has upheld a ban on kosher and hallal slaughter in Belgium. This ruling represents a dangerous denial of religious freedom. It contradicts the European Union’s commitment to protecting fundamental human rights. We will continue to work with others to press the European Union to live up to its commitments.

Pope Francis, the Head of the Catholic Church, sent a handwritten, personal message to Rabbi Sergio Bergman as a gesture of friendship and aimed at reaching across religions to connect everyone with his moving prayer for all of humankind – of every religion – to bask in brighter days ahead.

In December 2020 the South African Jewish Museum will open an exhibition on the history and role of Progressive (or Reform) Jews in South Africa. The exhibition has been developed by the SA Jewish Museum in conjunction with Irwin Manoim and is based on his forthcoming book Mavericks inside the Tent: The Progressive Jewish Movement in South Africa and its impact on the wider community.

The World Union joins together with the Israel Reform Movement (IMPJ), the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ, North America), and ARZENU-the International Federation of Reform Zionist Movements, to express our opposition to the appointment, which would go against the values of this institution, its important role in Israel and the world, and would be contrary to the central message at the heart of Holocaust memory and research into the worst disaster in the history of the Jewish people.

(Potsdam, Germany) – The Abraham Geiger College in the north gate building of the New Palace will be a European center for Jewish theology at the University of Potsdam. “Our synagogue will be finished in March or April,” says Walter Homolka, Rector of the Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg, the training center for Jewish rabbis and cantors at the […]