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02-Annual-Report-Final.Pdf EUROPEAN UNION FOR PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM Annual Report 2015 for the European Assembly at Holiday Inn – Kensington Forum London United Kingdom 17th April 2016 Honorary Officers, Office Holders and Staff 2015 Honorary Life Presidents Ruth Cohen Jeffery Rose President Leslie Bergman Vice-Presidents Alex Dembitz Rabbi Andrew Goldstein Sonja Guentner Rabbi Walter Homolka Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris Jonathan Lewis Félix Mosbacher Gordon Smith Chairman Miriam Kramer Joint Vice-Chairmen Stéphane Beder Michael Reik Honorary Secretary John Cohen Honorary Treasurer David Pollak Board Members Rabbi Danny Rich Rabbi Ruven Bar-Ephraim (Rabbinic Adviser) Rabbi Mark Goldsmith Andrew Hart (Legal Adviser) Leo Hepner z”l Deborah Hofer Rabbi Lea Muehlstein WUPJ Representative Rabbi Joel Oseran Administrator Deborah Grabiner Newsletter Editor Arthur Buchman 2 Contents Page 2 Honorary Officers, Office Holders and Staff 2015 Page 3 Contents Page 5 EUPJ Report Page 7 WUPJ Report Page 8 European Beit Din Page 9 Austria – Or Chadasch Page 10 Belgium – Beth Hillel, Brussels Page 11 Belgium – IJC, Brussels Page 12 Czech Republic – Bejt Simcha, Prague Page 13 Czech Republic – ZLU Hatikvah, Prague Page 14 Denmark – Shir Hatzafon, Copenhagen Page 15 France – AJLT, Toulouse Page 16 France – AJTM, Paris Page 16 France – Communauté Juive Libérale, Dauphiné Grenoble (Beit haOr) Page 16 France – Communauté Juive Libérale, Montpellier Page 16 France – Communauté Juive Libérale, Paris Page 17 France - Kehilat Gesher, Paris Page 18 France- Kehilat Kedem, Montpellier Page 19 France – Keren Or, Lyon Page 20 France – Mouvement Juif Libérale de France (MJLF), Paris Page 21 France - Union Libérale Israélite de France (ULIF), Paris Page 23 France - L’Union Juive Libérale de Strasbourg (UJLS) Page 23 Germany – The Union for Progressive Judaism (UpJ) Page 24 Germany - Abraham Geiger College, Jewish Institute of Cantorial Arts Page 26 Hungary – Bet Orim, Budapest Page 28 Hungary – Sim Shalom, Budapest Page 29 Italy – Beth Hillel, Rome Page 30 Italy – Beth Shalom, Milan Page 31 Italy – Lev Chadash, Milan Page 32 Italy – Shir Hadash Italia, Florence Page 33 Luxembourg - Communaute Israelite d'Esch-sur-Alzette Page 34 Netherlands - Levisson Institute, Amsterdam Page 35 Netherlands – NVPJ Dutch Union for Progressive Judaism Page 36 Poland - Beit Krakow Page 37 Poland - Beit Polska Page 40 Spain – Bet Januka Page 42 Spain – Bet Shalom, Barcelona Page 42 Spain – Bnei Israel, Galicia Page 44 Spain - Comunitat Jueva Atid De Catalunya, Barcelona Page 44 Spain - Kehilá Beit Emunah, Asturias Page 45 Sweden – Progressive Judaism in Stockholm (PJS) Page 46 Switzerland – Platform of Liberal Jews Switzerland (PLJS) Page 47 UK - Belsize Square Synagogue, London Page 47 UK – Community Connections (formerly Exodus 2000) Page 48 UK - Leo Baeck College Page 48 UK – Liberal Judaism 3 Page 50 UK – Movement for Reform Judaism Page 51 UK - Westminster Synagogue, London Page 53 EUPJ Honorary Treasurer’s Report 2015 Page 54 Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of EUPJ Page 55 EUPJ Statement of Financial Activities 2015 Page 56 EUPJ Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2015 Page 57 Notes to the EUPJ Financial Statements for year ended 31 December 2015 Page 60 Minutes of the EUPJ 2014 European Assembly Page 65 Notice and Agenda – EUPJ 2015 European Assembly Page 67 Countries of the EUPJ Back Cover EUPJ Contact Information 4 EUPJ Chairman’s Report 2015 Our last Annual Assembly was in Geneva in March 2015 and I would like to thank our hosts at GIL for their splendid organisation and hospitality. Since then there seems to have been an ever-increasing whirlwind of activity. When I pause for breath to reflect on what we’ve done and where we’ve gone with a relatively small band of volunteers and a part-time administrator I find it incredible. I would therefore like at the beginning of my report to thank each and every one of them. Deborah Grabiner, our administrator and invaluable member of the team, is our dependable and efficient rock. As in previous years there have been high points and disappointments. In the former category a number of our communities marked significant milestones: West London Synagogue in London, its 175th anniversary, Beth Hillel in Brussels its 50th anniversary (whilst hosting the third Francophone conference), Vienna its 25th, our community in Gdansk moving into new premises, Or Chadasch in Munich marking its 20th birthday, and Lyon simultaneously dedicating a new building and inducting a new rabbi. Our German association, the UpJ, held its 20th and final annual conference in Spandau; it attracted record numbers and the event has outgrown that venue. In addition we now have new rabbis and cantors ordained at our European seminaries adding to the pool of talent and leadership at our communities. Another important milestone is the formation of the European Rabbinic Assembly, a pan- European professional organisation for our rabbis. A small steering committee has put in endless hours to make this particular dream a reality. The result will be twofold: the first is that rabbis, particularly in countries where they are the sole Progressive rabbi, now have ready access to their colleagues. The second is that in issues of importance we have a Progressive rabbinic voice which can speak with authority to our congregations and beyond. There is also considerable activity between our communities in different countries. The Israeli government has earmarked a significant sum to facilitate twinning arrangements between Progressive congregations in Israel and in Europe. One of our vice-chairmen, Michael Reik, has assumed this portfolio and due to his vision and energy this scheme has taken flight. In addition four officers of MJLF in Paris spent a long weekend in London visiting several communities and holding meetings with numerous organisations to gain a better understanding of how Progressive Judaism works in another country. WUPJ’s Connections 2015 in Rio de Janeiro attracted a significant number of European delegates. Over four days we studied, prayed and schmoozed to everyone’s benefit. At the URJ’s biennial conference in Orlando in November delegates from around world, including many from Europe, were given a high profile. The WUPJ family has many supporters but few can measure up to the vision and generosity of Betty and Arthur Roswell. Over many years they have supported, in deed and financially, many projects including the work EUPJ undertakes in a number of countries. We are so much in their debt. Our European Beit Din continues its sterling work. The triumvirate of Rabbis Ruven Bar- Ephraim, Andrew Goldstein and Jackie Tabick, supported by Pippa Suchet, have helped 46 adults and 16 children from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain to join the Family of Israel. In last year’s report I mentioned a number of potential developments in several countries. Sadly not all of them have yet come to a satisfactory conclusion: Our legal battles in Poland 5 and Hungary continue. The federation of our Italian communities has not quite yet come into existence and we still await the formation of the Spanish association. There are other challenges in some countries and we are addressing them. One is an initiative by West London Synagogue in partnership with EUPJ to engage with our Hungarian communities. Under the leadership of Rosalind Copisarow and Rabbi David Mitchell a study has been made of the current situation and of the potential there. The process continues and we have high hopes that ultimately there will be mutual benefit for West London and for our Hungarian community. Similarly in the Czech Republic we are looking into ways to strengthen Progressive Judaism. Last year I wrote my report in the wake of attacks in Paris. Sadly in 2015 attacks in European cities continued, not all of them against Jewish targets. Many of my WUPJ colleagues, particularly from North America, ask me about them and the perceived flood of Jews leaving France and other European countries. My reply remains that although there is undeniably a level of anti-Semitism here it is not as all-pervasive as some sectors of the media depict. Yes, there are Jews moving to Israel and to other countries but it is not the flood that some sensationalist news stories portray. We firmly believe that Jews – all Jews – have a future here in Europe. In November we lost Leo Hepner, a former chairman, very suddenly. In addition to chairing EUPJ for a number of years he was active in establishing communities as far afield as Denmark, Germany and Spain. He had a love of Progressive Judaism which he translated into positive action and his wisdom will be much missed. Finally I must pay tribute to my colleague Leslie Bergman whose term as President comes to an end at our Annual Assembly. He has held the post for six years and under his guidance EUPJ has gone from strength to strength. It has been my privilege to work with him for four of those years and I never cease to be impressed by his energy, devotion, clear thinking and knowledge. The European Union for Progressive Judaism offices are located at The Sternberg Centre, 80 East End Road, London N3 2SY, UK. The telephone number is +44 (0) 20 8349 5651. For more information about the EUPJ please visit our Website at http://www.eupj.org or send us an email to [email protected] Miriam Kramer, Chairman London, April 2016 6 WUPJ President and Chairman’s Report 2015 The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) was established in Europe in 1926 when Lily Montagu and Claude Montefiore from the Liberal Synagogue in London invited Jewish leaders representing liberal communities in Canada, Czechoslovakia France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Romania, Sweden and the USA to a conference in London. Today, as we mark 90 years of development and growth, the World Union for Progressive Judaism is the international umbrella organization for Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist Jews throughout the world, serving 1,200 congregations, over 1.8 million members, in fifty countries.
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