Union for Progressive Judaism Annual Report 2018-2019 Mission Statement The Union for Progressive Judaism exists to honour our tradition, inform the present and guide the future of our communities in the Australian, Asian and New Zealand region. This mission is fulfilled through: § The establishment, strengthening and promotion of synagogues, schools and youth groups wherever there are Jews in this region searching for meaningful access to and expression of their modern Jewish values and life; § Recruitment, training and placement of Jewish professionals; § Sponsorship of programs and publications for youth, education, leadership development, and all aspect of community building; § The pursuit of social justice and equal rights for all Jews, here and in Israel; § Connecting and working with Progressive Jewish communities and organisations around the world to derive strength from one another. UPJ Executive: Va’ad Committee members Roger Mendelson, President Alison Dwyer Brian Samuel, Vice-President David Knoll Sharon Davis, Honorary Secretary Helen Shardey Sally Castle, Honorary Treasurer Franklin Tate Staff Ex Officio Committee members Jocelyn Robuck, Executive Manager Steve Denenberg (ARZA President) Sefi Shalam (Progressive Community & Netzer Shaliach) Nancye Kochen (Netzer Federal Mazkira) Sharene Hambur (WUPJ Representative) Rabbi David Kunin (Moetzah Chair) 2 CONTENTS Greetings from the World Union for Progressive Judaism Page 5 Greetings from the European Union for Progressive Judaism Page 6 Message from the UPJ President Page 7 Message from the UPJ Executive Manager Page 11 Message from the UPJ Honorary Treasurer Page 13 Moetzah Chairperson’s Report Page 14 Constituents’ Reports Australia ACT Canberra Progressive Congregation, ACT Jewish Community Page 16 NSW Central Coast Shalom Progressive Jewish Congregation * Chatswood North Shore Temple Emanuel Page 17 Woollahra Emanuel Synagogue Page 19 Queensland Brisbane Beit Or v’Shalom Page 20 Gold Coast Temple Shalom Page 22 Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast Jewish Community Page 23 South Australi5 Adelaide Beit Shalom Synagogue Page 24 Tasmania Hobart Hobart Hebrew Congregation Page 26 Victoria Armadale Kehillat David Hamelech (Kedem) Page 27 Bentleigh Etz Chayim Progressive Synagogue Page 28 Kew Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism Page 29 St Kilda Temple Beth Israel Page 31 Bendigo Kehillat S’dot Zahav Goldfields Congregation ** Page 32 Western Australia Perth Temple David Congregation Page 35 3 New Zealand Auckland Beth Shalom Page 36 Dunedin Dunedin Jewish Congregation Page 37 Wellington Temple Sinai Page 38 Asia Beijing Kehillat Beijing Page 40 Bali Kehilat Bnei Hof Page 41 Hong Kong United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong Page 42 India Rodef Shalom Jewish Religious Union * Indonesia United Indonesian Jewish Community Page 45 Shanghai Kehilat Shanghai Page 46 Singapore United Hebrew Congregation Page 47 Thailand Thailand Progressive Jewish Community Page 49 Tokyo Jewish Community of Japan Page 50 Affiliates’ Reports ARZA Page 51 Board of Progressive Jewish Education Page 52 Emanuel School Page 53 Netzer Australia Page 54 Progressive Judaism Victoria Page 57 The King David School Page 58 UPJ Awards Page 59 2018-2019 Financial Report will be circulated at the AGM and posted on the UPJ website * Report not received 4 MESSAGE FROM THE WUPJ October 2019 /Tishrei 5780 Dear Friends and Colleagues, The Progressive Jewish community in Australia is an extraordinary role model for K’lal Yisrael and an unwavering partner in the work of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). We are all proud of the continuing growth in Progressive Judaism in Israel and throughout the world. This report on the Union for Progressive Judaism’s (UPJ) activities in 2018 captures vividly that strength in Australia and charts the UPJ’s immense contribution to our world-wide efforts. Indeed, Australian Jewry is the Jewish world’s second largest financial supporter of WUPJ, of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) projects in Israel, and of our synagogues and programs in Russian-speaking countries. he UPJ and supporters of the UIA Progressive Appeal campaign contribute far more per household than does any other Jewish community. Thanks to the Australian Jewish community and to generous supporters around the world, WUPJ has been able to expand our reach and impact, fulfilling our mission to strengthen Progressive Jewish life and values in Israel and in Jewish communities wherever Jews choose to live. This year, in new and emerging communities, Progressive rabbis, educators, and leaders formed vibrant, caring hubs of Jewish life in places where Jews have never before settled or in places where Jews returned after centuries. In more established regions, including Australia, where Progressive Judaism has been going strong for years, rabbis deliberated on vital issues facing our Progressive congregations including protection of religious freedom, intermarriage, conversion, and fighting antisemitism. In regional biennials throughout the year, including in Melbourne, we came together as members of the same global family, sharing values of inclusivity, compassion, unity, and youth engagement.to celebrate our successes, to share best practices and learn from one another, and to map out new directions for the coming two years. Reflecting on a year of achievement and impact reminds us how deeply our global family is connected and committed to growth. If you are not yet a supporter of the UIA Progressive Appeal campaign, we urge you to make a commitment of time and resources to this exceptional community. We are deeply grateful to the Australian Progressive Jewish community and look forward to your continued leadership and involvement in the WUPJ’s growth and success. L’Shalom, Carole D. Sterling Rabbi David N. Saperstein Chair President, 633 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-6778 • Tel.: 212-452-6530 • E-mail: [email protected] 5 אליהו שמאע 6, ירושלים 9410806, ישראל Eliyahu Shama Street, Jerusalem 9410806, Israel 6 Tel: 02-6203447 www.wupj.org E-mail: [email protected] MESSAGE FROM THE EUPJ 7 October 2019 Dear friends and colleagues at the UPJ We are once again delighted to send you greetings from the Management Committee and the Executive Board on behalf of the all the members of European Union for Progressive Judaism. Despite the rise in antisemitism across the globe, the EUPJ has had a positive and productive year with progress being made in many of our 17 countries across the map of Europe. We had a wonderful biennial conference in Prague last year and look forward to our next exciting biennial in Geneva next year. It is a real comfort to know that there are members of our Progressive Jewish family in literally all corners of the world and we follow with the greatest of interest all the news of the growth and development in your own region. We look forward to meeting up with so many friends from the UPJ on our and their travels and hope to celebrate with you many more delightful events, conferences and, simply happy occasions whenever and wherever they arise. We take this opportunity of wishing that we are all be blessed with a healthy and above all, a peaceful 5780. Gordon Smith Sonja Guentner President Chair 6 MESSAGE FROM THE UPJ PRESIDENT ROGER MENDELSON This is my final report as UPJ President, so it is an appropriate time to look back, and also forward to the future. Achievements When I took over as President, there had been little preparation, because Stephen Freeman, the previous President, had to resign unexpectedly due to serious medical issues faced by Rebecca, his partner. At that stage, there were few executive members who were staying on, so I was faced with building a new team. At the same time, the extensive strategic review had been completed and the outcome was that Steve Denenberg retired as Executive Director. Va’ad structure One of my first steps was to establish the Va’ad structure. The Va’ad comprises the office bearers and Jocelyn Robuck, the Executive Officer. The intention was that the Va’ad would meet more regularly and deal with operational issues and would refer matters of policy and principle to the full Executive. An inhibiting factor we face is that our Executive comprises people from across our region. and so meetings are online and across different time zones. Movement Rabbi An outcome of the strategic review was that there was a consistent view expressed that we would benefit from having a Movement Rabbi. The Executive took this on board and defined the position, provided a budget allocation for it, advertised it and ultimately appointed Rabbi Fred Morgan for a three-year term. Rabbi Morgan retired from the position at the end of his ter, in March 2019 and at this stage the Executive has made no arrangements to replace him. We wish to thank Rabbi Morgan for the support and advice he provided, as well as the active hands-on role he played with congregations. Budget At the time I took over, the budget was in deficit, due essentially to the cost of employing an Executive Director. Since that time, we have been operating on small surpluses. I wish to thank Sally Castle, our Treasurer, for ensuring that we operate on a financially sound basis. Our budget covers an allowance for various grants we make, including to several rabbinic students studying at the Hebrew Union College; we provide some financial support to them on the basis that they will hopefully return to our region. The UPJ also supports Netzer with $30,000 per year ($10K for Outreach, $10K for Admin and $10K for Shnat). UIA Progressive Appeal A significant function we carry out is to raise funds in partnership with the UIA. Funds go into the UIA Progressive Appeal and are ultimately allocated to complying programs operated by the WUPJ (our roof body) and also support several organisations in Israel. We normally raise just under $1 million annually, but this year was exceptional, with the sum of $1.2 million raised.