November/December 2014
VOL. XLI No. 6
Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
www.liberaljudaism.org
ljtoday
An alliance for Progressive Judaism
L
IBERAL JUDAISM (LJ) and the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) have announced an alliance to boost Progressive Judaism in the UK. Together accounting for nearly a third of synagogue-affiliated Jews and boasting 82 communities all over the country, the two movements will now be working even more closely together. The alliance will see an expansion of collaboration in areas such as student chaplaincy, social justice and social action. It could also involve a strengthening of existing joint work such as rabbinic training, gap year programming and representation on cross-communal and other institutions. Speaking exclusively to lj today, Liberal Judaism chairman Lucian J Hudson said: “This is a framework to give Progressive Judaism a stronger voice through a proactive concerted approach to opportunities where both movements gain more by working together than working alone. “After five years of listening carefully to views from inside and outside Liberal Judaism, I am pleased to have played the strategic role behind the scenes with the MRJ chair, Robert Weiner, to position this just right with the collective leadership and broader membership of both movements.” While the leadership of both LJ and MRJ are keen to stress that this is not a merger, it is seen as a way to capitalise on the large growth in people identifying themselves as sharing Progressive values in the recent JPR studies of Jewish communal attitudes. The Liberal and Reform movements, and their constituent synagogues, will continue to retain their autonomy and distinct identities, while working together to speak for and reach out to the third of British Jews who describe themselves as secular, cultural or ‘just Jewish’.
Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich and Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, senior rabbi to the Movement for Reform Judaism, will now be working even more closely together
Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich said: “The biggest dividing line in British Jewry is no longer Orthodox or Progressive, but religiously engaged or secular. We believe that, together, the two movements can provide an outward-looking, modern and relevant alternative to a merely secular form of Judaism, which could otherwise become the primary expression of Judaism within a couple of generations.” Senior rabbi to the Reform Movement, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, added: “There is so much more that unites the
Reform and Liberal movements than divides us. The more we can cooperate, the stronger our voice and the stronger the expression of the core values we share in common: inclusiveness, integrity and informed choice. These are the values which our movements believe will enable Judaism to survive and thrive in the 21st Century.” The news of the alliance received major press coverage, with prominent articles appearing in publications including The Times, Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News and Jewish Telegraph.
Page 2: Jews, Christians and Muslims team up at Sukkot to help Syrian refugees Page 3: Liberal Judaism unites York and Lancaster for the High Holy Days Pages 6-7: All the pictures from LJY-Netzer Kadimah summer camp (above)