The Movement for Reform Judaism

Where would British Reform synagogues and the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain be today without the works, theology and supreme efforts of those refugees from Germany of the 1930s and 1940s. There is hardly a congregation that cannot point to the colossal effect those fleeing Nazi Germany had on their communities. Prime amongst these were Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck, Rabbi Werner Van der Zyl, Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum and there were so many more.

The Leo Baeck College was set up mainly through the efforts of Rabbi van der Zyl and has seen itself as the continuation of the Hochschule des Wissenschaft des Judentums, that was the key training college for Rabbis in Germany for the century until its destruction with much of Germany Jewry in the 1930s.

Whilst before the second world war Progressive Judaism had dominated in Germany. After it, a refugee Jewish population arrived from Poland and Russia and they were mainly Orthodox.

German Jewry however continued with the Gemeinde (Community) structure. The German government financed recognised religious groups and in the Jewish world they gave all these resources to the Gemeinde. With some notable exceptions this has led to a suppression and delegitimisation of Progressive Jewry as Orthodox controlled Gemeinde have refused funding requests to Progressive groups.

15 years ago the German Jewish Community numbered around 25,000. However it has dramatically grown in recent years to perhaps even 100,000 Jews. Most of these Jews have come from Russia. Many are nominally Jewish. If they are going to be attracted by any group it would be by Progressive Jewry. In Germany today there is a rapid renaissance and growth in the Jewish Community and its institutions. Our movement is the recipient of not only none of the funds from the Central Council for the Development of Jewish Life in Germany (EU 3million from the German Government) but also none of the EU 69million from the claims conference (23million of which went to the Central Council).

However despite this our sister movement has today grown to 15 congregations, a Chavura, a young adult movement and a seminary. Some of our Rabbis and Lay leaders have played their roles in this growth, but now the bigger responsiblity must be shared into our congregations. To find out more about each community visit the website (www.liberale-juden.de) of the Union of Progressive Jews of Germany. Before you ask communities exist in Bad Pyrmont, Celle, Munich, Halle, Hameln, Hannover, Bad Segeberg, Hildesheim, Berlin, Gudensberg, Seesen, Cologne, Goettingen and Pinneberg.

What can we do to help?
Offer to twin with one of these congregations ... if you are prepared to really help them ... perhaps by members of your congregations becoming “associate” members of their congregations, by allowing your rabbi to spend a number of Shabbatot with them, by lending them a Sefer Torah, by providing them with Jewish resources and connections, by visiting them and having them visit you. Perhaps by helping them with their funding projects. They need to fund an Executive Director (for which they have runout of funding), they need to fund Rabbis, they need to build buildings or renovate former buildings, they need to fund programmes Advertise these congregations to your members so that if they are on business or holiday in the vicinity they can visit them. It maybe that some of your members have particular links with one of these areas, and would mutually gain from being put in contact. Perhaps one might go to their conference in July ... if you have the German ... 300 Germany Jews together is quite inspiring ... it is in Berlin as it was last year. Encourage RSY-Netzer and our students to work together with Jung und Juedisch the German Progressive Young Adult Organisation.

Beyond this is advocacy ... any contacts your communities might have with the German Political world, its ambassadors or with British Politicians who might have contact with Germany.

Ruth Cohen, the President of the World Union, set it out clearly as follows, “in all these areas it is now you who can make a difference. “

Members of the World Union for Progressive Judaism around the world, many of whose families emigrated from Germany, are distressed to hear that members of our movement in Germany, the birthplace of Liberal Judaism, are being discriminated against.

We will work tirelessly with the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany to ensure that Jewish Pluralism becomes a reality in Germany and that both the Jewish establishment and the Germany Government acknowledge fully Jewish diversity. Less than a year ago, the World Union held a festive event in Berlin marking the anniversary of its first convention that was held there in 1928. We were encouraged by the message of Minister Otto Schily that the German Government respects and hold all stream of Judaism in Germany in high regard and the State contract entered into stipulates that the Zentralrat is open to ALL streams of Judaism. The World Union very much regrets that efforts to reach an understanding with the Zentralrat and the German Government that would translate this commitment into actual policy, have failed.

Requests of Liberal congregations to join the Zentralrat were rejected, and no financial support whatsoever was offered by the Zentralrat for the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany and its congregations from the 2003 agreement with the German government.

This bears no resemblance to the declaration made to the German Governmen,and incorporated into its agreement with the Zentralrat. In communicating with the German government, the World Union has expressed its concern that the Zentralrat may not fulfill the noble and justified expectation, and we see the German Government as responsible for the full and equitable implementation of the commitments made to it by the Zentralrat, and the Government's own representation to the Liberal Movement.

The worldwide Progressive movement cannot accept that German Liberal Judaism is denied equal status in present day Germany, especially in light of the critical role it could play in providing Jewish resources to a rapidly growing Jewish community, which had been detached from active Jewish life for decades.

This unacceptable discrimination stands in contrast not only with Germany's own history, but also to its present day constitutional assurances of religious diversity of contemporary Jewry.

The World Union, therefore, intends to redouble its efforts in Germany and internationally to ensure the rightful entitlements and status of Liberal Judaism in Germany and supports the Union for Liberal Judaism in Germany's advocacy to this end.

Over to you ... and if you want me to put you in contact with specific groups or to create specific action, please tell me.

Thanks

Andrew Gilbert chairman, RSGB

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