The Union progressiver Juden in Deutschland (UPJ; "Union of Progressive Jews in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

") is a "Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts", a publicly chartered association, founded in 1997 as the congregational arm of Liberal (also Progressive or Reform) Judaism in Germany. It is headed by Rabbi

Walter Homolka Walter Homolka (born 21 May 1964 in Landau an der Isar) is a German rabbi. Homolka studied in Munich, London, Lampeter and Leipzig and has a PhD from King's College London. He is an adjunct full professor at the University of Potsdam and rector ...

and has around 5,200 members. It is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Rabbi

is also the most senior rabbinic figure associated with the UPJ, and the

Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg Abraham Geiger Kolleg is a rabbinic seminary at the University of Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany. History Abraham Geiger Kolleg was founded 1999 as the only seminary in Germany since the Holocaust, when the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Jud ...

serves as rabbinical seminary since 1999. Liberal – known internationally also as Reform or Progressive – Judaism has a long history in Germany.

Abraham Geiger Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Geige ...

, Samuel Holdheim and the other great Reform rabbis considered founders of the movement led it in the mid-19th century. After the 1844-46 synods, the term "Liberal" substituted the formerly common "Reform" to denote the relative moderation maintained in communities which remained unified. Only the semi-independent, splinter Reform Congregation in Berlin followed a radical line. The Liberals did not formally consolidate as a denomination, but were rather a tendency within communal frameworks. Their focal point was the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, their seminary. In 1898, Rabbi

Heinemann Vogelstein Heinemann Vogelstein (February 13, 1841 - August 4, 1911) was a German rabbi and leader of Reform Judaism in Germany. Biography Heinemann Vogelstein was born in Lippe on February 13, 1841, the son of Julie (née Adler) and Israel Vogelstein. In ...

was determined to counter conservative elements and formed a Liberal rabbinical association, Union of Liberal Rabbis. In 1908 a congregational arm followed, the Union for Liberal Judaism in Germany. These were founding members of the WUPJ in 1926. After World War II, the movement slowly recovered. The publication work of the union began in 1997 with Seder ha-Tefillot, the Jewish prayer book by Jonathan Magonet in cooperation with

, translated from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

by Annette M. Böckler. In 1998 a

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

Haggadah was published. From 1999 to 2004 Annette M. Böckler translated

W. Gunther Plaut Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar. L ...

's commentary on the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

into German. The Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) rejected the association and insisted on a single representative voice for Jewish organisations. In particular this concerned the contract with the government, signed with the Central Council on 27 January 2003, and its associated aid money. In April 2004 open hostility broke out between the president of the Central Council, Paul Spiegel, and then chairman of the UPJ,

Jan Mühlstein Jan Mühlstein (born 3 July 1949 in Most, Czechoslovakia) is a journalist, German Jewish activist and the former chair of the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany. Life Jan Mühlstein grew up in a German-speaking Jewish family, which tradition ...

. Mühlstein called for financial equality between the Liberal Jewish organisations regarding the distribution of 3 million Euros of state funding annually, set by a contract with the government. On 20 November 2005 two Jewish State Associations with numerous congregations of the Union were absorbed into the Central Council, after the status of a corporate body of public rights was conferred to them. The Union is currently participating in the state funding through the Central Council.

References

* Heinz-Peter Katlewski: ''Judentum im Aufbruch. Von der neuen Vielfalt jüdischen Lebens in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz.'' Jüdische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 2002,

External links

Official website
Jewish German history Reform Judaism in Germany Jewish organizations established in 1997 World Union for Progressive Judaism {{jewish-hist-stub