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IN THIS
ISSUE:
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR WORLD UNION
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Registration has begun for
Connections 2007, the 33rd international convention of the World
Union for Progressive Judaism, to take place in Jerusalem March 15-20,
2007.
Connections 2007 will
feature inspiring speakers, practical
workshops, intellectual discussions, regional exhibits, local site
visits, art, music and much, much more. There will also be a special
Solidarity Mission to northern Israel to lend a hand in the Progressive
movement’s recovery efforts on behalf of congregations affected by the
recent war.
To register, or to receive
details on convention highlights, flights and hotels, and pre- and
post-convention options, click
here.
The World Union's 33rd international convention will be an opportunity
like no other to come together with Progressive Jews from all over the
world as colleagues, friends and family. We invite you to
meet, celebrate, learn about, and share with the global movements of
Reform Judaism at Connections 2007.
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NETZER BREAKS YET MORE RECORDS WITH FSU SUMMER CAMP
PROGRAM
Netzer Olami, the international Progressive youth movement, held
nine camps this summer for close to 900 young people from throughout the
former Soviet Union - a record for the movement’s 10 years of summer
camps. The camps took place from late June to early August at retreat
centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Kiev, and Riga for three age
groups: pre-teens, teens, and young adults aged 18-25.
“The summer camps play an
important, integral part in ensuring the success of the World Union’s
formal and informal education programs,” says Alex Kagan, the World
Union’s director for the FSU. “As a result of the camps, the younger
generation becomes involved in our communities. In turn, their parents
become involved as well.”
There was a wide variety
of camp programming, most of it focusing on Jewish studies and
Jewish-oriented activities. One camp for pre-teens featured a “time
machine,” with themes centering on the first Temple period, the golden
age of Spain, the 18th and 19th century emancipation of French Jews, and
the British mandatory period in Palestine, up to and including the
establishment of Israel. A camp for teenagers highlighted the creation
of family trees, with many of the campers becoming so enthusiastic that
they immediately phoned their grandparents for help. A camp for young
adults offered an in-depth look at Jewish liturgy and nigunim,
with campers learning new and different melodies each day.
As part of the 2006
season, there will be two additional camp sessions. One will be held in
Siberia for teenagers, the other in Moscow for the 50 hardworking camp
staff members, almost all of whom are FSU-based professionals or
volunteers. The goal of that camp will be to debrief the staffers - and
simply to say thank you for a job well done. By the end of the camp
season, 1,050 campers will have attended 11 summer camps, surpassing
last year’s record of eight camps for 850 campers.
It should also be noted
that this year, a generous grant from the Avi Chai Foundation made it
possible to conduct systematic pre-camp counselor training at some 45
weekend seminars (see
WUPJnews #210). Alex Kagan, director of World Union programs
in the FSU, called the grant “a major breakthrough” in efforts to
develop and train a cadre of regional youth leaders.
Participants at
the camp for young adults near Moscow ham it up on costume day.
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GERMAN SEMINARY MAKES HISTORY BY ORDAINING
PROGRESSIVE RABBIS
Abraham Geiger College, continental Europe’s first post-war liberal
rabbinic seminary, today ordained its first three rabbinic candidates
during ceremonies in Dresden, making them the first rabbis to be trained
and ordained in Germany since World War II. The new rabbis are Daniel
Alter, 47, from Germany; Dr. Tomáš Kučera, 35, from the Czech Republic;
and Malcolm Matitiani, 35, from South Africa.
Germany is the birthplace
of Reform Judaism (also known as Progressive or Liberal Judaism). Like
most of European Jewry, however, the country’s many Reform communities
were wiped out during the Shoah. However, with the help of
the World Union, some 20 Progressive congregations have
now been established throughout the country, where Progressive Judaism
is experiencing tremendous growth due in large part to the influx of
Jews from the former Soviet Union.
Says World
Union president Rabbi Uri Regev, "Abraham Geiger College, which is
training a new generation of liberal rabbis for work in Germany and in
other communities in Europe and the FSU, is testimony to the fact that
Reform Judaism has come full circle from its inception in Germany to
playing a vital role in the future of Jewish life in Europe.“
Adds Germany’s president, Horst Köhler, “After the Holocaust many could
never have imagined that Jewish life in Germany would ever thrive again.
That is why the first ordination of rabbis to take place in Germany in
60 years is a very special occasion indeed.”
A very special issue of
WUPJnews commemorating the historic event will appear next week.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
-
Join us in Jerusalem,
March 15-20, 2007, for
Connections 2007 – the 33rd International Convention of the World
Union for Progressive Judaism.
-
Shared Destiny – the World Union’s International
Humanitarian Awards Celebration honoring Rabbi Roberto D. Graetz,
Lorry Lokey and Joanne Harrington in San Mateo, California, October 8,
2006
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Installation of Rabbi Burt Schuman as spiritual leader of
Beit Warszawa, Poland’s first post-war Progressive community, by World
Union president Rabbi Uri Regev in Warsaw, October 20, 2006
-
Special World Union
Mission to South America, November 9-20. Space is running
out - act now! (Adobe Reader required for this download)
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