European Office (EUO)

EUPJ in Brussels

Founded: 2018
Country Director: William Echikson
Contact: echiksw@eupj.org

The European Union of Progressive Judaism has opened an office in the capital of the European Union and created the EUPJ Foundation based in the Netherlands. Click here to read more . Our goal is to win EU funding, fight for equality for Progressive Judaism in Europe, and make sure that our progressive voice is heard in the corridors of European power.

The European Union represents a natural ally for European Jewry. It emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust as a response to the racist Nazi nationalism, embodying respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. Throughout Europe, populists of both left and right are putting these values under siege and the European project’s success or failure will do much to determine the fate of European Jewry.

In order to bolster the European Commission’s rule of law campaign, we researched and published a groundbreaking Holocaust Remembrance Report. We have expanded the interfaith Emouna project which trains rabbis, imams and priests, and we are forging partnerships with other Jewish groups, including the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the European Union of Jewish Students, and CEJI, A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe. 

EUPJ Brussels Director

William Echikson is one of the founders of the International Jewish Centre in Brussels. Mr. Echikson began his career as a foreign correspondent in Europe. He has written, directed and produced for television documentaries for BBC and America’s Public Broadcasting Service. He is the author of four books, including works on the collapse of communism in Central Europe. He writes regularly on Jewish issues for The Times of Israel and Politico.