By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director More than 3,000 synagogues dot Europe’s countryside and cities. Many are abandoned. The Jews who used them were murdered or emigrated. Some lie in ruins; others have been transformed into cafés, sports halls, shops, and even a saloon, in one…
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director Wherever Jews have settled, they have adopted local languages and added a Jewish twist – from Yiddish and Ladino to the lesser-known varieties such as Judeo-Tat (Azerbaijan and Dagestan) and Judeo-Malayalam (Southern India). Over the past two centuries, migration…
The Liberal Jewish Community of Hannover in Germany is looking for a rabbi and a cantor. German language skills essential. Here are the job descriptions with all the details: Rabbi Job Description – English Translation Cantor Job Description – English Translation If you have any questions, please…
Throughout Europe, Jewish monuments are endangered. Synagogues are abandoned. Cemeteries are overgrown. In many cases, local Jewish communities are too small to keep these heritage sites alive. Nonetheless, there is hope. Jewish communities have been revived in post-Communist countries and Jewish heritage sites are…
Two students live in Finland. One originates in Porto. All are joining up in an exciting new pan-European progressive prayer leader training programme Baalei Tefillah, launched this month. Many Progressive Jewish communities in Europe cannot afford full or even part-time rabbis. In these cases, community…
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director It has been a remarkable renaissance. Over the past three decades, Germany has been home to Europe’s fastest-growing Jewish community, which now numbers some 100,000 affiliated members. Just as remarkable — as Germany celebrates 1700 years of Jewish life…
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director As we approach Passover and its story of wandering and freedom, it’s appropriate to think of today’s refugees – the 80 million people around the world who have fled their homes due to persecution and violence. The European Union…
Austria long portrayed itself as the first victim of Nazi aggression after its native son, Adolf Hitler, annexed the country in 1938. But the country is changing. Eric Frey, the editor of the country’s leading daily, Der Standard, and Or Chadasch Progressive Jewish community in…
Leo Baeck College, the Home of Adult Jewish Learning, trains rabbis and educators equipped for the 21st century. It is where the leaders of Progressive Judaism are nurtured, and where the heart of Progressive Jewish thought is developed. In addition to the academic programmes, the…
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director Sergio Bergman is a social activist, climate-change activist, former Argentinian Environment Minister, friend to Pope Francis – and a rabbi. He is the new president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), which counts more than 1,200 Reform,…