By Bill Echikson and Justus Becker, EUPJ Brussels Office Germany celebrates 1,700 years of Jewish life this year. It is a history that goes far beyond the tragedy of the Holocaust. Although many celebrations have been called off due to the pandemic, it is an…
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director On Sunday, 31 January 2021, Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director, hosted our latest EUPJ webinar, a panel discussion on the topic, “Is There a Future for Jews in Europe?” Guest speakers included Prof. Sergio DellaPergola, Professor Emeritus of Population…
The first-ever Progressive Central European Beit Din (CEBD) was created and approved by the European Union for Progressive Judaism (EUPJ) and the EUPJ Rabbinic Assembly (ERA) at the end of last year. Officially launched at the beginning of January 2021, the newest EUPJ-affiliated Beit…
The European Union’s raison d’etre is to promote tolerance for and protection of minorities. The European Union of Progressive Judaism (EUPJ) recently opened an office in Brussels because it believed that the European Union was taking strong action to fight antisemitism and promote Jewish life…
Every day, we encounter little miracles, sometimes in unexpected places. This is the story of how a country in northern Europe has gone on to become a large producer of contemporary Yiddish content. In 1999, Yiddish was declared an official national minority language in Sweden….
Dear friends, As we are preparing to light the fifth candle on our Chanukiot, it gives me great pleasure to share the video to the sensational WUPJ virtual Chanukah celebration, “Many Candles, One World”, which premiered last night. The show was produced by the Tony…
As we light the Chanukah candles tonight, let us reflect on the miracles we encounter every day, even in the face of difficult obstacles. This photo was taken in Warsaw in 2017 in the Nożyk Synagogue. The Polish Jewish community managed to rebuild itself from…
The European Union for Progressive Judaism (EUPJ) joins the WUPJ, IRPJ, URJ, and all other Progressive Reform movements across the globe in expressing our opposition to the appointment of Brigadier General Effi Eitam (retired) to the position of Chair of the Executive of the Yad…
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director Earlier this month, an Islamic State “sympathiser” shot dead four people in the busy Seitenstettengasse Street of the Austrian capital’s Old Town. The shootings took place almost in front of the city’s main Jewish synagogue, the 19th century Stadttempel….
By Bill Echikson, EUPJ Brussels Director It was past midnight. The music blared. In the middle on the buzzing dance floor, Eric Mark and his wife Miriam swayed and swung to the beat of the jitterbug. Eric was already 90-years old. When Eric left us…