Joint UPJ – ARZA Australia Announcement
Under a joint agreement, UPJ and ARZA – have agreed to offer a free membership of ARZA -Association of Reform/Progressive Zionists of Australia.
This is in recognition of the financial pressures currently being faced by members of our congregations and also in recognition of the importance of the Progressive Movement of Australia being strongly represented at the World Zionist Congress, when it is held in Israel, either in person or remotely. We are also working closely with our Coalition Masorti partners in this endeavour.
We believe this is a very exciting decision, and one which we hope all our congregational members will strongly support. It means that your voice will be heard by the world Progressive Zionist Movement and help shape Israeli political and economic policies and the challenges facing the Jewish people.
Our Progressive Zionist views support religious equality for all streams of Judaism, a pluralist society, peace, social justice and Tikun Olam in our Jewish Homeland.
With your support, we can continue to add to our magnificent achievements in Israel and ensure the voice of Progressive Judaism continues to be heard in Israel and around the world.
WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM AND PROGRESSIVE ZIONISM
Helen Shardey
ARZA Australia President
UPJ Vice President
David Knoll AM
UPJ Co-President
Brian Samuel OAM
UPJ Co-President
News and Events
A Moving Story From October 7
A call for action Last week I participated in a very moving event at TBI with Noam and Gali Tibon who shared their incredible story driving to the Gaza envelope on October 7th in an attempt to save their son, daughter in law and toddler grandchildren. More on their incredible story can be found here: https://abcnews.go.com/International/year-after-attack-israeli-couple-recounts-oct-7/story?id=114518255 Concluding the event Phyllis Dorey OAM, Chair of the World Union For Progressive Judaism spoke on the little that each and everyone of us can and [...]
Hostage return
Hostages Release The people of Israel have been on an emotional roller coaster over the past few weeks with the release of hostages. Their families, who have been going between hope and despair for 16 months - demonstrating, advocating, and pressuring the Israeli government through any avenue they could, and meeting with leaders around the world to pressure Hamas - have finally managed to find some comfort with the release of their loved ones. The [...]
Ceasefire Deal
Happy New year, We are delighted about the news for the release of the hostages still kept in the tunnels of Gaza hopefully starting next week.it is believed that several dozens are still alive and their release is being prioritised (although the release of all would have been the preferred option). For the past few months we have witnessed dramatic changes in the geo political landscape. The Iranian axis has received serious blows, including the [...]
We Wont Stop Until They Are Back
As Progressive Zionists, we know that supporting a pluralist and egalitarian Israel is more important than ever post-October 7, and also because of the continued attempts to undermine Israeli democracy in the name of “judicial reforms”. ARZA needs your membership to make sure we can effectively represent the Progressive values of democracy, social justice, human rights, equality for all, and religious pluralism at the World Zionist Congress in the face of growing opposition. ARZA Australia will represent [...]
If Not Now When
On Friday, December 6, 2024, arsonists attacked the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Over the past 14 months we have seen continuous acts of incitement to violence, hate speech, intimidation, boycotting and cancellation targeted at Jewish community members. It seems that apart from rhetorical condemnation, law enforcement was minimal to non-existent. At ARZA we have been alerting to the risk of escalation and that lack of enforcement of legislation regarding hate speech and incitement to violence sends the wrong signal [...]
Albanese Government Supports Unconscionable UN Resolutions
SHAME YET AGAIN AS THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS UNCONSCIONABLE UN RESOLUTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE As Alexander Downer when Foreign Minister of Australia in 2005 said in reference to United Nations resolutions “too many of these resolutions are aimed at condemning Israel. You would think by looking at these resolutions that this small country – with a population roughly equivalent to NSW and a land mass one fortieth its size – is [...]