Open letter written by members of Ec Chaim

This is an open letter written by members of Ec Chaim Progressive Jewish congregation in Warsaw. We hope that you will be kind enough to share it with the leaders of the WUPJ and EUPJ.

We, members of Ec Chaim Progressive Jewish congregation – a part of the Jewish Community of Warsaw - write this letter in the wake of a decision recently communicated by Rabbi Joel Oseran, WUPJ Vice-President, International Matters, to prohibit our rabbi, Stas Wojciechowicz, from attending this and subsequent WUPJ conventions and rabbinic kallot. This decision is associated with a law suit in which the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland - Rabbi Wojciechowicz’s employer - has opposed the registration of Beit Polska, a privately-funded organization with the aim to represent Progressive Jews of Poland.

We ask the leadership of WUPJ and EUPJ that Rabbi Wojciechowicz should not be held responsible for his employer’s policy towards Beit Polska as – irrespective of his view of this policy - he has no impact on it.

We think that Rabbi Wojciechowicz’s work should be supported by the WUPJ because it is nothing short of miraculous. Indeed, our rabbi has single-handedly awakened a large part of the mainstream Jewish community of Warsaw (and elsewhere in Poland), traditionally self-centred and inward-looking, to a Judaism that is modern, forward-looking, happy, empathetic and generous - and did this despite a powerful and quite insensitive Orthodox wing of the mainstream.

We are reminded of the German success when Progressive Jews achieved formal recognition within the German Jewish community, the “Einheitsgemeinde”. The WUPJ greatly rejoiced and saw the integration of progressive Judaism into the mainstream organisations as immense victory.

Is the establishment of a progressive community within the Warsaw Jewish congregation not the same phenomenon? Our rabbi spreads Progressive Judaism in Poland in the best possible form and requires the assistance of the WUPJ in this wonderful work. Therefore, we ask that the WUPJ takes seriously our request to be considered for membership as forwarded in 2012 and follows the same strategy as in Germany where progressive congregations exist both inside and outside the “Einheitsgemeinde”.

Members of Ec Chaim Progressive Jewish Congregation

Warsaw, Poland

Members of Ec Chaim Progressive Jewish Congregation    Skontaktuj się z autorem petycji