Delegates from 23 countries assembled here for the opening tomorrow of the Twelfth International Conference of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. One of the key goals of the seven-day conference will be a program for the re-building of Jewish life in areas destroyed by war and in others where Jews have resettled. Special emphasis will be placed on Israel and South America.
Dr. Solomon B, Freehof of Pittsburgh, president of the organization of Reform Jews, said that large groups of Jews driven by the Nazi terror from Europe settled in Israel and South America. He said that at the present time Jewish life in those areas “has virtually halted its religious progress and knows only the Orthodoxy of the parents and grandparents.”
He added that the convention intended “to revitalize the spiritual life in all of these global regions with a liberal Judaism that blends the ancient traditions of our fathers in harmony with our contemporary living patterns.”
The largest delegation of 200 is from the United States. Sessions will be held at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue and the West London Synagogue. The conference will close July 12.
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