South African Union for Progressive Judaism

South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ)
TheologyProgressive Judaism
National ChairMonica Solomon
AssociationsWorld Union for Progressive Judaism
RegionSouth Africa
Headquarters38 Oxford Road, Parktown, Johannesburg (Beit Emanuel)
Congregations11
Official websitesaupj.org.za

The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 11 progressive congregations.[1][2] Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler, a founder of Reform Judaism in the country, led the country's first Reform synagogue, Temple Israel in Hillbrow, Johannesburg.[3] Weiler is credited with growing the movement, to represent 15-17% of South African Jewry and establishing 25 congregations in the country (Shain 2011).[4] A 2020 joint study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the University of Cape Town showed that 12% of Jews identified as Progressive and that in relative terms the progressive strands are increasing after falling to 7% in 1998 and 2005 studies.[5][4] In Johannesburg, the community accounts for 7% of the city's Jewry, rising to 18% in Cape Town and 25% in Durban.[5]

World Union for
Progressive Judaism
Regional affiliates
  1. North America
  2. United Kingdom
  3. Australia, New Zealand and Asia
  4. South Africa
  5. Israel
  6. Germany
  7. Netherlands
  8. France
  1. ^ November 2019 SAUPJ. Accessed on 6 December 2019
  2. ^ Johannesburg: Culture & Community Reform Judaism. Accessed on 6 December 2019
  3. ^ South Africa's Oldest Reform Synagogue Is a Place Where Few Jews Dare Venture Haaretz. 19 June 2019
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference prog was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b The Jews of South Africa in 2019 JPR-KAPLAN. Retrieved on 15/03/21.