Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005, is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively traditional in comparison with its smaller counterpart, Liberal Judaism, though it does not regard Jewish law as binding. As of 2010, it was the second-largest Jewish religious group in the United Kingdom, with 19.4% of synagogue-member households. On 17 April 2023, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism announced their intention to merge as one single unified progressive Jewish movement. The new movement, which may be called Progressive Judaism, will represent about 30% of British Jewry who are affiliated to synagogues.
The Sternberg Centre for Judaism, in East End Road, Finchley, London, is a campus hosting a number of Jewish institutions, built around the 18th-century Finchley manor house.
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries with 1,275 affiliated synagogues, of which 1,170 are Reform, Progressive, or Liberal and 105 Reconstructionist. It claims to represent a total of some 1.8 million people, both registered constituents and non-member identifiers. The WUPJ states that it aims to create common ground between its constituents and to promote Progressive Judaism in places where individuals and groups are seeking authentic, yet modern ways of expressing themselves as Jews. It seeks to preserve Jewish integrity wherever Jews live, to encourage integration without assimilation, to deal with modernity while preserving the Jewish experience, and to strive for equal rights and social justice.
Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner van der Zyl in 1956 and is sponsored by The Movement for Reform Judaism, Liberal Judaism and the United Jewish Israel Appeal. It is named after the inspirational 20th-century German Liberal rabbi Leo Baeck.
Jacqueline Hazel "Jackie" Tabick is a British Reform rabbi. She became Britain's first female rabbi in 1975. She retired in 2023 as convenor of the Movement for Reform Judaism's Beit Din, the first woman in the role, and until its closure in 2022 was also Rabbi of West Central Liberal Synagogue in Bloomsbury, central London.
The Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation is a Reform Judaism congregation in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.
Golders Green Jewish Cemetery, usually known as Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery in Golders Green, London NW11. It is maintained by a joint burial committee representing members of the West London Synagogue and the S&P Sephardi Community.
Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue is a synagogue in Hove, Sussex, England. It has 500 adult members.
Laura Naomi Janner-Klausner is a British rabbi and an inclusion and development coach who served as the inaugural Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism from 2011 until 2020. Janner-Klausner grew up in London before studying theology at the University of Cambridge and moving to Israel in 1985, living in Jerusalem for 15 years. She returned to Britain in 1999 and was ordained at Leo Baeck College, serving as rabbi at Alyth Synagogue until 2011. She has been serving as Rabbi at Bromley Reform Synagogue in south-east London since April 2022.
Werner van der Zyl was a rabbi in Berlin and in London, where he came in 1939 as a refugee rabbi from Germany. He was the prime mover and first director of studies of the Jewish Theological College of London. The college was inaugurated in 1956 and was renamed Leo Baeck College shortly afterwards at his suggestion.
The Wimbledon Synagogue, a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism, is a synagogue in the London Borough of Wandsworth at Queensmere Road, Wimbledon Park, on the boundary with the London Borough of Merton. Its Rabbi is Adrian Schell and its Chair is Ruth Bragman.
The Westminster Synagogue is an independent Jewish Progressive synagogue and community near Hyde Park, London. It is located in Kent House, a restored Victorian town house in Knightsbridge. The building, which dates from the late 1800s, also houses the Czech Memorial Scrolls Centre.
Maidenhead Synagogue is a Reform synagogue based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It serves Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding districts west of London in the Thames Valley area.
Danny Rich is a Labour councillor in the London Borough of Barnet. He was, until 2020, the Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom.
Alexandra Wright is a British Liberal rabbi who was appointed as the first female senior rabbi in England in 2004, as Rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John's Wood, London. She is President of Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom.
Finchley Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 101 Fallow Court Avenue, North Finchley, in the Borough of Barnet in London, England, in the United Kingdom.
Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 118 Stonegrove, Edgware, in the Borough of Barnet, London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation is a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism and was formed in 2017 as a result of the merger between the Edgware & District Reform Synagogue and the Hendon Reform Synagogue communities. The merged community is located on the site of the former Edgware & District Reform Synagogue, and it is the largest synagogue in Europe; with a membership base of 2,500 families.
Rabbi Curtis E Cassell, born Kurt Kassell, was a rabbi in Germany, the United Kingdom and Rhodesia. He came to the United Kingdom in 1939 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and became a British citizen in 1946.
New London Synagogue is a Masorti Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in St John's Wood, in the City of Westminster, London, England, in the United Kingdom.
Josh Levy is a British Reform rabbi and Chief Executive of the Movement for Reform Judaism—a post he has held since May 2023, and full time since November 2023.
