You are at home: this is the website of the Union for Reform Judaism for Latin America, the regional chapter of the WUPJ, the most developed Jewish movement in the world. The core values of the UJR-AmLat are respect for human rights, social justice, caring for the planet, pluralism, equality and inclusion based on the study of Jewish tradition and culture.
On this website you will find what we think, what we do and how to get in touch with your closest reform community. It is also an easy way to get in touch with our rabbis and spiritual leaders: do not hesitate to write to them. And if there is still no Jewish reformist community in your country, contact us and let’s build it together.
In only a few years of development in Latin America, the UJR-AmLat already has congregations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru and we are working for new institutions to join our movement.
We call ourselves reform, progressive or liberal Jews in an indistinct way. Proud of our values and beliefs, we understand that judaism is not a system of closed laws and frozen in time that enforce what should or should not be done, but we realize that tradition and history inspire and stimulate the creation of new ways of living the Jewish experience in light of the ideals of the present.
We recognize in our tradition, the Torah, a value system that guides us and inspires Mitzvot, practices, that accentuate our commitment to respect the life of every human being in the world.
Reform Judaism welcomes intercultural and interconfessional families, anyone who identifies with Judaism regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or socio-economic reality. We firmly believe in equality: all members of our congregations are invited to join the cultural, religious and artistic activities that we develop. The reform communities have special programs to embrace and welcome members of the LGBT community.
We understand that genetic inheritance does not make the Jewish identity. In reform communities sons and daughters of intercultural marriages are recognized as Jews, in which at least one of the fathers or mothers is Jewish, regardless of their gender identity. We recognize that Jewish identity is the result of the education that the boy or girl receives and of the will to live as a Jew in his or her adult life. We are all Jews by choice.
Education is a central chapter of the UJR-AmLat. That is why in 2017 the IberoAmerican Institute for Reform Rabbinical Education (IIFRR) was created, which already has more than 30 students, with the purpose to educate and train rabbis and community leaders involved in the idiosyncrasies of the region. The IIFRR also has the mission to advise institutions in our network to help to support the principles that move the UJR-AmLat and to ensure the inclusion and participation of those who want to live the Jewish experience proudly without droping their values or giving up their diversity.
The effort training and developing new leaders encourages a main principle of our movement: education and knowledge is not exclusive to rabbis, study in the community is promoted, so that all members of our congregations could make decisions that allow them to live a Jewish life full of meaning, freedom and happiness.
The UJR-AmLat is promoter and leader in interreligious dialogue and action in every country where it has a presence. We are convinced that judaism can only grow in freedom if creates ways to meet with the communities in which it is inserted.
