Proposal and Timetable

What has happened so far?

In April 2023, the Boards of the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and Liberal Judaism (LJ) announced that they would be working together towards the creation of a new Movement working on behalf of all the Progressive Jews of the UK.

In the period since then, extensive work has been carried out including a comprehensive feasibility study looking at the future of the organisations and their collaboration. This has included:

• ‘In principle’ conversations about the idea of a new movement with communities across the UK.
• Financial and legal due diligence exercises.
• Close examination of key aspects of a new movement, including identifying areas of difference and challenge.
• The professional teams of the two movements beginning to work together.

There has also been a great deal of work to establish the legal process by which the proposed combination should take place.

The work has been overseen by an Advisory Board drawn from across the two movements and beyond, chaired by Dr Ed Kessler, Founder President of the Woolf Institute and longstanding member of synagogues in both movements.

In November 2024, the Advisory Board recommended to the Boards of the two movements that we proceed with a full legal combination of the two movements and presented a timetable for this process. In December, the two Boards of Trustees each unanimously agreed to recommend this to the members of the movements (which in both cases are the member communities).

Overview of the Proposal

The Boards of LJ and MRJ are recommending to their members (the communities) that there be a full legal combination of the two movements. This will involve:

•  The creation of a new Company Limited by Guarantee, to be registered with the Charity Commission.
• Authority being given to the current Boards to transfer the assets, liabilities and activities of the two existing movements to the new company when it has been recognised as a charity by the Charity Commission.
• Changes to be made to the governing articles of the two existing movements so they are no longer member organisations, and are subsidiaries of the new entity for a limited period before they are dissolved.

If the proposal is approved, all current members of LJ and MRJ that sign a membership agreement will automatically become members of the new entity on the day of transfer. The draft of the membership agreement has been sent out.

This proposal requires the consent of the member communities of LJ and MRJ. This will involve a formal vote on a ‘Special Resolution’ at Extraordinary General Meetings of the two existing movements before any further work can take place. According to Company Law, this will require 75% of the vote of the member communities in both movements, with voting according to their existing governing arrangements.

Timetable

Since this process began in spring of 2023, it has been a core focus of the leadership and staff of both movements. You can read about this work in the 16-page info booklet produced at the end of 2024.

It is therefore important that, if possible, the legal combination be completed during 2025 so we can refocus on the important task of working with and on behalf of our communities.

We estimate that approximately six months of work will need to happen after the EGMs take place. This will include further conversations with member communities, clergy and other stakeholders about vision and strategy for the new organisation. It is also possible that it will take a significant period for registration with the Charity Commission to be completed.

Therefore, in order that the combination can take place at the end of this year, we are intending that the EGMs of the two movements take place in mid-May 2025.

What happens next

Between now and mid-May 2025, the leaderships of full member communities will need to decide on how to use their community’s votes at the EGMs.

Information packs have been sent to all community leaderships. The packs contain the key foundational proposals for the new Movement, including FAQs, information on proposed governing and financial arrangements, and some of the core features of the organisation’s work. They also include the full proposed Membership Agreement and Articles and Rules.

Each community is different, and each community will know the best way to engage its membership in this important decision. The goal is that, when exercising the community vote, the community’s leadership feels confident it is reflecting the wishes of its members.

If anyone needs any further information or clarification on anything about the proposal or timetable then they should get in touch with us and/or attend our Open House online forums.