Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism
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| Motto | There is more than one way to be Jewish |
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| Established | 1971 |
| Affiliations | World Union for Progressive Judaism, Israel Religious Action Center |
| Website | Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism |
The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (or the IMPJ, Hebrew: התנועה הרפורמית - יהדות מתקדמת בישראל) is the organizational branch of Progressive Judaism in Israel, and a member organization of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It currently has 40 communities and congregations around the state of Israel, 13 of which are new congregations, referred to as "U'faratztah" communities, and two kibbutzim, Yahel and Lotan, Israel.
Some of the earliest Reform rabbis to settle in what would become Israel included Rabbi Judah Leon Magnes, who was the first Chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in 1938, became its President. Rabbi Meir Elk, who graduated from the liberal Breslau Rabbinical Seminary in Germany (now in Wroclaw, Poland), founded the Leo Baeck School in Haifa.
The first Reform congregation in Israel opened in Jerusalem in 1958, and it was named Congregation "Har'el". A conference open to the public who wished to see a Jewish alternative to the Orthodox Movement took place in 1965. This strengthened the relationship between the six existing congregations, and served as the cornerstone for the establishment of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ). The IMPJ officially became an organization in Israel in 1971. The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the rabbinical college of Reform Judaism, began its Rabbinical Studies program in Israel in 1974, and in 1980, the first Reform rabbi was ordained by the HUC. The headquarters of the World Union for Progressive Judaism was moved to Jerusalem in 1973.
Today, there are 40 communities and congregations affiliated with Reform Judaism in Israel. The IMPJ runs about 40 kindergartens, school-run educational programming; "Noar Telem", the Reform Movement youth organization, a part of Netzer Olami; and the Youth Adult and Students Forum for 20- to 30-year-olds, as well as four Batei Midrash, Jewish study centers. The first Reform kibbutz, Yahel, was founded in 1976 in Arava, and Lotan was founded in 1983. Har Halutz was established in Galilee in 1985.
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