After the 1844-46 synods, the term "Liberal" substituted the formerly common "Reform" to denote the relative moderation maintained in communities which remained unified.

The publication work of the union began in 1997 with Seder ha-Tefillot, the Jewish prayer book by Jonathan Magonet in cooperation with Walter Homolka, translated from the Hebrew by Annette M. Böckler.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) rejected the association and insisted on a single representative voice for Jewish organisations.

Mühlstein called for financial equality between the Liberal Jewish organisations regarding the distribution of 3 million Euros of state funding annually, set by a contract with the government.

On 20 November 2005 two Jewish State Associations with numerous congregations of the Union were absorbed into the Central Council, after the status of a corporate body of public rights was conferred to them.