The beginnings of schism within the Jewish communities in Croatia: echoes of the Hungarian Jewish Congress (1868–69)

ABSTRACT

The legal autonomy in religious and ecclesiastical affairs enjoyed by the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia enabled the regulation of the status of Jews. Since representatives of the Croatian Jewish communities did not participate in the 1868–69 Hungarian Jewish Congress, its decisions were not formally binding upon them. Nevertheless, the Congress and its outcomes resulted in the separation of the local communities into Orthodox and Neolog ones, and the legal and political resolution of the pending issues pertaining to their split resulted in the application of the Congress’s decisions.

KEYWORDS:

• Neologs
• reforms
• Orthodoxy
• Croatian Jewish community
• Zagreb Jewish community

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. See Ljiljana Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica u Kraljevini Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji (1783–1873) doktorska disertacija, [Development of the Jewish communities in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia in the Period 1783–1873, PhD Dissertation]; University of Zagreb, 2007.

2. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 367–81, 411–8.

3. Gavro Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” [From the old times of the Zagreb Jewish community. Orthodoxy] Vjesnik kr. Hrvatsko-slavonsko – dalmatinskog Zemaljskog arkiva [Bulletin of the Royal Croatian Slavonian-Dalmatian State Archive] (Zagreb: Tisak kraljevske zemaljske tiskare, 1914), 102–16; see idem, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj: Iz starine zagrebačke općine. 1806–1845” [Contributions to the history of Jews in Croatia: From the old times of the Zagreb community, 1806–1845], Vjesnik kr. Hrvatsko-slavonsko–dalmatinskog Zemaljskog arkiva [Bulletin of the Royal Croatian Slavonian-Dalmatian State Archive] (Zagreb: Tisak kraljevske zemaljske tiskare, 1903), 89–104; idem, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine od osnutka do 50-tih godina 19. vijeka [A history of the Zagreb Jewish community from its founding to the 1850s] (Zagreb: Štamparija Gaj, 1939), 31–8.

4. Hereafter the ‘Congress’.

5. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 39–60, 78–86, 105–94, 207–45, 257–95, 311–65, 382–443; idem, “Ustroj i djelovanje ostalih vjerskih zajednica u Hrvatskoj u 19. stoljeću” [The Organization and activities of other religious communities in Croatia], in Temelji moderne Hrvatske, Hrvatske zemlje u „dugom“ 19. stoljeću [Foundation of Modern Croatia: Croatian Lands during the ‘long’ 19^th Century], ed. Vlasta Švoger, Jasna Turkalj, (Zagreb: Matica Hrvatska, 2016), 260–4; Mirjana Gross, “Židovi u Habsburškoj Monarhiji u 19. stoljeću” [Jews in the Habsburg Monarchy in the 19th Century], in 200 godina Židova u Zagrebu [200 Years of Jews in Zagreb] (Zagreb: Jevrejska općina Zagreb, 1988), 37–52.

6. Schwarz, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj: Iz starine zagrebačke općine, 99–100; Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 32–3, Jewish Bibliography Lexicon, http://zbl.lzmk.hr/?p=32 (accessed 12 November 2019).

7. Schwarz, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj: Iz starine zagrebačke,” 99; Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 183–8.

8. Moritz Goldmann, Erbauungsrede bei Einweihung neuen des Bethauses der Israeliten zu Agram am 25 September 1840 (Agram, 1840).

9. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 32–3; Schwarz, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj,” 99: “Agram,” Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums 10, no. 29 (1846): 427–8.

10. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 32–3; idem, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj,” 100–1; Janko Barlé, “Još nekoliko priloga k povijesti židova u Hrvatskoj,” [New informations on the history of Jews in Croatia] Vjesnik kr. Hrvatsko-slavonsko – dalmatinskog Zemaljskog arkiva [Bulletin of the Royal Croatian Slavonian-Dalmatian State Archive] (Zagreb: Tisak kraljevske zemaljske tiskare, 1909), 124–31. Aaron Palotta/Palota (Várpalota, 1776 – Zagreb, 1843) was rabbi of the Zagreb Jewish Community from 1809 until his death.

11. Schwarz, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj,” 99.

12. Schwarz, “Prilozi k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj,” 100; Croatian National Archives, Department of Religion and Education/Zemaljska vlada-Odjel za bogoštovlje i nastavu, (HR-HDA-80), box 30/1892, document 10 (5475/1873).

13. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 104–5; idem, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 35; Harriet Pass Freidenreich, The Jews of Yugoslavia, A Quest for Community, (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979), 41. At the end of the eleventh century, king Ladislaus of Hungary established a Croatian bishopric, known as Kaptol, adjacent to the fortified Slavic town, then called Gradec. After the Tartar invasion of 1242, Gradec became a royal free city, noted for its fairs and handicrafts in addition to being an administrative centre. The two entities, the civil Gradec and the ecclesiastical Kaptol, continued to maintain a separate existence until 1850, when they officially merged with other nearby districts to form the city of Zagreb.

14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juraj_Haulik (accessed 12 November 2019).

15. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 35; HR-HDA-80, box 30/1892, docum. 7 (3156/1871).

16. Barlé, “Još nekoliko priloga k povijesti Židova u Hrvatskoj,” 129; Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 34–5.

17. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,“ 103–5; Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 183–8, 284–6.

18. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 103–5; Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 183–8, 284–6; Freidenreich, The Jews of Yugoslavia, 45–6.

19. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 103–5; idem, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 35–6.

20. Ibid.

21. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 103.

22. Barlé, “Još nekoliko priloga k povijesti židova u Hrvatskoj,” 126.

23. HR-HDA-103, box 137/1846/1847, docum. 3369/1846.

24. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 15; Barlé, “Još nekoliko priloga k povijesti židova u Hrvatskoj,” 124–31.

25. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 35.

26. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 37; Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” [Supplements to the history of the Zagreb Jewish community. Orthodoxy], 104.

27. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 103–8; Literaturblatt des Orients 8, no. 21 (1847): 21. According to some sources, there were 24 Jewish families under Episcopal jurisdiction, and they were joined by two others who lived in the Zagreb area, and two from the city jurisdiction.

28. Ibid.

29. Michael K. Silber,”The Social Composition of the Pest Radical Reform Society (Genossenschaft für Reform im Judenthum), 1848–1852,” Jewish Social Studies, n.s., 1, no. 3 (1995): 99–128.

30. Gyula Diamant, “A zsidók története Horvátországban az egyenjogúsításig” [History of the Jews in Croatia until the Emancipation], Évkönyv, kiadja az Izraelita Magyar Irodalmi Társulat (Budapest, 1912), 293–341, here 325; Ljiljana Dobrovšak, Židovi u Srijemu. Od doseljenja do Holokausta. [The Jews in Srijem. From immigration to the Holocaust] (Vukovar, 2017), 67–8.

31. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 109; idem, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 30.

32. Schwarz, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 37.

33. Lavoslav/Leopold/Lipót Rokonstein/Rockonstein, rabbi (Paks, 1822 – Bucharest, 1872). Between 1874 and 1848 he was a rabbi at Congregation Oradea (Nagyvárad); Between 1850 and 1858, he was a rabbi in Zagreb. Afterwards he held teaching positions in Nagykanizsa and was appointed rabbi of Szombathely in 1865. In 1861, he founded the first Jewish newspaper in Hungary Magyar Izraelita, which was distributed by the ‘Hungarian Jewish Society’. In 1871, he was elected rabbi of Bucharest and served as preacher of the Choral Bucharest Synagogue. http://zbl.lzmk.hr/?p=1796; https://www.arcanum.hu/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Bona-bona-tabornokok-torzstisztek-1/hadnagyok-es-fohadnagyok-az-184849-evi-szabadsagharcban-2/r-190A/rokonstein-lipot-19ED/; http://www.elib.hu/04000/04093/html/(accessed 12 November 2019).

34. Schwarz, „Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 112–3; idem, Povijest zagrebačke židovske općine, 38.

35. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 284–6.

36. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 328–32; Slavko Goldstein, 1941. godina koja se vraća, (1941. The year that comes back) (Zagreb: Novi Liber, 2007), 151.

37. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 328–32.

38. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 328–32, eadem, Židovi u Osijeku od doseljavanja do kraja Prvoga svjetskog rata [The Jews in Osijek from the Early Settlement until the End of the World War I] (Osijek: Židovska općina Osijek, Čarobni tim, 2013), 79–81, 89, 95–100; idem, Židovi u Srijemu, 90–100.

39. Dalibor Čepulo, Hrvatsko-ugarska nagodba i reforme institucija vlasti u Hrvatskom saboru 1868–1871 (The Croatian-Hungarian Compromise and Reforms of the Organization of Powers in the Croatian Diet 1868–1871), Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Rijeci vol. 1 (Rijeka, 2002), 117–48. The Croatian-Hungarian Settlement (Agreement) was a pact signed in 1868 that governed Croatia’s political status as a territory of Hungary until the end of World War I. While explicitly stating that Croatia was a component part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Settlement recognized the region as a distinct political unit with its own territory. It permitted the Croats to elect their own legislative Sabor (Parliament) and have their own executive authorities. In addition, Croatian became the official language of the land. Despite the large degree of internal autonomy granted by the Settlement, it designated that the governor (ban) of Croatia was to be nominated by the Hungarian prime minister and appointed by the king; it also restricted Croatia’s representation in Hungary’s parliament as well as its access to the central government institutions of the Dual Monarchy. As a result, Croatia’s control over some matters vital to its interests, e.g. taxation and budgetary matters and foreign and military policies, was minimal. https://www.britannica.com/event/Nagodba (accessed 11 February 2020).

40. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 386–92.

41. “Aufruf an meine Glaubensgenossen im dreieinigen Königreiche,” Der Syrmier Bote 1, no. 21 (1868): 2–3; “Tages-Neuigkeiten,” Der Syrmier Bote 1, no. 24 (1868): 5; Diamant, A zsidók, 44; Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 387.

42. Salomon Blum, “Vom israelitischen Landeskongresse,” Der Syrmier Bote 1, no. 34 (1868): 4–5; Salomon Blum, “Der israelitische Landeskongress,” Der Syrmier Bote 1, no. 35 (1868): 3–5; Az 1868. deczember 10-dikére összehívott Izraelita Egyetemes Gyűlés naplója. Gyorsírói feljegyzések szerint [Protocols of the Israelite General Assembly convened on 10 December 1868. According to stenographic transcripts] (Pest, Pesti Könyvnyomda Részvénytársulat, 1869), session 6, 9–11; Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica 387.

43. “Ugarska,” [Hungary] Narodne novine 34, no. 41 (1868): 3; “Ugarska, Iz izraelitiske konferencije” [Hungary, From the Jewish Conference] Narodne Novine 34, no. 51 (1868): 2; Nathaniel Katzburg, “The Jewish Congress of Hungary 1868–1869,” in Hungarian-Jewish Studies, ed. Randolph L. Braham, (New York, World Federation of Hungarian Jews, 1969), vol. 2, 1–33.

44. On the Hungarian Jewish schism, see also: Jacob Katz, A House Divided: Orthodoxy and Schism in Nineteenth-Century Central European Jewry, trans. Ziporah Brody (Hanover: Brandeis University Press, 1998), 31–85; Howard Lupovitch, “Between Orthodox Judaism and Neology: the Origins of the Status Quo Movement,” Jewish Social Studies, 9, no. 2 (2003): 123–53; Thomas Domján, “Der Kongreß der ungarischen Israeliten 1868–1869,”, Ungarn-jahrbuch 1 (1969): 139–62; Menachem Keren-Kratz, “The politics of Jewish Orthodoxy: The case of Hungary 1868–1918,” Modern Judaism 36 (2016): 217–48.

45. Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica [Development of the Jewish communities], 411–17.

46. “Posvećenje izraelitičke bogomolje” [The Consecration of the Synagogue], Novi Pozor 1, no. 31 (1867): 3–4.

47. Snješka Knežević, “The four synagogues,” Voice of the Jewish Communities in Croatia (Zagreb, ŽOZ, 1998): 30–2; Zlatko Karač, “Synagogue architecture in Croatia in the age of Historicism,” Voice of Jewish Communities in Croatia, No.3, (Zagreb, ŽOZ, 2000): 23–37. The Zagreb synagogue was a modernist synagogue in the Moorish style, like the large and imposing synagogues constructed in mid-nineteenth century cities and towns of central Europe. Its architecture was a synthesis of several stylistic elements, mainly Islamic, old Oriental, Byzantine and Venetian Gothic. The synagogue was demolished in 1942.

48. Isaac Noah Mannheimer (Copenhagen, 1793 – Vienna, 1865) Viennese preacher and creator of a moderate reform ritual. Born in Copenhagen, he was the son of a Hungarian hazzan. In his mature years in Vienna, he rejected radical Reform yet introduced some modifications in worship and ritual. He insisted on Hebrew as the language of prayer, retained the prayers for Zion and Jerusalem, did not incorporate organ music into the service, and vigorously defended circumcision as a ritual of fundamental importance. In creating the ‘Mannheimer-rite’ (or ‘Viennese rite’) he prevented a split in the community, and became a pioneer in this type of service in the communities of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia. His service was also imitated in some German communities. Despite his moderate Reform tendencies, Mannheimer was strongly attacked by the Orthodox community.

49. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 113; Dobrovšak, Razvoj židovskih zajednica, 411–7, Dnevnik sabora Trojedne Kraljevine Dalmacije, Hrvatske i Slavonije, 1868–1871 [The Diary of the Parliament of the Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia, 1868–1871] (Zagreb, 1871), 844, 847, 934; HR-HDA-80, box 30/1892, docum. 1 (1636/1870); docum. 3156/1871; box 31/1892, docum. 717/1873 (6757/1867; 5574/1867); Croatian National Archive, Presidency of the Land Goverment for the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, HR- HDA-78, box 27/1870, docum. 384/1870.

50. HR-HDA-80, box 30/1892, docum. 3156/1871.

51. HR-HDA-80, box 30/1892, docum. 1044/1872; Szervező Alapszabályzat Magyar- és Erdély-Ország autonom hittörvényhü Zsidó Hitfelekezete Számára (Pest, 1871).

52. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 113; HR-HDA-80, box 30/1892, docum. 10. (5475/1873).

53. Schwarz, “Iz starina zagrebačke izraelske općine. Ortodoksi,” 114.

54. Hugo Kon, “Izraelitska bogoštovna općina u Zagrebu,” [The Zagreb Israeli Religious Community] Godišnjak Izraelitske bogoštovne općine zagrebačke [Annual of the Zagreb Israeli Religious Community] 1927/28, (Zagreb, 1929): 21–31.

55. Kon, “Izraelitska bogoštovna općina u Zagrebu,” 28; „Zakon od 7 veljače 1906. o uredjenju izraelitskih bogoštovnih obćina,” [The Act of 7 February 1906, on the Organization of Israeli Religious Communities] Sbornik zakonâ i naredabâ valjanih za kraljevine Hrvatsku i Slavoniju. Godina 1906 (Zagreb, Tisak Kralj. zemaljske tiskare, 1906): 146.

56. Kon, “Izraelitska bogoštovna općina u Zagrebu,” 29.

57. HR-HDA-80, box 30/1892, docum. 31 (9643/1892); docum. 33 (14.496/1892); docum. 34 (14.588/1892); docum. 34 (10.073 ex 1892); docum. 36 (15.798/1892).

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Ljiljana Dobrovšak

Ljiljana Dobrovšak is a scientific adviser at the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb. She earned her MA and PhD in history at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her primary areas of research are the history of Jews in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the cultural history of World War I. She is the author of five books, editor of five more and of one exhibition catalogue, as well as author of 66 papers in academic journals and publications.