Attempts by a handful of Reform adherents in Budapest to gain
recognition from the local Jewish community have failed. The
installation ceremony of a Reform "clergywoman" was boycotted
by the entire community, including the more modern Neologist
community.
Today, approximately 80,000 Jews reside in Budapest. Most
have a weak Jewish identity and preserve their ties with
Judaism by means of the Neologist temples. The Neologists
constituted the major part of Hungarian Jewry for many years
prior to the Holocaust, where they founded luxurious temples,
some of which were later renovated. One of them currently
maintains a Jewish museum with valuable exhibits.
Only a handful of Jews, mainly aging ones, remained loyal to
authentic Judaism.
The Reform today are British imports. Constituting a group of
50-100 people, they are assisted by the wealthy worldwide
Reform movement which seeks to gain a foothold in many Jewish
communities.
In a provocative measure, this group decided to install a
"clergywoman," Cathleen Kellman, who comes from an
assimilated family and studied in England. They sought to
hold the ceremony in a kosher hotel belonging to a chareidi
Jew from Israel. However Rav Hoffman, the Chief Rabbi of
Hungary, and Mr. Fixler, head of the community, along with
the Neologist community, foiled their plans. In the end, the
ceremony was held in the ballroom of the Hungarian Interior
Ministry.
The Jewish community is currently preventing the Reform from
occupying a synagogue which they used in the past as a
temple, and the group meets in a rented apartment. It is
hoped that Hungarian Jewry will continue to battle the
destructive intentions of the Reform, despite the money the
American Reform movement pours to it.
Also in Hungary, Pert Tordai has been elected President of
the Hungarian Jewish Federation. The appointment is for a 4-
year term. In his first interview since elected, Tordai
outlined ambitious plans for bringing ever-greater numbers of
Jews into the fold: particularly those who have long avoided
any formal Jewish affiliation.
Tordai, much like his predecessor, Pert Feldheimer, is a
representative of today's average Hungarian Jew, affiliated
with the Neologists and more interested in Jewish cultural
links rather than those with serious religious overtones.
According to local sources, Feldheimer hurt his reelection
chances when he scorned the World Jewish Congress and the aid
packages it has been offering to Hungary. In an interview
with the Jewish monthly, Zumbat, he stated, "It
matters little to us how the American Jewish organizations
view us." This politically damaging remark came to the fore
on election day itself, with predictable results.
Tordai, on the other hand, while expressing concern about the
insufficiency of WJC payments, promises to take up the matter
in a more discrete manner.
