Hungarian Mayors Pay Tribute to Jewish Citizens on High Holidays

(J. T. A. Mail Service)

Mayors of several Hungarian towns have issued messages to the Jewish population in connection with the High Holidays, in which they speak highly of the services rendered by Jewish citizens to Hungary and of their patriotism to their fatherland.

The Lord Mayor of Budapest, Dr. Franz Ripka, writes: “The energies maintained by the Jews in the face of indescribable difficulties for centuries past represent values which must stand high in the eyes of all who look at facts with a sober eye. The Hungarian nation, too, is passing at present through a very serious crisis. I am convinced that the Hungarian Jews can render great service to the fatherland if their abilities are placed at the disposal of the national cause.”

In his message Dr. Koloman Bencs, the mayor of Nyiregyhazs, declares: “According to the records of our town, the first Jewish merchant to settle here after the re-settlement of the town in 1753, came in 1840. Since that time to the present day, the Jewish population has lived in completed harmony and in the best relations with the rest of the population. They fought together with us in the War of Liberty of 1848, suffered with us in the terrible epoch of absolutism, hoped with us in the revival of the sixties and worked with us in the development and beautification of our town.”

Mayor Alexander Hodobay of Miskolc declared: “The Jewish citizens of the town of Miskolc, our records show, fought with us in the War of Liberty of 1848, and in the Great War, proving their patriotism by laying down their lives and shedding their blood.”

The Mayor of Kaposbar, Dr. Georg Vetek, stated: “Of the patriotism of the Jews of Kaposbar, I want to say that as in every other town, the Jews in our town gave their heroes who fell on the field of honor.”