Rabbi Sender Deutsch, a leader of the Satmar Hasidic movement, returning from a visit to Hungary, reported today that the Hungarian government agreed to return to Jewish control a Jewish cemetery it confiscated 13 years ago.
Deutsch said the agreement followed intermittent negotiations during the 13 years and that it marked the first time any East European government has returned to a Jewish community a cemetery it had seized to be used for other purposes. Deutsch said the government had planned to use the burial site for a housing project.
The Satmar leader said he had brought with him documents signed by the Hungarian government returning the cemetery to the Jewish Community Council in Budapest. The cemetery is located in Ujhely, which is about 100 miles from Budapest. He said the transfer took place on August 16, and that the only stipulation required of the Jewish community was to maintain the cemetery and build a fence around it.
He said he had participated in the negotiations, along with Imra Haber, president, and Lajos Bakos, vice president of the Community Council. During the 13 years, the cemetery has been maintained by the Hungarian Jewish community with the help of the Satmar movement in America, he said.
A number of leading Hasidic rabbis are buried in the Ujhely cemetery, including the Yismach Moshe, Rabbi Moishe Teitelbaum, the grandfather of the late Satmar Rebbe, Joel Teitelbaum, and the great grandfather of the present Satmar leader, Rabbi Moishe Teitelbaum.
Declaring that the Ujhely cemetery is now in possession of the Hungarian Jewish community, Deutsch added that ownership is shared between that community and the Satmar community in Brooklyn.
He said Teitelbaum had visited the grave of his great grandfather in July to pray there, adding that the movement hoped the agreement with the Hungarian government would be “the beginning of an extended return of cemeteries and other Jewish properties, confiscated by East European governments, to Jewish groups in those countries.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
