Cellophane-wrapped zwieback may look for all the world like matzoh, but so long as it does not purport to be matzoh, it may be sold without hindrance.
So the Budapest authorities decided in a complicated case arising from the Altofen Jewish Community’s attempt to stop the sale of “Vitamin-Zwieback” on the ground that it resembled matzoh so much that Jews might be fooled into eating it on Passover.
The case ran almost the entire gamut of judicial appeals before it was decided in favor of Alexius Grunzweig and Moritz Marmorstein, two Jewish bakers of Altofen in the Gyor district who make their living in the manufacture and sale of the cellophane-wrapped “Vitamin-Zwieback.”
When the product first made its appearance on the market last year, the Jewish Community obtained an order from a local police magistrate enjoining the bakers from manufacturing the food.
The bakers appealed to the district police head who reversed the previous decision. Both decisions were then appealed to the authorities in Budapest who rendered verdict in favor of the bakers.
But the case isn’t finished yet, The Jewish Community, not to be daunted, has brought the case to the attention of the Minister o# Commerce and the Minister of Interior whose final decision is eagerly awaited by all concerned.
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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.
