The United Hungarian Jews of America today released the text of a statement received from the Central Board of Jews in Hungary denying that religious education is being abolished in Jewish schools in Hungary and that the leaders of Jewish religious communities there are chosen by the Communist high command.
The statement was signed by the presidents of the Union of Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Congregations of Hungary, the Hungarian branch of the World Jewish Congress, the National Rabbinical Assembly of Hungary and the Central Board of Jews in Hungary. It emphasized that “religious instruction is obligatory in all schools in Hungary, religious endeavors are pursued with maximum intensity and Hungarian Jewry practices its religion with complete freedom.”
The statement declared that “no one is being persecuted for maintaining spiritual and other links” with Jews abroad. “As for the charge that Jewish religious leadership is chosen by the Communist high command, we assert that each and every congregation throughout the land enjoys complete de jure and de facto autonomy and that their leaders are elected by universal and secret ballot,” the statement added.
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.
