Minister Eötvös’s alliance with Neolog Jewry in Hungary and his defeat at 1868–69 Jewish Congress

Abstract

ABSTRACT Considering the importance of Minister Baron József Eötvös (1813–1871) in the study of Jewish history and tradition in Hungary, this article undertakes a thorough revision of his life and activities. It focuses on a critical point in his Jewish policies: the 1868–69 Jewish Congress. The first part of the article analyzes Eötvös’s pre-1848 thinking and activities in the context of the social and political pressure on Jews in the interest of integration. In the second section, the article teases out various dimensions of his pro-Jewish reputation through a historical reconstruction of the myth-making. In light of this re-evaluation of Eötvös’s reputation, I attempted to reconstruct the path of the 1868–69 Jewish Congress until the collapse of the minister’s project. In an approach to contextually analyze the minister’s conflict with the Orthodox and his alliance with Neolog Jewry, this article examines one of the reasons for the defeat of Minister Eötvös and the Neolog Congress faction by traditionalists, which involved the destruction of the myth surrounding the minister.