THE RACIAL OPTION IN MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT: THE CASE OF THE HUNGARIAN JEWS

Abstract

The paper focuses on the influence of the modern ideologies of nationalism and race on the formation of Jewish identity within Central European Judaism at the turn of the twentieth century. I examine the attempts of Neolog Hungarian Jews to re-invent themselves in the racially infused language of Hungarian society by histories of the Orient that demonstrated a racial compatibility. The article argues that in order to provide a foundation for their acceptance into Hungarian society Neolog Hungarian Jews engaged in Oriental Studies to argue that a separate Jewish race did not exist. The paper analyses the writings of Neolog intellectuals, based on archival materials, such as correspondence, rare documents, and journal articles from the Országos Szécsényi Library and the Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Library in Budapest, Hungary (which have been translated into English for the first time). Jewish race theories based on Orientalism are particular to Hungary but were not discussed because the experience of Jews in Vienna and Prague was considered to be the norm throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In order to have a fuller exposure to the Central European Jewish experience of the past we need to address the distinct Hungarian Jewish situation. This paper attempts to fill this void.