The beginnings of schism within the Jewish communities in Croatia: echoes of the Hungarian Jewish Congress (1868-69)

Abstract

The legal autonomy in religious and ecclesiastical affairs enjoyed by the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia enabled the regulation of the status of Jews. Since representatives of the Croatian Jewish communities did not participate in the 1868-69 Hungarian Jewish Congress, its decisions were not formally binding upon them. Nevertheless, the Congress and its outcomes resulted in the separation of the local communities into Orthodox and Neolog ones, and the legal and political resolution of the pending issues pertaining to their split resulted in the application of Congress’s decisions.

Zakonska autonomija u vjerskim i crkvenim poslovima koju je uživala Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija omogućila je reguliranje položaja Židova. Budući da predstavnici hrvatskih židovskih općina nisu sudjelovali na Mađarskom židovskom kongresu 1868-69., njegove odluke za njih nisu bile formalno obvezujuće. Ipak, Sabor i njegovi ishodi rezultirali su razdvajanjem mjesnih zajednica na ortodoksne i neološke, a pravno-političko rješavanje neriješenih pitanja vezanih uz njihov razlaz rezultiralo je primjenom odluka Sabora.