For Hungarian Jews, the primary challenge is to revive the thriving community spirit that was destroyed by the Nazis. Prior to World War II, Hungary was home to about 800,000 Jews, who enjoyed an integral role in science, culture and the economy. About 600,000 Hungarian Jews died during the Holocaust. Soon after the war, communism and its four decades of anti-religious doctrine prompted many Jews to retreat further from their religious beliefs. Now, little more than seven years after the fall of communism, one of the community's top challenges is to bring tens of thousands back into the fold.
Organizers hope to bolster the community through youth programs.
But untold thousands of Hungarian Jews continue to hide their identity, or are unaware of their Jewish roots because their parents concealed it from them. Another issue confronted by the Buncher program is fund-raising. The old approach of going door to door with the hand extended no longer works. Leaders now must sell donors on specific programs. All rights reserved.