Vomit and piss-soaked temples in Budapest’s Jewish quarter: locals may take a drastic step soon
Parts of Inner-Elizabethtown, known as the Jewish quarter, may join another district because initiators, including Róbert Frölich, the national chief rabbi, say the local Jewish community is beginning to find it unlivable due to dirt, human activity, and traffic. But will a change of mayor help the cause?
The allure of a successful mayor
The question has been with us for months; Tamás Soproni, mayor of Terézváros, would consider it a great honour if the area known as the Jewish quarter, the inner part of Erzsébetváros, voluntarily joined his district. According to Soproni’s opponents, he is a local patriot, living, born and raised in the district he leads, and after his 2019 election, he threw himself into work with enormous zeal.
His Facebook page shows he works with heart and soul, continuously and with youthful enthusiasm, reporting on his work and making many forward-looking initiatives. It’s no coincidence that in 2024, he was re-elected as the district’s leading figure with a brutal majority, almost two-thirds of the votes. He crushed his main opponent, pro-government Balázs Kovács.
Referendums may decide
It seems Soproni’s charisma and success have caught the attention of the Jewish quarter belonging to Erzsébetváros, because now none other than the national chief rabbi, Róbert Frölich, is fighting to have residents’ postal codes change from 7 to 6. The process could take years and may require at least two referendums: first, the residents of Inner Erzsébetváros express their opinion, then those of Terézváros decide whether to accept the “refugees”.
The 6th district already has a tradition of local referendums. Last year, the municipality banned short-term apartment rentals, commonly known as Airbnb, after a referendum with relatively low turnout. The resulting ban was upheld by the Kúria (Curia) after some back-and-forth two weeks ago.
- The Airbnb ban didn’t stop them: Budapest’s largest condo finds a loophole!
Mayor Niedermüller fights to keep the Jewish quarter
The mayor of Erzsébetváros does not seem as successful a local patriot in communication or career as Soproni. European Parliament member from DK from 2014 to 2019, he was reportedly sent as punishment by Gyurcsány Ferenc’s party to run in Erzsébetváros. In this strongly opposition-leaning city part, he won as the united opposition candidate in both 2019 and 2024, gaining a comfortable majority in the Representative Body.
However, he seems unable to solve public safety and cleanliness problems affecting all downtown districts. Although Niedermüller says they constantly negotiate with Jewish organisation leaders involving BKK and Budapest Közút experts, complaints do not decrease.
- Airbnb crackdown: Budapest’s party quarter bans short-term rentals
The 7th district mayor believes the problem would be solved if public transport for Inner Erzsébetváros’s mostly elderly, mobility-limited residents improved, so the idea of launching a shuttle route with electric minibuses has been raised.
The local council tightens up
The national chief rabbi sees it differently. As the Jewish organisations’ religious and social centres are here, it is important to make them accessible to the elderly. But even that is not enough, according to an Infostart.hu article. Róbert Frölich also complains about severe public cleanliness issues, for example, that the area around the Dohány Street Synagogue is regularly vomited and urinated around by tourists and locals. Frölich and György Szabó, president of the Hungarian Jewish Heritage Public Foundation, say the local government has not regulated the operating conditions of pubs and bars for years, nor enforced existing rules. They feel both the capital and the district have abandoned them.
“Here are our synagogues, the ritual bath, the restaurants, everything where religious people can continue their lives. We are tied to this place because of our religion, but we don’t want to leave; we want change,” said György Szabó earlier.
A rare step towards separation
But the Erzsébetváros Representative Body does not give up: in September, they decided not to let go of the area bordered by Károly Boulevard, Rákóczi Road, Erzsébet Boulevard, and Király Street.
Budapest has had cases where parts of districts joined others, but never voluntarily. The last major rearrangement was in 1950 during the creation of Greater Budapest, when Erzsébetváros lost the Keleti railway station, but this was by higher decree. Only Soroksár split from the 20th district after a 1992 referendum to become a new district in 1994. Such a thing cannot apply to the Jewish quarter case.
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Only the Reform sect of Judaism calls it a “temple,” and there are none of those in the Jewish Quarter. For the rest of us, they are synagogues.
Vomiting, urination, and sometimes worse are beyond disgusting. There need to be undercover officers patrolling all these areas. When they catch someone, doing it, fine him on the spot, wait for him to sober up, have him clean it, and ship him on the first plane out (it’s mostly tourists). If the perp should “accidentally” “run into a closed door” or such in the process, oh well, what are you gonna do!
“We must all RESPECT each other.
Everyone.”
Cardinal Peter Erdo of the Holy Roman Catholic Church of Hungary – be obedient and make a statement focused on the “teaching” – the words of Wisdom from Pope Francis.
This “rolls over” to the subject in principle of this article, respecting the places of worship of “others”.
DEMOCRACY – provides rightfully the freedom of religious practice – choice of COMMUNITY – and Hungarians and ALL of countrys that are Governed under DEMOCRACY must embrace and practice – RESPECT.