Raab (Hungarian, Györ)

Chief town of the county of the same name, possessing one of the oldest Jewish communities in Hungary. As early as 1490 a Jew named Simon, living in Raab, brought a suit against the municipality. In the sixteenth century the number of Jews in the place had largely increased, as is evidenced by the fact that the official records mention a "Jew street, facing the mountain." In the second half of the seventeenth century General Montecuccoli expelled the Jews from the town, admitting them to the fairs only. According to a census taken in the middle of the eighteenth century, about forty Jews were then residing in Raab.

The synagogue built in 1798 is still used. The corner-stone of the new synagogue was laid Oct. 15, 1869, and the building was opened Sept. 15, 1870. Among the institutions supported by the Jewish community are a grammar-school for both boys and girls, a Talmud Torah, a ḥebra ḳaddisha, a women's charitable society, and a society for the aid of the sick.

The list of rabbis who have officiated since 1803 is as follows: Abraham Schick, Eleazar Strasser, J. Salomon Freyer, Salomon Rauschburg, Gyula Fischer, and Moritz Schwarz, the present incumbent.

D. M. Sz.