Moving: The confiscated synagogue in Budapest reopened after 82 years

The historic synagogue in the Rákospalota district of Budapest has reopened after 82 years during which it served the Nazis and the Communists. In a moving ceremony on the eve of Yom Kippur, a Torah scroll was brought in and the restored building was inaugurated, following a comprehensive renovation costing millions of euros with the aid of artificial intelligence to restore the original decorations.

The historic synagogue in the Rákospalota district of Budapest has reopened after 82 years during which it was seized by the Nazis and later used by the Communists as a book warehouse. In a moving ceremony held on the eve of Yom Kippur, attended by hundreds of Hungarian Jews and descendants of its founder Rabbi Michael Yitzchak Dushinsky, a Torah scroll was brought into the renewed synagogue and the restored building was inaugurated. The comprehensive renovation, costing millions of euros, was carried out with the aid of artificial intelligence that restored the original decorations from a single remaining photograph. The main donor was philanthropist Igor Tulshinsky. The event is part of a broader process of reviving historic synagogues in Budapest led by the Chief Rabbi of Hungary, Rabbi Shlomo Kovesh. The synagogue, built 100 years ago, has returned to serve as an active prayer house, and on Yom Kippur prayers were already held there.