Bokony Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery in Bököny existed as early as 1842, since the earliest tombstone found in the cemetery dates to that year. The cemetery remained in operation until at least 1942—the year in which the most recent discovered tombstone was erected. In 2002, the cemetery was fenced by the Heritage Foundation for Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries, a few tombstones were restored, and a Holocaust memorial was erected.

Bököny is a village located in the southern part of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. The Jewish community was founded by the Chief Rabbi of Nagykálló. Approximately 5-6% of the inhabitants of Bököny were Jewish.

The Orthodox Synagogue was built 120 years ago. The Talmud school was set up in the foyer of the synagogue, which was in the centre of the village. Jewish children were educated in the village school. In 1880, among the town’s total population of 2019, 197 were Jews. In 1910, the Jewish population remained steady at 190. However, in the following decades, the Jewish community began to decline. In 1912, Judl Friedländer was the Chief Rabbi, while the community president was Menyhért Kardos. In addition to the main Jewish community management, there was a four-member board and a two-member supervisory board. In 1944, there were 76 people in the Jewish community, 13 of whom were taxpayers. The caretaker—a wholesaler by profession—was Menyhért Goldstein. There was no rabbi of the village. Rather, the Registrar Rabbi was József Rosenfeld. Bököny had a Chevra Kadisha (burial society) with 12 members which owned the watchman’s house in the cemetery and 1.24 acres of land.