Orthodox rabbis denounced Reform Jews to the Prussian government as political radicals

Evidence

The Geiger-Titkin affair erupted in 1838 when the Breslau Jewish community sought to hire a new rabbi. When the community board announced that Geiger was one of the finalists, the Orthodox rabbi, Solomon Titkin, led the charge against the appointment of Geiger. Geiger eventually prevailed, becoming assistant rabbi in 1838. Thereafter, the dispute intensified, with the Orthodox faction denouncing Geiger to the government as a political radical, asking them to annul the election and withhold Prussian citizenship from Geiger, and seeking to have the authorities prevent him from publishing. Titkin’s refusal to work with Geiger led to his being suspended from duties and precipitated an official schism in the community. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 1015

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Connects to the pattern of religious/identity factions leveraging state power against rivals, a theme in ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ where dress moral panics were similarly class/political signaling.