from the Shulchan Aruch by inventing new prohibitions, and denounced them as "pious fools" ('Chasid Shoteh'). On 5 February, progressive delegate Leo Holländer launched another tirade against the conservatives, asking "are the rabbis not wise enough to act without imitating methods from the lands of Bismarck?", a reference to Rabbi Hirsch's support of them. 48 delegates left the assembly permanently, claiming the implied allegation of accepting foreign meddling and lack of patriotism were a severe affront. On 16 February, the Orthodox sent Eötvös a letter of protest, stating they could not believe the King of Hungary and Parliament would sanction the Congress' decisions under such circumstances. It was the first mention of the possibility to intervene in higher circles, beyond the Minister. In the meanwhile, Hildesheimer and his supporters remained. They voiced their approval of simultaneous education, a position they claimed was motivated by patriotism and the wish to integrate; this earned them much credit in the general public opinion later. They also managed to prevent any debate about the seminar, stating that this, too, was a religious issue. On 23 February 1869 the Congress was dispersed, after most of the progressives' proposals were accepted and regulations for the new organization were approved. The Schism The secession On 24 March 1869, a group of Orthodox rabbis visited Emperor Franz Joseph I in the Buda Castle, requesting their followers be exempted from the regulations. Several activists warned of this move, noting he was now merely a constitutional monarch. The interview had no results, and the Emperor sanctioned the codex on 14 June. Elections for the local branches of the planned national body were to be held in October and November; the Guardians of the Faith launched a public campaign, exhorting "all those faithful to Judaism" not to participate in the process and announcing they intended to form an organization of their own, for they and the progressives belonged to two different religions. On 22 November 1869, a decree drafted by Chaim Sofer and signed by 27 other prominent Orthodox rabbis, including Schick, Benjamin Sofer, Zwabner, Jeremiah Löw, Meir Perls, Friedman and others, declared that "If we participate in the choosing of candidates, we accept the laws of the Congress, and will be considered bound in one congregation with them... Anyone who yearns to be a Jew according to the Holy Teaching, must not partake in these elections." Andras Kovacs wrote that