they determined to send the government a declaration that the traditionalists will not accept the Congress' decisions unless they would conform to the laws of religion as interpreted by their rabbis. It was Rabbi Moshe Schick of Huszt, who held no official position, who was the decisive factor in choosing this policy. From that moment he became the de facto leader of the Orthodox, and cooperated closely with Krausz. The plenary On 10 December 1868, the first sitting of the Congress was held in the Pesth County Hall, though it officially opened on the 14th. Hirschler, the leader of the modernists who was soon elected President, quickly assembled all delegates who could support his positions and formed the progressive wing of 122 representatives. Hildesheimer wrote in his memoirs that he believed 30–40 of those would have supported a moderate Orthodox agenda. The parallel traditionalist wing comprised 98, and Jeremiah Löw was elected its chairman. The immediate aims of the Congress were to decide the structure of the planned national Jewish organization, on how to implement the new compulsory education law within the Jewish communities and other administrative matters. The conservatives led a moderate line at first, fearing Eötvös would enforce the regulations. They soon abandoned this approach and turned to attempts to bring the Congress to deadlock by various means: among others, they requested that all rabbis in Hungary would sign an approval for the assembly, an act that would have required many months. Hirschler rebuffed these attempts. On 3 February 1869, the Orthodox issued an ultimatum, signed by 88 delegates, which stated that the assembly must declare that all its decisions would be based on the "Torah and Talmud, as they are interpreted in the Shulchan Aruch." Jacob Katz believed this was aimed to demonstrate their religious freedom was jeopardized, thus providing a cause to withdraw from the council. Schick, in his later report on the Congress, wrote the Orthodox were forced by law to participate with the "Sabbath desecraters", and when the ultimatum was presented, "the President promised mendaciously they will not act against the Torah, but who would be duped to trust him." Hirschler refused to bring the issue to a vote, declaring this was a religious matter and it was not in their authority. Rabbi Jacob Steinhardt of Arad, a leading Neolog, delivered a speech attacking the other party. He claimed they were those who strayed