‘Hungary is a true friend of Israel. I wish the fight against antisemitism and the situation of Jews in Europe would be like it is here in Hungary, thanks to your leadership and politics,’ Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz expressed his appreciation to Hungary in a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel Israel Katz visited Hungary recently for the first time since he took up office and met with President of Hungary Tamás Sulyok, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, and the leaders of the Hungarian Jewish communities. The main reason for the visit was that Hungary would soon take over the presidency of the EU, and in this regard, talks were necessitated to determine
how the Budapest and the Union would take action against anti-Israel efforts in the next six months.
The Hungarian officials reaffirmed the country’s unwavering support for Israel during Katz’s visit. Péter Szijjártó ensured Israel Katz that Hungary has a clear position about the crisis in Gaza, saying that ‘terrorism and terrorist organizations must be defeated, the hostages must be freed, and the lives of civilians must be protected.’
In the meeting with Israel Katz, Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok stressed that Hungary has consistently supported Israel’s right to self-defence. The president strongly condemned the 7 October attack by Hamas and the activities of the terrorist organization. He also expressed his optimism about the steps taken by Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The president added that he hopes to welcome the State of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to Hungary this year.
In a joint press conference, Péter Szijjártó called it a worrying development that anti-Semitism is becoming more and more widespread in the West. He claimed that
this is the result of Europe’s absolutely irresponsible immigration policy.
‘In Hungary, such scenes, such antisemitic, anti-Israel scenes, demonstrations, university riots as we see in Western European countries or the United States are unimaginable,’ the minister stated as a response to the international phenomenon of anti-Semitism. He also assured his Israeli counterpart and the Jewish community that ‘in Hungary, the possibility of peaceful and safe coexistence is absolutely guaranteed for the Jewish community, for our Jewish compatriots.’
Péter Szijjártó further explained Hungary’s position on the Gaza conflict. First, 7 October should never be repeated anywhere, so the international community must defeat the terrorist groups. Second, he emphasized the immediate release of all hostages. ‘I think that there is no place for any conditions,’ he underlined. In this regard, he pointed out that out of the five Hungarian citizens captured, three have already returned home, one person unfortunately died, and another one is probably still alive, and hopefully, he can be released as soon as possible. ‘Sparing civilian lives is the third cornerstone of our position. We find it shameful and cowardly for terrorist groups to use people as cover or as shields; we find it to be simply wrong. This is intolerable, and we expect that civilian lives will be kept as safe as possible,’ he stated. Finally, he emphasized that everything must be done to prevent the escalation and further spread of the conflict, because that could engulf the entire region in flames.
Péter Szijjártó also expressed his concerns about the treatment of Israel by international organizations in relation to Hungary’s upcoming presidency of the European Union. ‘Hungary has always stood by the fact that Israel deserves fair and equal treatment by international organizations. We have always prevented unilateral, biased anti-Israel outbursts and statements, and we will, of course, continue to do so in the future,’ he stated during the joint press conference.
‘It is extremely upsetting that we receive criticism of antisemitism from countries and ambassadors of countries who should at least remain silent in this situation,’ he noted. Péter Szijjártó also recalled that the Israeli national football team chose Hungary as its home field and played its last official matches here. ‘I would like to assure our Israeli friends that as long as it is necessary for Israel to find its home ground abroad, Hungary is available,’ he highlighted.
The Hungarian foreign minister also remarked on how Hungary would like to assist in resolving the Gaza crisis while holding the EU presidency. ‘When we take over the Presidency of the European Council, we will strive to restore cooperation between the European Union and Israel on the basis of mutual respect,’ he emphasized. ‘In the spirit of this, we are preparing to organize a meeting of the association council between the European Union and Israel during our presidency,’ he added.
The minister pointed out that at least thirty locations across the globe are experiencing armed conflict, with the war in Ukraine and the situation in Gaza being the two most dangerous. He emphasized that although the latter is physically farther away, Hungary is still directly connected because many people of Hungarian origin live in Israel, and several of them were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in October last year.
During his visit to the Jewish communities, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised the Hungarian government’s pro-Israel policy and pointed out that
Hungary is the only state in the European Union that consistently stands up for Israel
even against the other 26 member states. He also said to the leaders of the Jewish communities that it was a big disappointment for him when European politicians told him something different in private and something completely different in public, but this was not the case with his Hungarian colleague. He also praised the mutual support between the State of Israel and the Hungarian Jewish communities, saying that ‘Jews in Hungary can only be completely safe if there is peace in Israel. The Jewish communities in Hungary provide all the support for this. The support of Hungarian Jewry and the Hungarian government is very important for us.’
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