The Budapest-based conservative think tank Center for Fundamental Rights held its third annual International Pro-Israel Summit at the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday, 28 October. The inaugural event back in 2023 could not have taken place in a more crucial time for Israel: only a few days after the dreadful 7 October attacks by Hamas. That was two years ago by now, and the prospects for the region are now much different with the recent peace deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.
Miklós Szánthó, Director General for the Center, delivered the opening address at the event. He started with a fun little anecdote about Adolph Zukor, the Jewish-Hungarian American founder of the major film studio Paramount Pictures, hanging a sign on his office door saying: ‘Being Hungarian is not enough, but it helps’ for job applicants. The speaker pointed out that just like in the figure of Zukor, the Jewish–American–Hungarian alliance is alive and thriving today. The globalists do not like the sovereignist governments in Israel and Hungary, he continued, and they certainly disapprove of those governments having a strong relationship with the incumbent US President.
Mr Szánthó also stated that we, Hungarians, ‘know who we are’, which is why we are resistant to progressive manipulations; and that the same forces who push for escalation in Ukraine are also pushing for restraint for the Israeli forces in Gaza, in an act of hypocrisy. He went on to describe Hungary as ‘the only country with common sense in the EU’ as well as ‘Israel’s only reliable ally in the EU’. He also expressed his belief that President Trump can bring peace to the Middle East and Eastern Europe alike.
Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky of Hungary spoke next. He stressed that Hungary is ‘the country of perseverance, dignity, and faith’, and that ‘peace is the most noble form of bravery’. As for Israel, he described the Jewish state as ‘both a friend and strategic partner’, and paid homage to the victims of the 7 October attacks. The Minister also urged the European Union to ‘regain its clear vision of morality’ and stand firmly on the side of Israel in the conflict. On that note, he pointed out that no Hungarian organizations joined the so-called BDS boycott movement against Israel, and that Hungary remains the safest country in Europe for Jews, where the Israeli Football National Teams play their home games and the Israeli TV series about IDF soldiers Fauda was shot. Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky also shared that both Israel and Hungary are ‘small countries with great histories’.
Minister of Education Yoav Kisch of Israel, up next on stage, started his piece by thanking Hungary for its support for Israel in the wake of the 7 October attacks. He also lamented that the horrible offensive by Hamas turned the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah into a terrible tragedy, and pointed out that the Palestinian terror group still has not returned 13 dead hostages despite being mandated by the terms of the new ceasefire agreement.
‘Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky shared that both Israel and Hungary are “small countries with great histories”.’
Minister Kisch went on to state that Israel has risen from ‘the ruins caused by terrorism’, while also having to face baseless accusations of racism and genocide from progressives in the West. He also declared that the Israeli Defence Forces have ‘acted more morally than any other military in the world’ during their campaign in Gaza, where Hamas fighters used civilians as human shields.
The Minister welcomed Hungary for its zero tolerance policy for antisemitism and called Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ‘a true friend of Israel’. He also lauded President Trump for the decisive action he took in destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities in June of this year. However, on the flip side, he lamented the culture on university campuses in the West, where free speech is often answered with incitement to violence, which, the speaker believes, ultimately led to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. ‘Education is stronger than legislation,’ when trying to subdue antisemitism, Minister Kisch declared.
Political commentator and influencer Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, joined the Center’s Magor Ernyei for a ‘fireside chat’ next. Mr Netanyahu shared that Israel is in a lot better geopolitical position than it was before the 7 October attacks, when it was ‘surrounded by a ring of fire built by Iran’, referring to the threat of Hamas in Palestine from the West and the threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon from the North. However, as he pointed out, Hamas has been neutralized with no more rockets or invasion forces, and so was Hezbollah, with the famous pager attacks by Israel in September 2024.
The speaker also drew an important distinction: while almost everyone in Gaza supports Hamas, that is not the case for the Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon, where they are opposed by both the sizable Sunni and Christian minorities. When asked by Mr Ernyei about the adverse effects of mass migration into Western Europe, Mr Netanyahu answered: ‘Western Europe is in free fall.’ He pointed to the so-called no-go zones run by Muslim migrants in major Western cities, and told the audience that Jews have already fled from many of those cities.
He also warned that the deterioration happened fast in Western Europe, and Hungary could meet the same fate if the wrong people are elected into office.
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