Hungarian Conservative

‘An important element of Viktor Orbán’s governance is that he knows Hungarian history and has learned from its mistakes. He does not want to repeat the sins committed by the historic Hungarian state during the 20th century. Hungary’s vision has thus not been blinded by the anti-Zionism of woke ideology, and it is able to recognize that Israel is the bastion of democracy and human rights in the Middle East, while successfully holding on to its religious and national traditions.’

As Itamar Eichner phrased in his Ynet News article, ‘Without the opposition from Israel’s friends in the EU, such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany, the EU might have already passed sanctions against Israel. Foreign policy decisions in the EU require consensus, which Israel’s allies prevent.’

The updated test will now include questions covering topics regarding the Holocaust, Jewish culture, and the state of Israel. This initiative, part of a broader revision of the citizenship test, aims to ensure that applicants have a comprehensive understanding of Germany’s complex history and its stance on Israel.

‘Is it any surprise that the recent Dutch national elections were won by Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party? Is it surprising that the Dutch are fed up with uncontrolled—and, frankly, uncontrollable—immigration? Who would want to live in a country where there are about three bomb attacks every day? Who would want to run a business or open a shop in such a country? Make no mistake: this is the future from which Orbán is trying to save Hungary.’

Péter Szijjártó held a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz this Monday, where they discussed the horrific attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas on 7 October 2023, as well as the subsequent increase in antisemitism in the West.

‘It’s really important to understand that we’re not operating military to military with ground rules and understanding of military bases in uniform as these terrorists are not wearing uniforms and are embedding themselves in schools, hospitals, public areas, kindergartens, homes, hiding weapons in those areas, making themselves and the people around them targets. So it’s a very, very complex situation to fight in. Secondly, I think that Israel understands not only the humane side but also that it’s important to allow more and more humanitarian aid to enter because our goal is to eliminate Hamas and not to harm the people of Gaza,’ IDF Staff Sergeant Nicki told Hungarian Conservative in a recent interview.

‘The progressive side has created a “Jewish question”. The left has discovered the concept of race, merged it with other dimensions of oppression (class, gender), and now they have made the Jews into a new oppressive caste alongside Christian Protestants. After 1967 they focused only on “Zionists” and “Israelis”; now the Jews of the diaspora are the opponents. They don’t even hide their intentions, attacking synagogues, looking for “enemies” who “look Jewish” in the classrooms and in the corridors. The attacks have nothing to do with Israel: they are intended to intimidate the Jewish American community.’

‘It is ironic…that the protesters, while having legitimate positions, have remained altogether silent on the atrocities committed by Hamas, to say nothing of their main sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran. In truth, ever since an estimated 750,000 Palestinians lost their homes amidst the creation of the State of Israel 1948, there have been American Jews deeply unsettled by Israeli policies toward both the Palestinian refugees and Arabs living under Israeli rule. These critics of old into the American Jewish establishment, such as leaders and staff members of the American Jewish Committee.’

‘Horrible wars are going on right at this moment in the world, and no one in the West seems to care that much. Why does something happening in the Middle East make such repercussions and make emotions run this high in Western universities? What is the ‘secret appeal’ of taking the side of the Palestinians in the Israel–Hamas war that inspired so many students in Ivy League schools to go out and protest in the way they did? May it be the case that it is the schools themselves that generate false narratives of the history behind this conflict to manipulate students into an inevitable conclusion?’

Marking 80 years since over 550,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, the 20th March of the Living was held in Budapest on 5 May. This year’s march also honoured those murdered during the 7 October Hamas massacre.

While the intensity of the widespread protests across the country obviously varies from university to university, students seem to have come a long way from peacefully expressing solidarity with Palestinian civilians and opposition to the war. The slogans accusing Israel of genocide, calling for a free Palestine and relativising Hamas’ atrocities are only the mildest versions of the chants repeated by the students. According to a Jewish-American student at Columbia University, he has heard chants on campus in recent weeks such as “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground’; “Globalize the Intifada”; “We are Hamas”; “October 7 will happen again and again”, and “Go back to Poland”.

‘The patterns that emerge from examples drawn from 150 years of terrorism and counterterrorism are clear. When a tactic works, it is copied and adapted to new times and new situations. Attacks on civilians, women and children strike terror and provoke governments to react. When governments overreact and kill large numbers of civilians, regardless of the provocation, governments lose support, lose legitimacy, and in the modern world, soon find both popular opinion and later the world community will turn against them, making ultimate defeat inevitable.’

According to General Avivi, Hamas’s brutal attack on 7 October in Israel was possible because of two terrible decisions: the Oslo Accords and the 2005 disengagement of Israeli troops from Gaza. The Oslo Accords implemented in 1994 resulted in the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the major cities of Gaza and the transfer of weapons and control to the Palestinian Authority. This decision resulted in Gaza, previously not considered a significant military issue, becoming a top security problem for Israel.

According to State Secretary for Assisting Persecuted Christians and Implementing the Hungary Helps Program Tristan Azbej the purpose of the meeting was for the Hungarian government to share its knowledge and experience regarding Hungary’s policy of aiding persecuted Christians.

Early in March Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli visited Hungary and met Hungary’s Minister for European Union Affairs János Bóka, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, several Hungarian Jewish community leaders, while also giving presentations on the Gaza War. Jews in Hungary can practice their faith in safety in contrast to many other European nations, he noted during his visit.

According to Ambassador Yacov Hadas-Handelsman the Gaza War is not just against Israel and it is not a political strife anymore, but a cultural and religious conflict.

‘Europe should have woken up already when millions of people swarmed through its borders, and absolutely nothing was done, with the responsible agencies simply welcoming migrants and not enforcing border control,’ Israeli security expert Or Yissachar told Hungarian Conservative.

Renowned Hungarian political analysts concurred on a recent talk show that US Ambassador David Pressman is a political activist rather than a diplomat.

‘Many Jewish citizens from European nations like Sweden are enduring levels of hostility that are non-existent in Hungary. In contrast, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, the current Israeli ambassador to Hungary, earlier this year named Hungary as one of the safest nations for Jews to live in. Furthermore, the Jewish community in Hungary is not only thriving, but also one of the largest in Europe.’

AFP is one of the three major global news agencies. Yet, in their paid photo library service, images of a major march against antisemitism that took place on 12 November in Paris, France are not available (or at least not searchable), but photos of a much smaller event happening on the same day, organized by the left-wing LFI party are. In addition, the results of search keywords related to the Israeli-Palestine conflict also give curious results.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, known as the son of Hamas’s co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, held a historic speech at the United Nations this week in which he stressed: ‘If Israel fails in Gaza, the rest of the world will be next’. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also highlighted in a Fox News interview that if Israel ‘doesn’t win now, then Europe is next’.

Two major British publications have alleged that the Hungarian government’s new billboard campaign promoting its national consultation, which depicts EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen along with Alex Soros, is actually antisemitic. That is despite the fact the Hungary has been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in the Palestinian conflict, while antisemitic demonstrations are on the rise in the West.

One thing is clear: it is ethically good to reject antisemitism and terror apologetics. Such basic uprightness does not conflict with critical reflections on a heterogeneous, power-unequal world—because genuine critical thinking has never caused anyone to become an anti-Semite or a terror apologist.

There is a group of people who will demand photos of Jewish victims and then, when they get them, rejoice in the fact of the killings. Meanwhile, one cannot forget that there is obviously a benign, uninformed majority that can be persuaded by either side, and Israel must not give up the possibility of persuasion.

While in recent weeks Europe was shocked by a series of violent antisemitic protests sparked by the events in the Middle East, the ones in Dagestan, Russia stand out, as they echo the dark history of pogroms.

‘The path to peace in the Middle East is clear and straightforward, it’s about having the political will…If we can envision a world in which world powers actively check the Islamic Republic regime or even support the Iranian people in their quest for freedom to overthrow this regime and return to Iran’s ancient noble history, we could eliminate 90 per cent of the destabilization in the region. From there, we would work towards more peace deals between Israel and its Arab neighbours, building on the successful model of the Abraham Accords.’

In his regular Friday morning interview, Orbán said the situation in Israel was a stark reminder of the value of peace and stability, and that elected leaders had a duty to protect it. Hungary, he said, had always opposed terrorism irrespective of which country was being targeted.

In his regular Friday morning radio interview, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán noted that sympathy protests for terrorists are taking place throughout Europe. By contrast, he declared, Hungary will not allow such demonstrations.

Following the barbaric attacks on Israel by Hamas, pro-Palestinian rallies are being held in Western countries with sizeable Muslim communities. Western governments are now faced with the challenge posed by the tension between the right to freedom of expression and the need to disallow the promotion of murder and violence.

In a recent op-ed published on NewsMax, CASEPAC Executive Director Bryan Leib expressed his conviction that support for Israel and the Jewish people ‘starts at the top,’ reminding that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tweeted his condemnation of the brutal attack by Hamas as soon as news of it broke. Orbán also stood up for Israel’s right to self-defence, he noted, stressing that all of this is refreshing, especially when he sees antisemitism growing in America, and thousands of Americans taking to the streets to support Hamas.