Hungary’s Magyars invite Netanyahu to Budapest despite ICC warrant, signals continued ties with Israel (news worth in-depth)

Stephen J. By Bose, Worth News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from Budapest, Hungary

Jerusalem/Budapest (meaningful news) – Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Peter Magyar, has reached out to the Jewish community and invited Israel’s government leader to Budapest despite an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Magyar told him he “intends to continue close relations between Hungary and Israel.”

Magyar invited Netanyahu to attend a ceremony marking 70 years of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against Soviet domination, with the office issuing a statement calling it “a warm introductory conversation.”

Netanyahu “welcomed his comments and accepted the invitation and invited Prime Minister-elect Magyar to a government-to-government (G2G) meeting in Jerusalem,” the statement, obtained by Worthy News, said.

It was unclear whether Netanyahu’s visit would raise legal issues, as Magyar indicated he wanted Hungary to rejoin the ICC after Viktor Orbán withdrew Hungary from the court to make a previous visit by the Israeli Prime Minister possible. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes related to the armed conflict against Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu has vehemently denied wrongdoing and Orban has called the allegations politically motivated.

icc questions

However, Netanyahu “expressed confidence that the warm relations he shared with outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will continue during Prime Minister-elect Magyar’s tenure,” his office said. “The leaders agreed that their respective foreign ministers will meet soon to discuss continuing close relations between Israel and Hungary.”

Magyars also joined the 100,000 Jews living in Hungary, the largest Jewish community in east-central Europe, as they took part in a central ceremony marking Hungary’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day this week. Approximately 600,000 Hungarian Jews died in the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, during World War II.

Wearing a kippah, the traditional Jewish hat, Magyar was seen taking part in an emotionally packed ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest, where he placed a stone near a wall bearing the names of Jews murdered by the Nazis and their supporters.

He earlier told reporters that his government would continue a policy of “zero tolerance” toward anti-Semitism. He said, “With regard to relations between Israel and Hungary, I can say that there is clearly a special bond. Many of our Hungarian compatriots live in Israel, and many Israeli citizens visit Hungary.”

“Hungary is home to a strong Jewish community, one of the largest in Europe, which fortunately lives in peace and security,” he said. Magyar pledged, “Hungary has a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of anti-Semitism, and this will continue in the future.”

zero tolerance

“At the same time, we will not act like the Orbán government in various propaganda publications,” he said in an apparent reference to posters condemning George Soros, a Hungarian-born Jewish financier who survived the Holocaust.

Posters put up around Hungary in 2017 showed a smiling Soros with the words, “Don’t let Soros have the last laugh.” A Worthy News reporter who questioned alleged anti-Semitism was put on a government-backed blacklist of journalists considered anti-Hungarian and Soros-paid agents.

During the multimillion-dollar government campaign, at least some Hungarian Jews feared that overt or covert anti-Semitism lay behind the message. Orbán, who once received a Soros scholarship, strongly denies the allegations and, in recent years, has established closer ties with Israel.

Additionally, Orbán supporters, including some Jewish commentators, suggest that the Magyars should play a greater role in relation to the Jewish community in Hungary. Brian E. Leeb in The Jerusalem Post newspaper wrote, “International media outlets and political opponents have spent years labeling him ranging from illiberal to authoritarian. But on the question that matters most to Jewish families – security – there remains a huge gap between Hungary and much of Europe.”

Leeb, a former US Republican congressional candidate and current CEO of the conservative Henry Public Relations Agency, said Orbán’s government had protected the Jewish community through its anti-immigration policies. “In countries where leaders talk enthusiastically about tolerance and diversity, Jewish citizens often feel the least safe. In Hungary, where the government unapologetically prioritizes national security and cultural stability, the Jewish community feels the safest in Europe.”

orban legacy

Orbán said, “It was understood early on that importing large numbers of individuals from areas where anti-Semitism is deeply rooted poses a real risk to Jewish communities. His government’s firm stance on border security was not rooted in hostility, as critics often claim, but in a responsibility to protect Hungary’s citizens, including its Jewish population.”

Additionally, “Hungary has consistently stood with Israel on international forums when others wavered. This alignment was not accidental. It reflects a broader worldview that sees the security of Jewish communities as non-negotiable,” Leeb said, stressing that he has actually seen Orbán smile when entering a synagogue.

With the 45-year-old Magyar soon to take over as Hungary’s next prime minister, the Jewish community has extended an olive branch to him in the hope that he will continue to protect them in turbulent times.

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