Leader of Hungarian Jewish organization is in Israel, met Israeli leaders amid war

The head of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), Andor Grósz, met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Thursday, and expressed the solidarity of Hungarian Jews with the plight of the war-torn country.

Grósz and Herzog discussed the current affairs of Jewish diasporas worldwide, the latest developments of Israel’s war against Hamas and the aid Hungary is providing for Israel.

Herzog praised Hungary’s consistent stance in standing up for Israel, and said that while other countries have seen a surge in anti-Semitism, “Jews … can continue to practise their religion freely in Hungary.” They also touched on the possibility of Herzog visiting Hungary later this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the Hungarian Holocaust.

During his five-day visit, Grósz met Minister of Defence Benny Gantz and Gideon Sa’ar, a minister without portfolio appointed after the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, to discuss the state of the war against Hamas.

Grósz also visited the Be’eri kibbutz near Gaza, a site of the massacre, delivered a donation collected by Hungarian Jewish communities and expressed his sympathies to the community for the suffering they had seen since the start of the war.

He also met Yuli Edelstein, the head of the Knesset’s foreign affairs committee, and former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman.

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