The recent scandal at ELTE could have profound consequences for thousands of international students studying in Hungary. On 16 October, Alexander Yakobson, a historian from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was silenced at the university when security forces failed to restore order, forcing the suspension of his lecture. Two ministers and the university rector demanded accountability in response.
Lecture disrupted by protests
The historian’s lecture series was titled “Diverzitás és demokrácia az izraeli társadalomban”, currently still available on ELTE’s website, although due to the disruption on 16 October only two of the three sessions could be attended online. The issue began when some students attending the first session appeared wearing keffiyehs and proceeded to shout that the lecture was political propaganda supporting Israeli genocide.
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Neither the lecturer, the other attendees, nor the university’s security could calm the disturbance, so the lecture was eventually halted. The second and third parts took place exclusively online.
After this chaotic disruption, two ministers and the university rector condemned the events in strong statements and promised an immediate investigation.
Stricter rules for international students in Hungary
Following these events, Balázs Hankó, Minister of Culture and Innovation, announced today plans to tighten the contract conditions for the Stipendium Hungaricum, a generous Hungarian state scholarship programme. After the changes, all recipients would be required not to jeopardise Hungary’s peace and security. For example, no student would be allowed to disrupt university lectures with outbursts. This order came after it emerged that one of the troublemakers was an international student, reported by index.hu, though their origin remains undisclosed.
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At a pro-Israel conference organised by the Centre for Fundamental Rights, Minister Hankó stated that students studying in Hungary are “rightly expected to respect the laws and community standards of our country.” He also announced that the implicated student’s scholarship would be revoked.
Stipendium Hungaricum: Hungary’s generous support for talented international students
The Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2013 to internationalise Hungarian higher education. Based on enrolment numbers, it also serves as a PR project to boost the government’s and the country’s international relations.
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As reported by Magyar Hang in December 2023, over 12,000 students participate in the programme, which not only covers their tuition fees but also provides a monthly stipend (43,700 forints or doctoral scholarship) and dormitory accommodation. Participants come from 90 countries, attracted by Hungary’s world-class higher education despite its chronic underfunding and challenges, making our universities popular for foreign diploma seekers.
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Imagine coming to a foreign country and engaging in political activism. Insta-deport, surely!
And that they should’ve had their tuition paid by that country’s government adds insult to injury. Confiscate their valuables and ship ’em out, in short shrift!
Imagine being so intimidated by free speech while speaking about “democracy” and the only reaction you can say by actual free speech of students is “deport”.
Thank you, Gábor. I fully concur — Hungary in the era of Fidesz needs dissenting voices. She is too close already to what King Stephen deplored : A land in which only one tongue is heard.
Keep afraid Steiner. Such voices are more and more all around the globe.
Comrade Steiner, it is very brave of you to speak that international students should refrain from political activism.
The next logical step is to ban political activism from foreigners, to which you would be implicated and probably deported?
What amazes me is that from all the several students which protested the supposedly-zionist lecture, only ONE student was a SH scholarship holder…
lets not forget that Fidesz and Orban have been dismantling the SH program since 2021. How can a country pay for you to live and study, only for it to be extremely racist towards you and your kind, and then complain that scholarship holders go somewhere? I wonder why.
In Hungary both those pro Israel and pro Palestine have the right to express themselves freely. Mind it, Hamas does not equal Palestine and Palestinians! Many Palestinians have found refuge in Hungary just as Jews. Here they can and do live in peace with each other and with Hungarians, which should be protected. Free speech means that even those voices can be expressed which one does not like. The student creating the upheaval and his/her comrades are against free speech, supressing the right of free speech of the Jewish Professor, and they adtively seek to create trouble. Since this student and his/her comrades are not wlling to respect the laws of Hungary, they should be out of the country!
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