The Gaza hostage and ceasefire agreement is great news as this agreement brings the possibility of a peaceful life closer for people living in one of the world’s most war-torn regions, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Thursday.
Moreover, the agreement will also have a positive impact on global security, the minister added. “We express our respect and appreciation to the American, Egyptian and Qatari diplomats who participated in the mediation,” Szijjártó said. He called it unacceptable that dozens of hostages had been living separated from their families for more than 15 months, “so we call on all parties of the agreement to fully implement all stages of the agreement,” he said. “This finally paves the way for the hostage of Hungarian nationality who is still in captivity to return to his family,” Szijjártó said.
Ceasefire? 70 people died since the announcement
According to the report of The Guardian, at least 70 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes since the announcement of the ceasefire in Gaza. The air strikes shook Gaza overnight and during Thursday. According to the article, no formal agreement has been reached yet, as the Israeli security cabinet postponed its meeting scheduled for Thursday morning.
Israeli media outlets wrote that the world’s longest-living Olympic Champion, Ágnes Keleti, should be buried in Israel since she had Israeli citizenship. Here’s how the champion’s family decided about her burial.
Ágnes Keleti passed away after a short disease
Ágnes Keleti, the world’s longest-living Olympic Champion passed away on 1 January in Budapest’s Honvédkórház (military hospital). Keleti was hospitalised after Christmas after her state became critical. Rafael Bíró-Keleti, the younger son of the Hungarian Olympic champion, told Hungarian media then that she suffered from pneumonia and her condition worsened on Christmas Day. Therefore, she was taken to the military hospital of Budapest.
Phlegm blocked her trachea, so even doctors gave her little chance of surviving. Thankfully, the medical team managed to suck the phlegm. Therefore, she could breathe and even smile again. Mr Bíró-Keleti said the entire family hoped then that they would be able to celebrate the Olympic champions’s 104th birthday on 9 January together. Sorrowfully, the outstanding athlete’s body gave up the struggle, and she passed away on 1 January.
Ágnes Keleti on 26 April 2024. Photo: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
Barely survived the Holocaust
Keleti, born Klein, began her athletic journey in 1937, and, by 1940, she won the first national championship. Then, her career was halted by the discriminatory laws of Hungary, and she could barely survive the Holocaust using falsified identity papers under an assumed name in Szalkszentmárton. But her father never returned from the death camps. Her mother and her sister were rescued by Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.
After the war, she continued her sports career and earned a degree from the College of Physical Education. Between 1947 and 1956, Keleti amassed an unparalleled 46 national titles, including ten all-around championships and seven team victories. She remains the most decorated Hungarian gymnast, a testament to her unparalleled skills and dedication.
1952 and 1956 Olympics put the glory on her exceptional work
In 1954, at the World Championships in Rome, she claimed two golds, one silver and a bronze. A last-minute ankle injury prevented her from performing at the 1948 Olympics, but in 1952, she secured one gold, one silver and two bronzes. Her crowning achievement came at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where she won four gold medals (floor, balance beam, uneven bars, and team with hand apparatus) and two silvers. At 35, she became the oldest gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal, setting a record that endures to this day.
Photo: FB/MOB
With a total of 10 Olympic medals—five gold, three silver, and two bronze—Keleti ranks as Hungary’s most decorated female Olympian and second only to fencing legend Aladár Gerevich among Hungarian athletes.
Finishing her competitive career, Keleti began teaching and training the next generations. She worked in Hungary, Israel, and briefly in Italy. Her contributions extended beyond sport; she earned numerous accolades, including the Fair Play Lifetime Achievement Award, the Prima Primissima Award, and honorary citizenship in Budapest, Újpest, and Terézváros. In 2023, a documentary titled Conquering Time by Oláh Kata celebrated her life, earning recognition from the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
Will she be buried in Israel?
Since she was an Israeli national, Israeli media raised the issue of burying the Hungarian Olympic legend in the country. However, the family seems determined. They would like to bury her in Budapest. The date of the burial is at noon on 9 January, the exceptional athlete’s birthday, Nemzeti Sport wrote. The venue is the Budapest Jewish Cemetery on Kozma Street.
Keleti’s death marks the end of an era, leaving Charles Coste, a French cyclist and 1948 Olympic gold medalist, as the oldest living Olympic champion. Ágnes Keleti’s legacy, however, remains eternal, inspiring generations to come.
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Wizz Air, Hungary’s budget airline, is set to resume several flights that were paused due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Tel Aviv flights to resume
Starting 15 January, the airline will restart its operations between Tel Aviv and ten other destinations, including Athens, Vienna, Bucharest, Abu Dhabi, Rome, Milan, London, Warsaw, Krakow, and Budapest. This move follows an earlier announcement in October that Wizz Air would suspend its Israel-bound flights until January. However, the airline had already resumed some routes, such as the Tel Aviv-Larnaca service, in December.
Despite this positive development, not all airlines are following suit. Several foreign carriers have yet to announce the restart of their flights to Israel, hesitating amid the current geopolitical climate, NeoKohn writes.
Problems with Pratt & Whitney engines
At the same time, Wizz is addressing technical challenges involving its fleet. The airline recently reached an agreement with Pratt & Whitney, its engine supplier, to tackle issues arising from the detection of microscopic cracks in more than 1,000 engines. As part of the deal, Wizz Air expects to keep around 40 aircraft grounded until the end of its 2026 financial year. The airline will receive commercial support from Pratt & Whitney to mitigate the impact of this setback, including operational assistance and compensation for the direct costs of the grounded planes, Reuters reports.
Wizz Air’s financial performance affected
These challenges have affected Wizz Air’s financial performance. In November, the airline reported a more significant-than-expected decrease in profits for the first half of the year, largely due to the engine issues and the repercussions of the Middle Eastern conflict. Despite these setbacks, Wizz Air remains optimistic. The airline is preparing for the delivery of 50 new Airbus A321NEO aircraft and plans to increase its seat capacity by around 20% in 2026.
FM Szijjártó discussed the situation in Syria with Gideon Sa’ar, his Israeli counterpart, on Monday, underlining that both countries’ interests lay in peace in the Middle East.
FM Szijjártó talks about the situation in Syria
“Our interests lie in ensuring that no extremist ideology or extremist group can take control of the region or any of its countries,” Szijjártó said on Facebook after talks with Sa’ar.
“We were also in agreement on the need to devote special attention to respecting the rights of religious groups and minorities and to their security,” he added.
Szijjártó said Hungary was paying especially close attention to the situation of Christian communities, providing them with humanitarian aid, and expected the international community to ensure that the rights of religious minorities are respected.
Israel’s new foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has expressed his appreciation of Hungary’s “correct stance”, and he will soon pay a visit to Hungary, the foreign minister said in Valletta on Thursday.
“Concerning Israel, we consider it regrettable that several European leaders have made statements in the recent period that set back relations with Europe,” the ministry cited Péter Szijjártóas saying on Facebook after his meeting with Sa’ar.
“Hungary continues to urge the convening of a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council which sufficiently emphasises the strategic character of relations between the EU and Israel,” he added.
Photo: FB/Szijjártó
The new Israeli FM Sa’ar visits Hungary soon
Szijjártó said the Israeli foreign minister expressed thanks for the chance Hungary has given Israeli soccer teams to play domesctic matches here, and he assured Sa’ar that Hungary continued to offer a safe location for the Israeli national team and Israeli clubs to play matches.
“In Hungary they need not fear scandalous scenes such as those unfortunately witnessed in western Europe as a result of the spread of modern anti-Semitism,” he said.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said Hungary was dedicated to its support for respecting the Lebanon ceasefire as it greatly contributed to the protection of Christian communities. “The Israeli foreign minister will visit Hungary soon, in mid-January,” he added.
Wizz Air, the prominent Hungarian low-cost airline, has recently found itself in the headlines for both positive developments and a public relations setback. The company’s plans to resume flights to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport have been widely welcomed, while its advertising practices have come under scrutiny following a ban by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Resuming flights to Israel amid easing tensions
According to Times of Israel, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Wizz Air has announced the gradual resumption of its flights to Israel, a move signalling cautious optimism for the region’s aviation sector. The airline will restart operations on 20 December, with four weekly flights connecting Tel Aviv and Larnaca. Wizz Air has also revealed plans to reinstate additional routes starting 15 January 2025, with further updates expected closer to the date.
The decision marks a significant turnaround after the airline suspended all flights to and from Israel in October due to the intensifying conflict. In contrast to Wizz Air’s proactive measures, several major airlines, including Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, and LOT Polish Airlines, have deferred their Israeli operations into 2025, citing continued security concerns.
Wizz Air has sweetened its return to the Israeli market by offering the first 1,000 tickets for the Tel Aviv-Larnaca route at a promotional price of EUR 50 per one-way ticket. However, the airline remains cautious, closely monitoring the region’s geopolitical landscape before fully restoring its Israeli network.
Wizz Air ad banned over ‘green’ claim
While the airline’s return to Israel has garnered positive attention, Wizz has also faced backlash for its environmental claims in advertising. The UK’s ASA recently banned a Wizz Air advertisement that described the airline as “one of the greenest choices in air travel”, BTN Europe reports. The regulator ruled the claim as misleading, citing insufficient evidence and a lack of clarity on the basis for comparison.
The advert, which appeared in a Google campaign on 9 June 2024, did not include detailed information to support its assertion. The ASA stated that the wording could mislead consumers into believing that Wizz Air had one of the lowest environmental impacts among airlines operating in the UK.
In response, Wizz Air defended its commitment to reducing aviation’s carbon footprint, highlighting investments in alternative fuels and its operation of Europe’s youngest and most carbon-efficient fleet, with an average aircraft age of 4.3 years. The airline also pointed to its 52 grams of CO2 emissions per revenue passenger kilometre as evidence of its environmental efforts. However, this data was omitted from the advert, leading to the ASA’s decision to ban the campaign.
Wizz met by dual challenges
The recent developments highlight the dual challenges Wizz Air faces: capitalising on opportunities for growth while addressing public expectations around transparency and sustainability. As it rebuilds its presence in Israel, the airline must also ensure future advertising aligns with regulatory standards to avoid further reputational damage.
Opposition Mi Hazánk protests against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s decision to invite Benjamin Netanyahu, “his friend”, to visit Hungary after the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister on war crime charges, the party said on Friday.
In a statement, the party said that Orbán had withheld the fact that the court had also issued an arrest warrant against the leaders of Hamas.
“Viktor Orbán would normally not be this tough with various other international tribunals when the matter concerns Hungary’s interests,” Mi Hazánk said.
“Despite all the show of strength, Hungary keeps paying compensation to criminals released from prison if the Strasbourg court so rules,” the party said.
PM Orbán and PM Netanyahu. Photo: facebook.com/deakdanielelemez
Here’s the reaction of Netanyahu
Orbán is inviting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, the PM said in an interview to public radio on Friday. Referring to an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister issued by the International Criminal Court on Thursday, Orbán called the move “outrageously brazen and cynical”, amounting to “interference in an ongoing conflict in legal disguise” and motivated by politics.
Orbán said this was in itself wrong and would completely discredit the reputation of international law and could “add fuel to the fire”. He said he had “no other choice but to oppose” the ruling. Referring to the invitation, Orbán said he would guarantee that
the ICCruling would not be applied in Hungary, adding that “we will not follow its provisions”.
“We solely consider the quality and state of Israel-Hungary ties … Israel’s prime minister will be surrounded by suitable security to conduct substantive talks in Hungary,” he said.
Netanyahu on Friday afternoon thanked the Hungarian prime minister for the invitation, saying: “I thank Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for the warm support for me and the State of Israel”.
Photo: FB/Benjamin Netanyahu
“Against the shameful weakness of those who have lined up alongside the outrageous decision against the State of Israel’s right to defend itself, Hungary – like our friends in the US – has shown moral clarity and steadfastness on the side of justice and the truth,” he said.
Anti-Semitism, violence emerged in W European cities alongside migration, Orbán’s secretary says
Anti-Semitism, violence and the threat of terrorism has emerged in western European cities alongside migration, the “brutal and terrifying” consequences of pro-immigration policies, Balazs Hidveghi, the parliamentary state secretary of the prime minister’s cabinet office, said on Thursday.
“Jews and homosexuals” in Germany are told by the police to avoid Arab neighborhoods in Berlin “for their own safety”, while Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam were recently attacked “brutally”, he said, adding that order was restored only after several days.
The Brussels and left-wing pro-immigration policy “is ruining Europe irretrievably”, he said, adding in the video that “they want to install a puppet government in Budapest”.
He referred to “self-confessed Soros agents” who would “betray the Hungarian people and allow migrants in at any time”.
Hidveghi said the public can insist on Hungary’s right to opt out of the acceptance and distribution of migrants by responding to the National Consultation questionnaire. “Only this way can we preserve our country’s security,” he added.
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Most W European countries have seen a renewed of modern-day antisemitism, but not Hungary, saysForeign Minister
The two most dangerous months of the Russia-Ukraine war “are ahead of us” and Hungary “must continue to pursue a sober kind of politics”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview to public radio on Friday. The PM also announced that he is inviting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanjahu to visit Hungary.
Trump will bring peace but we have to wait for it, Orbán says
Orbán said that peace was within reach thanks to the election victory of Donald Trump, but it was clear that the outgoing Democrats wanted to leave behind a “more serious legacy” compared with the situation as it was when Trump won.
He said Hungary’s fate was directly at stake in this conflict, so it would act in a thoughtful, predictable and calm manner, Orbán said.
Noting that Ukraine is Hungary’s neighbour, he said the conflict was not escalating a distant part of the world and war developments in a neighbouring country were immediately palpable. Furthermore, ethnic Hungarians live in Transcarpathia, “so the threat is direct”, he added.
Orbán giving interview. Photo: MTI
By now they have started using weapons that can easily reach countries outside the territory of Ukraine, primarily neighbouring countries, he said. “These reports concern us and are not just about international diplomatic conflicts; they are about direct Hungarian interests and Hungary being under the threat of war,” he added.
Commenting on Trump entering office on January 20, he said “dawn will arrive all of a sudden” but “we are in the darkest hour … and until then we are living in an even greater darkness than before.” The two most dangerous months of the war “are ahead of us”, he said.
Without the Americans Ukraine will collapse
The prime minister said the situation was clear in military terms: if the Americans stopped backing Ukraine, Europe would not have the slightest hope of successfully supporting Ukraine, not to mention the financial-economic consequences of a lost war, he added. Orbán said Hungary would be guided by this thought in the next two months, until Trump enters office: to survive by pursuing a smart and sober kind of politics, he said.
In response to a question about the threat of introducing heavy weapons, he said there were significant risks.
He noted that within 24 hours of the US presidential election results became clear, the German government collapsed.
Orbán and Scholz with Edi Rama in Budapest. Photo: FB/Orbán
“We Hungarians are not used to that; we are a country that pursues sovereign foreign policy, and regardless of how much the world cracks on all fronts, we’ll always make decisions based on our national interest, and we won’t tie our fate to other governments,” he said.
He said developments in America could have an almost immediate effect on the behaviour of “not-insignificant” western European governments and countries. This was because when the Americans made certain steps, then certain countries felt an obligation to follow the American directive, he added.
Empty talk and idling in western Europe
Orbán said the weapons that the Americans had allowed the Ukrainians to use were extremely complicated and reports suggested that the Ukrainians were unable to reach their target with them independently and without the involvement of US expertise. This was why the Russians had responded so suddenly and powerfully, he added.
Orbán also said that the weight and significance of remarks made in western Europe and in Russia were different, and western European decision-makers had not considered this seriously enough.
Putin and Orbán in July in Moscow. Photo: FB/Orbán
“There’s a huge amount of empty talk and idling in western Europe, with statements made that have no direct consequence. European leaders in important positions easily allow themselves to make tirades on geopolitical and military matters, thinking that these are merely a matter of communication, to make a domestic political point,” he said.
He added that the Russian system of communications was very different. “When the president says something, it has weight and consequence. When the Russians amend the doctrine on the use of nuclear force, it is not only a communications tool or trick,” he said.
Putin’s words are not tricks
Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement under which Russia could consider as targets countries sending such equipment to Ukraine, Orbán said: “This isn’t a communications trick; we must keep our wits about us.”
He said Russia fundamentally made its policies and sought its place in the world based on military power. “With one of the strongest armies in the world and the most modern, most destructive weapons are crucial for its vision of the future,” he said, adding that “when they say something on this subject, it should be understood the way they say it.”
In the next two months, “the logic of war should be taken into consideration, carefully weighing each word and sentence and proceeding in line with common sense rather than on basis of the political rules based on western European communications,” Orbán said, adding “or else we’ll be in trouble.”
Orban said he supported that “the number and size” of current conflicts in the world should be reduced through every measure possible. “But international institutions in fact fail to act carefully in their decision-making,” he added.
Orbán said he is inviting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary.
Orbán outraged at ICC ruling
Referring to an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister issued by the International Criminal Court on Thursday, Orbán called the move “outrageously brazen and cynical”, amounting to “interference in an ongoing conflict in legal disguise” and motivated by politics.
Orbán said this was in itself wrong and would completely discredit the reputation of international law and could “add fuel to the fire”. He said he had “no other choice but to oppose” the ruling.
Referring to the invitation, Orbán said he would guarantee that the ICC ruling would not be applied in Hungary, adding that “we will not follow its provisions”.
“We solely consider the quality and state of Israel-Hungary ties … Israel’s prime minister will be surrounded by suitable security to conduct substantive talks in Hungary,” he said.
According to Telex, the invitation received a warm welcome in Tel Aviv. The Embassy of Israel in Budapest wrote in a statement, that Hungary chose the right side of History in this case and PM Netanyahu appreciates Orbán’s gesture.
PfE is important player
Meanwhile, Orbán said the goal was to make the Patriots for Europe the most influential party family in the European Parliament by the end of the current term. He said that this required building alliances and using political tools within the European Parliament to increase their power, adding that he expected agreements and group alliances to significantly strengthen the Patriots’ influence on decision-making.
Orbán said that in international politics “you have as much influence as you have strength”. It was a good start, he said, when “we kicked in the door of the saloon bar of European politics”.
“The representatives of common sense turned up,” he added, which was enough to set up the third largest group.
The Patriots represented “occasionally raw but clear positions” that differed from the mainstream, the former centre, regarding migration and child and family protection, for instance, he said.
Orbán said the “period requiring behind-the-scenes deals in the European Commission” was over and it is now possible to return to “the period of clear, straight talking”. It is necessary to declare that they want to strengthen the group, he added.
Concerning Eurasian cooperation, Orbán said the subject had earlier been given “much less weight” in education than ties between the United States and Europe, whereas Europe has “the most organic ties” to the regions east of Hungary rather than “to the far side of the ocean”. Those regions, he said, included the Caucasus, China, India, Korea, and Japan “not just Russia”.
“It is time we talked more about Europe’s integral unity with Asia”
“Changing directions is not easy in Hungarian public thinking,” Orbán said, adding that he had three maps of the world in his study, one with Europe, the second with the US and the third with Asia at its centre.
“We Hungarians do not look at the world like that; we are accustomed to a single viewpoint … I think it is time we talked more about Europe’s integral unity with Asia, in education, in public discourse, and perhaps in interviews like this one,” the prime minister said.
Orbán said reorienting Europe and Hungary was an ongoing assignment that should happen according to “our own way of thinking” as well as in terms of economic, trade and investment policy.
The prime minister said those who opposed the government’s National Consultation survey were not “actually interested in people’s opinions” and saw no direct link between the will of the people and political decision-making. He called that attitude “a kind of disdain”.
Coarse and crude public language
“A negative and threatening tone arising from contempt” had emerged in Hungarian politics, he said, adding that politicians who were coarse and crude in their public language should “apologise and withdraw”.
He also said aggression arising from such verbal expressions should be prevented “because we don’t need a war in public life … we are a community, and we need to treat each other fairly.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said a key plank of the government’s new economic action plan was to increase the purchasing power of wages.
In Hungary, employers and employees come to an agreement on the minimum wage, he said, but the government puts its seal on the agreement. If the deal is beyond the reach of the two sides then the government “helps out”. He added that the government had stepped into the latest round to secure a three-year wage deal, and this would soon be ratified.
Accordingly, the minimum wage in 2025, 2026 and 2027 will grow above the rate of inflation, so the purchasing power of wages will increase rather than the opposite, he said. Inflation, Orbán added, was expected to be between 3 and 4 percent against wage growth of above 10 percent. “We want to maintain [this] momentum…” he said.
UPDATE 1: Foreign Minister Szijjártó calls arrest warrant issued against Israeli PM absurd
Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, has called the International Court of Justice arrest warrant issued against Israel’s prime minister and defence minister “shameful and absurd”. Commenting on a phone call with Israeli counterpart Gideon Sza’ar, in which he assured him that Hungary objected to the international court system being turned into a political tool, Szijjártó said in a Facebook post on Thursday: “This has now happened.” “This decision brings shame on the international court system by putting the prime minister of a country subjected to a diabolical terrorist attack” on the same footing as the terrorist leaders of that attack. “The decision is unacceptable,” he declared.
UPDATE 2: ICC arrest warrant ‘mockery of the law” Hungarian Jewish Mazsihisz says
The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) has criticised the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Israel’s prime minister and defence minister as a decision that “makes a mockery of the law” and “tramples on justice”. Mazsihiszsaid in a statement on Thursday that it concurred with Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were “outrageous” and had been issued “in bad faith”.
They said neither the Israeli prime minister nor the defence minister were guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, but were commanding the Israel Defence Forces’ fight in defence of the Jewish people in response to Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel in October last year.
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Suspending political dialogue between the European Union and Israel would be “a serious mistake”, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Brussels on Monday, arguing that to do so would be to abandon hope for a peaceful settlement of the crisis in the Middle East.
Szijjártó against suspending EU-Israel political dialogue
At a press conference held on the sidelines of the European Union’s foreign affairs council meeting, Szijjártó commented on a proposal made by Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, to suspend political dialogue with Israel within the framework of the EU-Israel Association Council.
“It’s a bit like saying that if we’ve failed once, let’s quickly try again just in case we can fail again,” the foreign minister said.
The bloc’s Ukraine strategy, he said, had failed because the focus was not on keeping diplomatic channels, dialogue and negotiations open but on thwarting these possibilities.
Further escalation of the crisis in the Middle East would not only cost human lives but also churn up global security, he said.
Referring to “talk of new sanctions”, Szijjártó said that since the October 7 “evil attack” on Israel, the EU had sought punitive measures against 18 Hamas terrorists as well as 14 Israeli settlers, “which just goes to show how Brussels sees the situation”.
Meanwhile, the minister said Georgia had come under “an unbelievable political attack” at the meeting. “It looks like our Western friends can’t forgive the Georgians for choosing a conservative, patriotic, pro-peace government,” he said.
Szijjártó said Georgians had given the ruling party “a decisive victory with 54 percent support, which rarely happens anywhere in Europe except in Hungary.”
According to Westerners, Georgians “have the right to choose their own future” as long as “it coincides with the will of the liberal mainstream”.
He said Hungary fully supported Georgia in their European integration efforts, “and we stand four-square behind Georgia”.
Answering a journalist’s question, Szijjártó said Borrell’s actions could not be assessed independently of the European Commission and its president, who were responsible for the strong deterioration of the bloc’s security and competitiveness.
The minister said that five years ago Europe had no war, it had the second largest economy in the world, it was competitive and there were no obstacles barring cooperation with the fastest developing regions of the world.
“Five years ago, Europe was taken seriously…” he said.
The current commission had managed to diminish the bloc’s strengths and the commission’s president and foreign representative bore responsibility for the state of affairs, he said, expressing hope that “change will soon come with regard to those positions”.
On Monday evening, 7 October, a special commemoration was held in Budapest, at the Dohány Street Synagogue, to mark the anniversary of last year’s terrorist attack on Israel. The event was jointly organised by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz), the Embassy of the State of Israel and Szochnut to honour the memory of the victims and express solidarity with Israel.
Anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack
Participants in the event jointly commemorated the victims of the 7 October 2023 Hamas terrorist attack, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israeli territory and brutally murdered innocent people, taking many hostage and taking them to Gaza.
The memorial service at the synagogue included eulogies and prayers and an iconic Israeli melody that added to the spirit of sympathy and remembrance. Participants were allowed to enter the site with identification documents under enhanced security measures.
During the evening, the commemorators held a candle-lighting ceremony in front of Herzl Square in front of the Dohány Street Synagogue. Representatives of Israeli and Hungarian civil society organisations read out the names of the kidnapped hostages and Israeli soldiers killed in the war. Candles were lit in honour of the victims, and all present joined in prayers for the release of the hostages.
Representatives of the Hungarian government also took part in the commemoration.
Loss of human lives in conflict
According to one-year statistics released by the IDF on Monday, 728 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 4576 wounded since 7 October 2023, and 17,000 Hamas operatives and terrorists have been killed in the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinian civilian casualties is not accurately quantified. Still, more than 40,000 people have likely been killed in the conflict, and vast numbers of displaced people are currently living in refugee camps.
Yellow machines in several parts of Budapest
The Kidma Association drew attention to the 101 Israeli hostages held hostage in Gaza in a solidarity action on Monday, with a total of 1,000 giant yellow bows placed with the help of participants in six locations in the capital. In Israel, yellow is the symbol of hostages. The organisation said in a statement that the event, organised for 7 October, the first anniversary of last year’s terrorist attacks, was supported by several municipalities in Budapest.
Yellow bows in several parts of Budapest
The banners will remain outside for the next week
in St. Stephen’s Park in Újlipótváros,
Mechwart-liget in Buda,
Nehru Park in Ferencváros,
around the Szabó Ervin Library in Józsefváros,
Vörösmarthy Square in the city center,
and on the border of Teréz- and Erzsébetváros, in the Városligeti fasor.
No end
On this first anniversary, the conflict in the region has not only not been resolved, but has escalated, bringing the Middle East to the brink of war.
Supporting Israel is an investment in Europe’s own security, János Bóka, the European affairs minister, said on Tuesday, arguing that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East posed a direct threat to the continent in the form of migration and terrorism.
2nd International Pro-Israel Summit in Budapest
Hungary considers Israel’s security a regional and global security issue, Bóka said at the second International Pro-Israel Summit in Budapest, adding that Hungary saw Israel as “one of the most important players” in the Middle East’s stability.
Israel and Hungary have a strategic partnership based on mutual respect, deep historical, cultural and interpersonal relations, broadening economic cooperation and common values and interests, the minister said, adding that Hungary would welcome if these relations could continue to grow under peaceful and stable circumstances.
Israel has the right to self-defence
He said Israel was exercising its “inalienable right to self-defence” after last October’s “unprecedented terrorist attack”. Israel and its people, he added, had a right to a secure life in their homeland, and that right could not be restricted or made subject to any conditions.
Bóka said
those who “want to erase Israel from the map” also wanted to “erase the European Jewish community”.
He warned that anti-Semitism had not been eradicated in Europe and could only be overcome by preserving the continuity of living European Jewish tradition.
The minister said that as the holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary considered the fight against anti-Semitism a responsibility. He added that this could be made effective by supporting and raising awareness of European Jewish life and protecting Europe’s Jewish heritage.
Miklós Szánthó, head of the Center for Fundamental Rights, which organised the event, said Hungary was the safest place for Europe’s Jewish community today. Hungary’s right wing, he added, was Israel’s “closest ally”, and Hungary stood by Israel at all international forums.
He said Hungary had become an “honest and consistent friend” of Israel because the Middle Eastern country was fighting for the same way of life Hungary represented, and both countries sought sovereignty and a just peace.
Szánthó insisted that “terrorists and the left” were attacking Israel because its millennia-long existence posed a challenge to both “Islamist jihadists and the cult of woke”.
Miri Regev, Israel’s transport minister
Miri Regev, Israel’s transport minister, said Hungary was the only European country that had understood the threat posed by Islamic terrorism and understood that the conflict was not just a political one, but that Hamas was waging a war against Western culture, and specifically democracy, individual freedom and the freedom of religion and speech.
Israel, he said, did not want a war, but wanted everyone to be able to live and practise their faith in peace on its territory. But those who wanted to destroy Israel, Regev added, would have to face a country that was determined and ready to defend itself.
The minister thanked Hungary on behalf of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for its constant and unconditional support and for the government’s ban on pro-Hamas demonstrations.
read also: Hungary’s first Micva Mobile in service – photos
Hungary’s first-ever Micva Mobile, initiated by EMIH – the Hungarian Jewish Federation, has been put into service. It will first be displayed at the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial before beginning its journey on the streets of Budapest.
On 30 September, just days before the Jewish New Year, the EMIH – Hungarian Jewish Federation introduced the country’s first Micva Mobile.
What exactly does EMIH’s Micva Mobile stand for?
Following the Second World War and the Holocaust, Jewish communities faced significant challenges. Many Jews, whose families had lived in Europe and Russia during the 19th and early 20th centuries, sought to distance themselves from the pain and religious traditions of those regions. In America, Jews began leaving urban Jewish centres, moving to suburbs and towns with smaller Jewish populations. With the decline of anti-Semitism and the promise of greater opportunities, many chose to assimilate into the broader Western cultural landscape. A new generation of Jews grew up with limited exposure to Jewish education or regular synagogue attendance.
In the summer of 1967, amidst the gradual erosion of Jewish identity, a new initiative emerged to counter assimilation – the Micva Mobile. In response to a call by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, these mobile synagogues were created. The word Micva refers to a “commandment”, underscoring the importance of observing the Torah and Jewish religious traditions. At the time, trucks repurposed from the Hertz car rental fleet were transformed into makeshift synagogues, equipped with Jewish books and religious items such as tefillin (phylacteries) and Shabbat candles.
Micva Mobile in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Micva Mobile in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Micva Mobile in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Micva Mobile in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Micva Mobile in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
These ‘mobile synagogues’ were staffed by young yeshiva students and rabbis, who would walk the streets, reaching out to Jews who had lost touch with their heritage. Their mission was to encourage Jewish practices, such as donning tefillin, lighting Shabbat candles, making charitable donations, or simply engaging in conversations about Judaism.
The Micva Mobile represented a significant shift in American Jewish identity, challenging the idea of being “Jewish at home, but American in public”. It introduced the concept of proudly displaying Jewish identity in the public sphere, rather than confining it to synagogues and Jewish schools.
In 2024, the time has come for Hungary to launch its own Micva Mobile. This initiative will help Hungarian Jews reconnect with their ancestral traditions while showcasing the renewed pride and freedom of Jewish identity in one of Europe’s safest countries for Jewish communities.
Airstrikes between Israel and Lebanon intensified on Tuesday, leading several airlines (Hungarian-owned Wizz Air, among others) to suspend flights to Israel.
In response to recent rocket attacks launched from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes targeting the group’s positions and rocket launchers. These rockets had been aimed at Afula and other towns in the Jezreel Valley, according to an IDF spokesperson. Several Hezbollah sites were hit, resulting in secondary explosions, suggesting that weapons were stored in the targeted buildings.
Several airlines suspend flights to the Middle East
As tensions escalated between Israel and Hezbollah, more airlines announced the suspension of flights, Világgazdaság reports. Wizz Air, which operates from Hungary, temporarily cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv and Amman, which were scheduled for Tuesday. British Airways also suspended flights for 48 hours, while Azerbaijan Airlines scrapped its planned flights for the day.
Wizz Air stated it is in contact with affected passengers and continues to closely monitor the situation. On Monday, Lufthansa extended its suspension of flights to and from Israel until 14 October, a move affecting Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings as well.
Several other airlines have halted their Israeli routes indefinitely. United Airlines and Croatia Airlines have stopped flights without announcing a specific timeline. Flights from LOT and Virgin Atlantic have been suspended until 25 September, British Airways until the 26th, Air India until 24 October, Ryanair until the 27th, and Vueling through the end of October. Delta Airlines, Air Canada, and EasyJet have postponed flights well into the end of 2024, with EasyJet pushing its suspension until the end of March 2025.
Concerns are growing among travellers with upcoming reservations, especially those booked for the Jewish holidays. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox pilgrims traditionally travel to Uman, Ukraine, for Rosh Hashanah. Despite the ongoing conflict, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport remains fully operational, with no flights being redirected to other countries, according to an airport authority spokesperson.
Israeli air strikes in Lebanon claim nearly 500 lives as death toll keeps rising
Airstrikes carried out by Israeli forces have intensified in recent days, and as of Monday, nearly 500 people have died in Lebanon as a result. The country experienced its deadliest day of Israeli airstrikes since the ongoing exchanges began nearly a year ago. According to Lebanese authorities, 492 people, including 35 children, lost their lives on Monday alone due to the strikes targeting Hezbollah militants, Világgazdaság writes in another article. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the total casualty count includes 35 children and 58 women and that over 1,645 people have been injured. The death toll continues to rise as airstrikes persist.
US to send more troops to the Middle East
As the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalates, the United States is deploying more troops to the Middle East. In a daily press conference, Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder said, without giving details, that it would be a small military contingent, but did not say what the new units would be tasked with, Világgazdaság reports.
Nearly three thousand people were injured in Lebanon when thousands of pagers used for communication exploded simultaneously in people’s pockets in southern Beirut on 17 September. Many of the victims are believed to be Hezbollah members, according to international reports. The devices are linked to global companies, including one in Hungary.
The AR-924 pagers involved in the explosions were reportedly manufactured by BAC Consulting Ltd., a company based in Budapest, Hungary, according to AP reports. This information was based on a statement from Taiwan’s Gold Apollo, released on Wednesday. Gold Apollo clarified that although their brand name was licensed on the pagers, the actual manufacturing was done by another company in Budapest.
Later, Cristiana Rosaria Bársony-Arcidiacono, the owner of BAC Consulting Ltd., confirmed to NBC News that her company had worked with Gold Apollo. When asked about the pagers and the explosions, she explained, “I don’t make the pagers. I’m just the middleman. I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” as reported by Blikk.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs stated on Wednesday that Gold Apollo exported 260,000 pagers between August 2022 and August 2024, mainly to European and U.S. markets. They emphasised that there had been no previous reports of explosions involving these products, nor any reports of the company exporting pagers directly to Lebanon.
According to the latest reports by Telex, the pagers were purchased from Taiwan by a Sofia-based company, which later sold them to Hezbollah. However, the Hungarian company involved, BAC Consulting, was only an intermediary, and the devices never physically entered Hungary.
The Hungarian government confirmed this in an official statement. Zoltán Kovács, State Secretary for International Communications, said „Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary. It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices have never been in Hungary. During further investigations, Hungarian national security services are cooperating with all relevant international partner agencies and organisations,”
Telex further reported that BAC Consulting Ltd. did not perform any significant activities and was only registered with a headquarters service provider. The company had no office and acted solely as an intermediary.
The real manufacturers behind the pagers are not Hungarians
The Bulgarian company involved in the transaction has a Norwegian owner. Similar to BAC Consulting, it is also registered with a seat provider and is one of 196 companies registered through this service. The Bulgarian company, founded in April 2022, claims to specialise in project management, though it likely does not manufacture anything.
It remains unclear to what extent Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono was involved as an intermediary, but it is certain that her role was limited to covering up the involvement of the Bulgarian company.
Telex also reported that BAC Consulting is registered in a condominium on Szőnyi Street. While listed as a consultancy firm, its website claims involvement in a variety of projects, from newspaper publishing to oil production. The company has only been operational for two years, with a profit of HUF 13 million (EUR 32,900) last year.
According to The New York Times, BAC Consulting was actually founded by Israelis, along with at least two other front companies, to conceal the real manufacturers of the explosive pagers—Israeli intelligence officers. This report, based on statements from an Israeli intelligence officer, provides unprecedented details on how the explosive devices ended up in the hands of Hezbollah members.
UPDATE: DK calls for convening natl security cttee over Lebanon pager blasts
The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has proposed convening parliament’s national security committee over the mass pager attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsány told an online press conference on Thursday that “a Hungarian intermediary company … acting as a front company for the Israeli secret services” was linked to the case.
“Israel and the government of [Benjamin] Netanyahu … is in a close alliance with [the Hungarian] government,” Gyurcsany said. “So one possibility is that our ally established a front company in Hungary without our knowing, using it to attack a terrorist organisation.”
“An obvious consequence of this is that if this becomes public, Hungary, too, can become a target of terrorist attacks,” he said. “It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t know about this.”
Gyurcsány said it was “also a problem” if the government had known that Israel’s secret services were using Hungary as a “front”, adding that he did not believe “Hungary should have authorised this”.
Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for international communication and relations, said on Facebook on Wednesday that the matter “poses no security risk to Hungary”. The Hungarian authorities, he said, “have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary”. “It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices never entered Hungary,” he added.
Zoltán Sas, the opposition head of the national security committee, convened the regular session of the committee for 26 September on which they will discuss the issue of the pagers, economx.hu wrote.
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Former U.S. Army commander: Szijjártó’s frequent meetings with Lavrov erode trust – Read here
There will be “rather dangerous proposals” on the agenda of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Budapest before departing to attend the event.
“The EU’s foreign policy chief, who is fortunately leaving his post soon, is behaving like a loose cannon and is making increasingly dangerous proposals (…) as regards both Ukraine and the Middle East,” he said, adding that those proposals “clearly carry the risk of escalation”.
Under Josep Borrell‘s proposals, members and ministers of the Israeli government should be put on an EU list of sanctions, which Szijjártósaid “would make communication, talks and maintaining contact with an ally, Israel, difficult and would on the other hand send signals that would clearly endanger the security and long-term stability of the Middle East.”
“Borrell wants more weapons to be delivered to Ukraine and wants to allow an option for the Ukrainian armed forces to use western equipment already dispatched to that country when launching a strike against inner Russian territories,” the foreign minister said.
“We firmly oppose proposals we consider dangerous because they carry the risk of an escalation of the war in Ukraine,” he said, adding that Hungary would “represent a pro-peace position” at the upcoming meeting in Brussels.
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Master plan leaked? New electoral law may make PM Orbán invincible in Hungary and the EU – read more HERE
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Monday said there was growing concern worldwide about developments in the Middle East.
In a post on Facebook, the minister noted that he had spoken by phone with Israeli and Iranian foreign ministers Israel Katz and Ali Bagheri Kani, respectively, and the discussions “are proving anew that we’re in the 24th hour”.
If conflict spread to another country, he said, it “could easily turn into a regional war, presenting a threat to global security”. The international community must “concentrate all its strength on preventing escalation”, he added.
Hungary’s position is clear, he said: “Israel must not be left to suffer another terrorist attack such as that of last October; at the same time, everything must be done to prevent the outbreak of a major regional war.”
As we wrote a few days earlier, Flights suspended at Budapest Airport due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, details HERE.
As we wrote earlier, PM Orbán remained alone again in EU with rejecting statement about Israel, details HERE.
Due to the escalating situation in the region, Wizz Air will be temporarily suspending flights to and from Israel and Jordan until 4 August, the Hungarian low-cost airlines wrote in an official statement. Other airlines continue to carry passengers between those countries and Budapest Airport.
Wizz Air leaves, Ryanair remains
According to airportal.hu, a Hungarian outlet focusing on air travel news, Wizz Airpromised compensation for their passengers. They regret the inconvenience and offer affected customers a 120% refund in Wizz credits, a full refund in the original form of payment or free rebooking options.
“If passengers booked through an online travel agency or another third party, they should reach out to them to receive the refund or rebook to a different flight”, Wizz Air added.
The decision concerns their Saturday and Sunday Tel-Aviv flights from Budapest Airport under the registry number W6 2325/6.
Ryanair, El Al and other Israeli airlines did not make similar decisions and continue to fly between Budapest and the region.
Photo: FB/Budapest Airport
Other airlines also decided to suspend flights
The Lufthansa Group cancelled all their passenger and cargo flights to Tehran and Tel-Aviv until 8 August and extended the suspension of their Beirut flights until 12 August.
KLM said on Friday that they would suspend their Tel-Aviv flights, and American Delta and United decided similarly before.
Several other airlines suspended flights to Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, including Aegean, Condor, Egyptair, Emirates, Etihad, Royal Jordanian, Iran Air, Pegasus and Qatar Airways.
Read also:
Wizz Air launches new direct flight from Budapest to Mediterranean paradise – Read more HERE
Wizz Air receivesserious fine in Hungary for unfair commercial practice
At least that is what the German green MEP, Daniel Freund, told Politico about a spyware attack targeting his phone. “I’m not saying it was Hungary, but out of the possibilities, this is what seems most likely,” Freund said. The software attacking his phone was an Israeli spy software.
Freund and the Israeli spy software: what happened exactly?
According to politico.eu, the German MEP received an email from a Kyiv student inviting him to a university seminar about Ukraine’s EU accession. She invited Freundto write a short message and shared a link containing the spyware. Following a warning from the European Parliament, the MEP did not click on the link, so his phone remained clean.
Candiru, an Israeli company, made the software, which the US government blacklisted in 2021.
Nobody knows who was behind the attack, but Freund suspects Hungary and its government. He has been a harsh critic of PM Orbán for years and pushed to suspend Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU. Politico highlighted that there was no evidence of Hungary’s involvement, and a government spokesperson declined to comment.
We wrote about the Hungarian government’s use of Israeli spy software Pegasus against politicians and journalists in THESEarticles.
Read also:
Bloomberg: Hungary boughtfrom spyware monitoring politicians and journalists
EU presidency to ‘represent demand for change’, says minister in Tusványos
The results of the recent European parliamentary elections reflect a “demand for change” and the Hungarian EU presidency is to “promote and represent that demand”, EU Affairs Minister János Bóka said at the Balvanyos Summer University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo), in Romania, on Wednesday.
Speaking in a panel discussion, Bóka said the EU had given “ill-advised responses” in areas such as competitiveness, cohesion and agricultural policy, or demographic challenges.
“Changes involve political conflicts; we will act responsibly if we act as an honest mediator but do not refrain from those conflicts,” the minister said. He called for a fundamental change in the EU’s approach, which he said should focus on the “value added in integration”. “The success of the EU should be evaluated on that basis … in the past five years the EU failed because acting together did not yield the value added that members could have achieved separately, on their own,” he insisted.
