A gathering of more than 1,000 people convened on Tuesday evening in Budapest to stand in solidarity with Israel, following the recent brutal attack carried out by Hamas over the weekend that now numbers more than 1,200 killed and thousands more wounded, with more than 100 men, women and children taken captive.
Jerusalem Park in Hungary’s capital city became the stage for a powerful demonstration of unity with the EMIH‒Hungarian Jewish Federation, along with two other Jewish organizations, the Neolog Mazsihisz and haredi MAOIH. They were joined by numerous Jewish religious and civil organizations united in support of the Hungarian Jewish community during these challenging times.
Addressing an audience, Andor Grósz, president of Mazsihisz, said that what is happening in Israel “affects the Jews of the Diaspora, just as what is happening to Jews in the Diaspora affects the Jews of Israel.”
Hamas, he said, “sees not only Israel, but all Jews and peace-loving people of the world as enemies and targets.”
EMIH’s Rabbi Shlomo Köves pointed out that although the events in Israel resemble the barbarism aimed at the destruction of the Jewish people 80 years ago, there is a significant difference between the two tragic events. “The Jewish people are no longer as defenseless as they once were. Proudly, in the Jewish state, we defend ourselves with one of the most powerful armies in the world.”
According to Köves, “Not only are the Jewish people our brothers and sisters, but also all decent, peace-loving people who believe that we should respect one another and work together to create a better world for everyone. Together, united, we will surely prevail because the God of Israel is with us.”
Rabbi Shmuel Raskin, head of the Israeli Jewish community in Hungary, also emphasized the importance of unity and stressed that “unlike the inhumane terrorists of Hamas, our weapon is love and not hatred.”
At the event, leaders of Jewish religious and civil NGOs remembered the victims of terror by lighting candles and offering prayers for the swift recovery of the injured and the safe return of the more than 100 hostages taken into the Gaza Strip by Hamas.
