Hungarian Minister of State for Security Policy Péter Sztáray said on Monday that his country often stood alone in defending Israel in international fora, noting also Hungary’s “zero tolerance” for antisemitism.
Speaking at the inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Sztáray said, “Hungary, often alone, stands up in the United Nations and European Union against statements and initiatives to blame Israel.”
He cited several examples, including the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
“Arms embargoes have been introduced. Legal proceedings have been launched. The International Criminal Court has cast aside its impartiality, and any rational legal arguments, in order to persecute Israel. So it is no coincidence that Hungary has announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court,” he said.
Hungary announced its decision to withdraw from the ICC the same day in early April that the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, hosted Netanyahu in Hungary in defiance of the court.
Sztáray also spoke of his country’s fight against antisemitism, “an old phenomenon on a new rise in Western Europe.” He noted that Hungary had prohibited pro-Palestinian protests after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack because it saw how in other countries they morphed into “anti-Israeli and antisemitic outbursts.”
He noted that a brief period of sympathy following the Oct. 7 attack evaporated as the world turned on Israel, “relativizing and even justifying” the Hamas invasion, the Hezbollah rockets and the missiles from Iran and Yemen.
“Hungary has firmly resisted this wave of double standards and hypocrisy,” he said. “Hungary will stand with Israel even when the world starts to turn on you again.”
“A safe and stable Israel is vital, not only for the Middle East, but for the entire world,” Sztáray added. “Israel’s security and sovereignty must be guaranteed at all costs, and you can count on the government of Hungary to remain your ally in this effort in the future as well.”
