On the occasion of the 58th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the visit of H.E. Mr Istvan Jakab, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, and to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reestablishment of the diplomatic relations between Hungary and the State of Israel, the Ambassador of Hungary H.E. Mr Andor Nagy and his wife Mariann Bercsenyi offered a reception on October 23rd at his residence in Hertzliya Pituach.

Israelies' guests of honor were the Israeli Minister of Finance and chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, Yair Lapid, from Hungarian origin, and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs , Yitzhak "Tzachi" Hanegbi.

The Hungarian and Israeli anthems were played for the occasion and afterwards the ambassador warmly welcome his guests and expressed: " It is my privilege to welcome three special guests at the same time in my residence. Two of them from Israel: the Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. from Hungary.

The fact that two VIP guests have participated at the National Day is a signal for me, that the 25 years anniversary of the reestablishment of the diplomatic relations between Israel and Hungary has great potential.

As ambassador I know very well that there is still a lot to do. I will do my best to build a bridge between the two peoples. "

Minister Lapid said: "On behalf of the Government and People of Israel, it is my pleasure to convey a message of friendship on the occasion of the Hungarian National Day. I am honored to welcome Mr. István Jakab, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, who has come to Israel as we celebrate 25 years of renewed diplomatic relations between our countries.
We appreciate the special program prepared by the Hungarian government to mark this occasion.

The relationship between Israel and Hungary is a complex one. Our past is full of turmoil but we also have much that binds us together. Our relations are based, among other things, on the recognition of the importance of the past.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust of the Hungarian Jewish community. The government of Hungary prepared a program of commemorative events, for which we are grateful.

Hungary of 1945 was complicit in the murder of its Jewish community both because of the support of Hungarian fascists and the inaction of too many others. The acceptance of that culpability, as echoed by Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics, at a conference on anti-Semitism in which I participated a year ago, allows us to build for the future.
Hungary did indeed fail its Jews 70 years ago, and the current government has a responsibility, which I believe it takes seriously, to ensure the words "Never Again" are translated into reality.

As you know, I am the son of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and that dark period of history inevitably shapes my character and my perspective. It is one of the reasons I am personally troubled by rising anti-Semitism in Hungary.

We hope that the Hungarian government will continue to take determined action against any expression or manifestation of anti-Semitism and racism. The increasing number of anti-Semitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate speech, including within the Hungarian political system, must serve as a warning for us all.

Racial incitement from a podium is always translated into violent acts on the streets.

I know that those incidents do not reflect the majority of Hungarians but if we learn one lesson from those terrible events 70 years ago let it be this; we must all stand against racism and discrimination and never allow hatred to go unchallenged. I know this is a view shared by our friends in the Hungarian government.

Just as we must not and should not forget the dark moments we also recall that Hungary was the first country from the Communist bloc to renew relations with Israel.
We look with pride at the large and vibrant Jewish community in Hungary today and the large number of Israelis of Hungarian descent who maintain a relationship with Hungary.
We can look back on the past 25 years with satisfaction for all we have achieved and look forward to continuing to forge ever-stronger relations between our two nations, and particularly among our young people.

Our governments are in regular contact and in the economic sphere bilateral trade reached $434 million last year and there remains untapped potential which can benefit both our countries.
Deputy Speaker Jakab, I know that agriculture is your area of expertise and as we look at the ties between our two countries I hope your visit can help to broaden and strengthen our cooperation in that field.

Mr. Ambassador, thank you for your hospitality.
Please convey our best wishes to the Government and People of Hungary on the occasion of your National Day. We wish Hungary peace and prosperity. May the bonds of friendship between our two nations continue to flourish in the years to come. Gratulálok.
Thank you"

  After Mr. Lapid's speech, Mr. István Jakab said amongst other things:

" Hungary, a country where Europe's 4th largest Jewish Community lives in. " ..." In his Capital, Budapest, there is the world second largest synagogue in Europe .A country where Estee Lauder, Elena Rubinstein, Judith Muller and the father of the Zionism, Theodor Herzl were born. A country where in 1848-1849 our Jewish compatriots fought for Hungary's liberty ....."
" This year, in 2014 we are remembering the Hungarian victims of the Shoa or the Holocaust ." .... " Anti-semitic statements are still heard in Hungary "....But Victor Orban's government , does not tolerate this: we have zero tolerance, and we are taking tough action against this. "

We would like to stress that typical Hungarian wine and food delighted the guests, among them Hungarian beef stew and Hortobagy Pancakes.

It was a pleasant event that counted with guests from different foreign diplomatic services as well as delegates from the Israeli political and economic branches.

Photos  : Silvia G. Golan