Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Rabbi Slomo Koves and Rabbi Shmuel Oirechman on Thursday ahead of a discussion on moving the Hungarian embassy to Jerusalem.
Rabbi Koves is head of Egységes Magyarországi Izraelita Hitközség (EMIH) [United Hungarian Israelite Community of Faith] which is one of the three major Jewish faith communities in Hungary.
While Rabbi Oirechman is the general director of the Orthodox community.
The trio discussed several topics ranging such as issues of Jewish communal life in Hungary as well as the vents that may accompany the move of the Hungarian embassy to Jerusalem.
Rabbi Koves stressed the importance of the friendship between the two countries during the meeting, community leaders used the occasion to invite Netanyahu for a reciprocal visit to Budapest, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Chabad in Hungary.
Hungarian president Katalin Novák and EMIH Chief Rabbi Shlomo Köves at the Mád synagogue, Mád, Hungary, September 20, 2022 (credit: EMIH)The community translated Netanyahu’s bestselling book: Bibi – My Story into Hungarian to celebrate the historic moment.
Hungarian Rabbis also used the opportunity to present Netanyahu with the first copy of the translation, the book is set to be published in honor of the embassy move and Netanyahu’s visit to Budapest.
Rabbi Koves also presented Netanyahu with the new plans for the holocaust museum in Budapest, the construction of which has been ongoing for the last few years.
Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem
Moving the Hungarian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was first decided in late May this year after Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Buspest and spoke with his Hungarian counterpart Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Once the move has gone ahead Hungary will be the first EU nation to have moved its embassy to Israel’s capital Jerusalem.
During the visit, Szijjarto also agreed to petition the International Court of Justice against the Palestinian Authority’s “pay for slay” policy. in which Palestinians who attack Israelis are paid for the attacks.
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