The visit of the President of the Republic strengthens Hungary's place among Israel's most important European alliances.
President Katalin Novák, who is returning home from Australia, will visit Israel this morning to express her solidarity with the Jewish state hit by the terrorist attack by Hamas, Mandiner learned from a source close to the president. As our newspaper knows, the president and his delegation landed at the Tel Aviv airport around seven o'clock in the morning. In addition to his official meetings, the president also meets with the families of the Hungarian hostages held by Hamas.
The visit points to the exceptionally good relationship between Hungary and Israel, because only in front of the Hungarian president
the most important leaders of the Western world and Israel's closest European allies were received by the Israeli leadership as part of a solidarity visit.
On October 13, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola, visited him. The first European head of state to visit Israel was Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on October 17, who was followed the same day by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The next day, US President Joe Biden visited, and a day later British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid his respects in Israel. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Israel on October 21, and French President Emmanuel Macron on October 24.
Among the other visitors, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer lead countries that are especially pro-Israel for historical reasons; Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands also helped Israel militarily during the 20th century. Apart from them, the leaders of Greece and Cyprus, the Mediterranean allies in close military and intelligence cooperation with Israel, also visited Israel.
There were also European leaders who would have liked to go, but the Jewish state did not welcome them - for example, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
The presidential visit therefore strengthens Hungary's place among Israel's most important European alliances.
The meeting is given a special context by the wave of pro-terrorist demonstrations in Western Europe since the flare-up of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, of which Hungary was conspicuously absent - today our country is one of the safest countries in Europe for Jews. Slomó Köves, the pastoral leader of the United Hungarian Israelite Faith Community (EMIH), recently made a statement about this.
Mandarin
Featured image: Israeli President Yichák Hercog receives the President of the Republic Katalin Novák in Jerusalem on November 17, 2022. MTI/Noémi Bruzák
