At the service, Andor Grósz, head of Hungarian Jewish federation MAZSIHISZ, said “the mourning and grief of the Jewish community is shared by Hungarian society.” He said the inhuman terrorist attack launched on the holiday of the Torah had not hit Israel and Jewish people only: “they not only took human lives but brutally violated the Ten Commandments, a gift of the Torah to mankind.”

“The Jews, non-Jews, Christians here want to pass a world to their successors that is not ruled by terror,” Grósz said.

Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Yakov Hadas-Handelsman thanked the Hungarian nation, church leaders, and politicians, for their solidarity with his country.

Israel is at war, the ambassador said, but warned that it was not only Israel’s problem as the attacks could eventually reach Europe, too.

He noted that groups supporting the terrorists had celebrated the attacks across the world. He voiced confidence that Israel would win the war. The Jewish community of Israel has a secret weapon: they have no other place to go and will protect their homeland at all cost, he insisted.

Róbert Frölich, the chief rabbi of Hungary, said the war was not just a cause for Arabs and Jews but “for all of us that live on this planet and consider ourselves human … it has not just been an attack on a country: terrorism and hatred has declared war against civilisation.”

The service, organised by MAZSIHISZ and the Jewish community of Budapest (BZSH), was attended by President Katalin Novák, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Bishop Zoltán Balog, head of the Reformed Church, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, United Hungarian Jewish Community head Slomó Köves, and other dignitaries.

Németh Calls for Saving Middle East Peace Process

Zsolt Németh, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, on Wednesday called for saving the Middle East peace process and preventing an escalation of violence.

Speaking to MTI by phone after a debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict at the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, Németh said this past weekend’s terrorist attack had jeopardised the peace process generated by the Abraham Accords aimed at stabilising the Middle East.

Németh said the attacks launched by the Hamas Islamist terrorist group were reminiscent of the actions of the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

“Hamas’s terrorism is so clear that it has become indisputable that it is a terrorist organisation,” Nemeth said, warning that Hamas was not synonymous with the Palestinian people.

The state of Israel has a right to defend itself, Németh said, adding that “based on what we have seen, there can be no doubt about the recognition of the full enforcement of the international right to self-defence”.

The priority right now is to cut off Hamas’s financial resources and prevent them from accessing European Union funds even indirectly, Németh said.

MTI Photo: Zsolt Szigetváry