„Jewish renaissance in Hungary”

Jewish renaissance in Hungary

 

  • New synagogue construction: For the first time in 80 years, a new synagogue will be built, on Csepel Island, home to hundreds of Jews prior to World War II.
  • Rededication of Budapest’s oldest synagogue: Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Yona Metzger, rededicated Hungary’s oldest synagogue in Óbuda on September 5, 2010. The synagogue may be the first synagogue in Eastern Europe to be returned to the Jewish community in 60 years and used on a daily basis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the reopening of this synagogue is a true symbol of the Jewish renaissance in Hungary.”
  • Support of the Jewish community and religious life in Budapest. The Jewish community in Budapest is the largest in Central Europe. Aside from the 24 actively functioning synagogues, a complex Jewish educational system operates from kindergarten to university. The government-sponsored annual Jewish Summer Festival of Budapest has become one of the most important and largest cultural events since its inception in 1998.
  • Opening of the first Israeli Cultural Institute in Budapest. Israel’s former Deputy Prime Minister, Nathan Sharansky, opened the world’s first Israeli Cultural Institute  in Budapest on September 2, 2010. Hungarians and Israelis together with the Jewish Agency for Israel initiated the establishment of the institute, which is supported by the Hungarian Government.
  • Intensive governmental dialogue with Jewish communities. The Government has renewed its dialogue with Jewish communities (the Jewish Communities’ Roundtable) and now conducts regular consultations with all major Jewish organizations and religious communities in Hungary.