In his opening speech, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office announced at the meeting of the Jewish Community Roundtable held on Thursday that the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association proposed the establishment of a central Holocaust memorial in Budapest on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust.
When talking about his proposal put on the agenda of the meeting, János Lázár mentioned the initiative of the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association.
One of the participants of the roundtable discussion, Vice-President of the B'nai B'rith Budapest Páholy Magda Vadász indicated that a number of Holocaust survivors oppose the idea of the establishment of another Holocaust memorial because they believe it would not serve their interest but further incite anti-semitism in Hungary. She suggested that the money allocated for these purposes should be spent on youth education and be given to survivors. She initiated that the proposal should not even be put on the agenda of Thursday’s meeting.
In his reply, János Lázár recommended to discuss the initiative of the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association at the Roundtable. He stressed that whatever decision shall be made, the government would support that; “we would not like to be the ones who give orders at all”.
Apart from this, the discussion on the security of the Jewish communities and institutions in Hungary after the Paris attacks of January, as well as the programming of the Szeged Synagogue’s budgetary support was also on the agenda of the Jewish Community Roundtable.
Following the consultation, János Lázár declared that it is in everyone’s interest to establish the House of Fates based on consensus and peace instead of scandal surrounding the Budapest memorial site of the child victims of the Holocaust.
The Minister said that he informed the participants of the Roundtable about the fact that the government had sent the preliminary concept of the House of Fates to every relevant organisation and expert for review. He did not share further details as to when the memorial site might be opened.
Regarding the central Holocaust memorial to be established on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust as proposed by the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association, he said that it would be discussed within the frameworks of internal dialogues between Jewish communities.
“The issue of the House of Fates is not with us at the moment; the government has to resolve the problems that we are not competent in resolving”, President of the Alliance of the Jewish Communities of Hungary András Heisler said after the Roundtable.
As for the security issue of the Jewish institutions operating in Hungary, he said that in the light of the European events and terrorism related developments, special attention had to be paid to the matter. There was a presentation held at the meeting on this issue, and the Ministry of Interior assured the participants of its readiness to fully cooperate.
He added that regarding the IHRA Presidency, it would be recommended to involve Jewish organisations in the events organized concerning issues related to the Jewry.
In the case of the memorial proposed by the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association, András Heisler confirmed that it had been agreed that Jewish organisations would discuss it among themselves how they wish to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust.
(Prime Minister's Office)
