Bertalan Havasi, the Deputy State Secretary heading the Prime Minister’s Press Office, has informed kormany.hu that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and András Heisler, President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), met in the Parliament Building on Tuesday evening. They discussed joint tasks to be performed in 2017 and the problems and plans of the Jewish community in Hungary, including the development of the religious community’s institutions.
In their meeting the two men also talked about the neo-Nazi event held at the weekend, which the President of Mazsihisz described as unacceptable. Mr. Havasi added that they agreed that, as has been the case in past years, the Ministry of Interior will find a legal means of preventing the recurrence of such events.
Mr. Heisler asked the Prime Minister for assistance in the rebuilding of the fire-damaged synagogue in Budapest’s Zugló district, and in response Mr. Orbán promised to provide the help needed. The President of Mazsihisz also informed the Prime Minister about the development plans for Mazsihisz’s charitable hospital; Mr. Havasi said that in the near future the Ministry of Human Capacities will be contacted with regard to this.
The meeting also covered the issue of the sports complex selected as the venue for the European Maccabi Games (the European Jewish sporting championships), which are being held in Budapest in 2019. As the deadline is very tight, they agreed that the Prime Minister will present the issue to the Government as soon as possible.
Mr. Havasi informed kormany.hu that in their meeting Mr. Orbán and Mr. Heisler also reviewed the possibility of helping Hungarian-speaking Jewish communities beyond the borders.
(Press Office of the Prime Minister)
