September 11 – October 7

The two dates will be deeply engraved in the memories even of our descendants. The two dates are days of mourning for all of us living in democratic states, both times the barbarians attacked our free, peaceful, constructive world. Both occasions were days of brutal and inhumane attacks against innocent civilians. Both acts of terror were committed by fanatical Islamists against people who had done no harm to Islam or the murderers.

Dr. Andor Grósz, the president of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), opened with these thoughts, among others, the ceremony commemorating the victims of the terrorist attack in Israel three months ago. From that moment on, the name of the Herzl Tivadar Square in front of the synagogue on Dohany Street was changed for two weeks to October 7 Square.

The commemoration and the renaming of the square were jointly organized by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Hungary (Mazsihisz) and the Jewish Community of Budapest (BZSH) together with the Budapest and Erzsébetváros municipalities.

Following the address by the president of Mazsihisz, Jakov Hadas-Handelsman, the ambassador of the State of Israel to Hungary gave an impassioned speech. He expressed his gratitude for the symbolic renaming of the square and for the expressed solidarity. He called the renaming of the square symbolic because, as he said, Herzl Tivadar, who dreamed of establishing the state of Israel, was born here and the perpetrators of the October 7 terrorist attack wanted to destroy this dream. He pointed out that in addition to Jewish people, the terrorists killed Arabs, Christians, and even students from Africa studying agriculture. This attack was directed not only against the state of Israel, but also against our civilization, the ambassador stated.

According to Péter Niedermüller mayor of Budapest’s 7^th district, Erzsébetváros, what happened on October 7 was one of the most horrific mass murders after the Second World War and left a scar on Israel for many years. The terrorist attack by Hamas has nothing to do with the Palestinian people and their freedom, he emphasized. The mayor expressed his condolences to the State of Israel and the families of the victims.

Gergely Karácsony, lord mayor of Budapest, said that there is no place in Budapest for demonstrations that legitimize and relativize violence. If there is something that the government and the opposition agree on, it is this, he added. The mayor expressed his solidarity on behalf of the people of Budapest, as he said, "we share the pain of the Israeli people". Referring to Theodor Herzl, he explained that the idea of establishing the state of Israel "comes from Budapest". “We demand the immediate release of the hostages, and we demand that Hamas stop its acts of violence” - emphasized the mayor.

Chief Rabbi of Hungary, Dr. Róbert Frölich drew the audience's attention to the sufferings of the hostages. He said, "There are no words for the sufferings the hostages may experience if they are still alive.”He called on everyone to imagine, if only for one day, what these innocent people may experience.

At the end of the ceremony, participants lit candles in front of the temporary October 7 Square sign.