11.22. 15:42, kimenete: 11.23. 16:50 
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 7th 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.
