On Sunday, 7 December – the last day of his U.S. visit – Hungarian Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog met with members of the U.S. Hungarian community and Hungarian churches in Los Angeles.
The first meeting was with the Bais Naftali Jewish Congregation in Los Angeles, at the invitation of congregation leader Andrew Friedman. Members of other Jewish communities also attended the meeting.
At the meeting, Mr. Balog stressed the importance of the fact that present and future generations should be made aware of the Holocaust, adding that the Hungarian public education curriculum includes a significant section of Holocaust education, as well as Jewish culture and history. The Minister also said that efforts to build a joint future in Hungary are proven by the fact that the Hungarian Jewish community has an independent and comprehensive educational system from kindergarten to university.
Education is the best answer when faced with a rising tide of the European far right, he added.
On the same day, Mr. Balog also met with the Hungarian community in Los Angeles while attending a mass at the Grace Reformed Church in the San Fernando Valley, followed by a visit to the Sándor Reményik Sunday Christian School.
The last event of the day was a meeting with the West Coast Hungarian Scientists’ Club, which gathers doctors, engineers, innovators and managers of Hungarian extraction with the common goal of helping Hungarian students find work at prestigious U.S. research institutes.