The government has concluded a comprehensive agreement with the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation. The document was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation’s chief rabbi Slomó Köves on Monday, in the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest.
Mr Semjén highlighted that by concluding the agreement the Hungarian State recognises two things: The historical traditions of the Jewish community that seeks to preserve its traditions, and the present and future service which the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation renders for the renaissance of the Jewish community in Hungary. He said in Hungary all three Jewish organisations – the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), the Hungarian Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community and the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation – are recognised at the highest level, but “the next, and highest level of recognition, both financially and symbolically” is when the government enters into a separate agreement with the given congregation.
An agreement was signed with Mazsihisz during the first Orbán Government, and that agreement was also signed by the then leader of the Hungarian Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community. With the agreement concluded with the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation, the entirety of the Jewish community in Hungary is recognised, he added. Mr Semjén highlighted that, pursuant to the agreement, the institutions established and operated by the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation are entitled to the same amount of funding as state institutions performing similar responsibilities. In the agreement, the government entrusted the refurbishment and preservation of institutions in the provinces “orphaned” in consequence of the Holocaust to the Congregation, along with the task of filling them with life.
The agreement further lays down that the government supports the Milton Friedman University. The institution could become a flagship of Jewish awareness, and it additionally also conveys Jewish values to non-Jews, the Deputy Prime Minister said. He stressed that the Hungarian Jewish community “is an inseparable part of the country both historically and at the present time”. After Trianon, a significant percentage of Hungarian-speaking Jews also found themselves beyond the borders, and the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation provides a great deal of assistance with the reinforcement of and communication with these Jewish communities. Mr Köves said since its establishment in 2004 the most important mission of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation has been to showcase the values of the Jewish community and “to make them accessible, filled with life” to all Jews in Hungary.
He pointed out that a study conducted by András Kovács in 2018 within the Jewish community proves that the Congregation’s work of 15 years “has borne fruit”. This study was the repeat of a survey carried out twenty years earlier. The research has shown that while twenty years ago 70 per cent of members of the active, synagogue-going Jewish community followed their parents’ customs and only 30 per cent of them were “returning” members, meaning synagogue-going children of non-synagogue-attending parents, today these percentages are the reverse. Additionally, while twenty years ago the memory of the Holocaust featured among the most important factors determining Jewish identity, today “this is preceded by the preservation of the values of Jewish traditions and a subjective Jewish awareness,” he said.
Mr Köves added that more than 80 per cent of those interviewed in the study said the work of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation is essential for rebuilding the Jewish community. The head of UHJC thanked the government for its support, observing that while the content part of the job is their responsibility, the government’s openness is essential for their success.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau highlighted that the agreement guarantees the preservation of values of the past and offers guidance for the building of the future all at once. In his view, Hungary also confers a benefit upon its own citizens when it enters into an agreement with such a Jewish organisation as the people see that the preservation of old values is meaningful, mutually recognising one another is a value, and with this they promote the building of a peaceful future that is free from conflicts. Mr Lau also had talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He said regarding the meeting that he had the opportunity to see for himself that the Prime Minister regards respect for the past as a special priority, and wishes to build a brighter future on the foundations of the past. According to the church legislation, those churches qualify as established churches (falling into the highest legal category) “with which the State has concluded a comprehensive agreement on cooperation in the interest of community goals”.
Churches, including the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation, which were established churches also before the entry into force of the present legislation are allowed to keep their ‘established church’ status also in the absence of such an agreement. At the same time, they can ask the government to conclude an agreement. Incorporated religious communities can function as religious associations, listed churches, registered churches and established churches. Thirty-two churches fall into the latter category.