Viktor Orban and Benjamin Netanyahu
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday wrapped up a two-day official visit to Israel amid ongoing friction between his country and the EU over immigration policy.
Orban arrived in Israel on Wednesday after which he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and a number of other Israeli officials.
On Friday, Orban visited East Jerusalem’s Al-Buraq Wall (known to Jews as the “Western Wall”), where -- in line with Jewish tradition -- he placed a prayer note.
Turkey’s vice president on Thursday slammed Israel's new "Jewish nation-state" law.Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter that Israel’s parliament, which ignores fundamental rights and freedoms, with the new law has harmed principles of universal law."Such legislation is unacceptable for the Turkish Republic. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and will continue to be its capital," Oktay stressed, referring to the section of the law saying that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.Turkish presidential aide condemns 'Jewish state' lawTurkey slams Israel's 'Jewish nation-state' lawIsrael's Knesset on Thursday passed a law which declares the country to be “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”The law was approved 62-55 in a tumultuous Knesset session in which Arab lawmakers slammed what they called “Israeli racism against the Arab minority.”According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the law “officially defines Israel as the ‘national homeland of the Jewish people’.”It further states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language but recognizing its “special status.”The legislation’s most controversial article, however, which would have paved the way for the creation of “Jewish-only” communities in Israel, was removed before the vote.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a “defining moment for Zionism and Israel”.“One hundred and twenty-two years after [Zionist leader Theodor] Herzl articulated his vision, we have, with this law, determined the basic principle of our existence,” he said.
Turkish vice president blasts new Israeli law
In a statement, both Netanyahu and Rivlin voiced appreciation for what they described as the Hungarian government's “positive relationship with the State of Israel”.
Orban also visited Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, where he was confronted by Israeli protesters who accused him of “anti-Semitism”.
For the past year, Orban has been accused by Hungary’s Jewish community of leading an “anti-Semitic propaganda campaign” against George Soros, an international Jewish “philanthropist” and champion of “left-wing” causes.
At a joint press conference, however, Netanyahu defended Orban, describing him as “a true friend of Israel”.
“We have discussed the tragic events experienced by the Jewish people in Hungary,” the prime minister said.
Addressing his Hungarian counterpart, he added: “I hear you speak, as a true friend of Israel, of the need to combat anti-Semitism.”
Orban, for his part, told reporters that “we [Hungary] have the largest Jewish community in Central Europe and my information is that they feel safe there”.
“According to my definition,” he added, “this is not anti-Semitism”.
Unlike most other European leaders who have visited the region, Orban did not make a stop in the Palestinian territories or meet with Palestinian officials.