An anti-Israel demonstration planned to take place at the entrance to Budapest’s annual Cholent Festival was moved away from the Jewish event following the intervention of Hungarian municipal authorities.
The Cholent Festival, organized by EMIH - the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities - under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Slomó Köves, is one of Budapest’s major Jewish cultural events and attracts tens of thousands of visitors celebrating Jewish heritage.
The festival is being held in conjunction with Synagogue Week, a series of events surrounding the High Holiday season.
Against the backdrop of recent political developments in Hungary, local rapper Gergely Komáromi, known as G Ras, had called for a pro-Palestinian demonstration directly outside the entrance to the festival under the slogan, “Together for Justice - From Palestine to Budapest."
The plans sparked outrage among members of the Hungarian Jewish community and local leaders, who described the choice of location as a deliberate and hostile provocation targeting a Jewish religious and cultural celebration rather than a conventional political demonstration.
The controversy came shortly after another anti-Israel demonstration in Budapest expressing support for Abu Safiya, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Maja Karmely-Kadosh identified Abu Safiya as a senior Hamas officer who used medical facilities for terrorist activity.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony also publicly criticized the demonstration’s organizers for glorifying Abu Safiya, prompting sharp criticism from the activists.
Rabbi Köves warned that bringing political protests directly into the physical space occupied by Jewish communal events crosses a red line between opposition to Israel and hostility directed at Jews in Hungary.
Following public pressure and concerns surrounding the safety of festival participants, Hungarian authorities intervened and redirected the planned demonstration away from the festival grounds.
Rabbi Köves welcomed the decision, stressing that Hungary’s Jewish community would not be intimidated and would continue to celebrate Jewish life and culture proudly and openly.
The Cholent Festival also marked the launch of this year’s Synagogue Week, which will include the opening of two new synagogues in Budapest.
One of the new locations, affiliated with the CTeen movement, will be the first synagogue in the world to be operated and managed entirely by teenagers under the age of 18. The initiative will be led by Rabbi Tzami Bassman.