Yacov Hadas-Handelsman: a diplomat’s view on Hungary’s support and misconception - interview

Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, one of Israel’s top diplomats, couldn’t believe his ears.

In spring 2022, around the last parliamentary elections in Hungary, Hadas-Handelsman, who has been serving for the past five years as Israel’s ambassador to Hungary, received a call from an Israeli journalist working for a leading TV station in Israel. The journalist was preparing a report about the political situation in Hungary and wanted to hear the Israeli ambassador’s opinion on the matter.

However, the journalist already had his own opinion about what was happening in Hungary under the government of Viktor Orban and was not at all willing to hear what Hadas-Handelsman had to say. At the end of the conversation, the journalist even accused the ambassador of being on Orban’s payroll. The report he aired presented the situation in Hungary the way the journalist saw it from Israel.

During the last years of his long career at the Foreign Ministry, Hadas-Handelsman, who is returning to Israel and retiring at the age of 67 from diplomatic activities, experienced almost daily the vast gap between Hungary’s fervent and meaningful support of Israel and Hungary’s negative image.

While Hungary has become a central defender of Israel and its best ally in the European Union and in other international forums, it has been portrayed in Israel, as in other Western states, as a country under an “autocratic, anti-liberal, and corrupt government.” Often, Orban’s Hungary has been described as antisemitic, despite the fact that Hungary and Budapest are among the safest places in Europe for Jews and Israelis, even since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War. Under the current Hungarian presidency, the EU even adopted in October a firm declaration on combating antisemitism and promoting Jewish life in Europe.

“If Hungary was like the image some Israelis have of it, especially in the Israeli press, why are the Hungarians so supportive of Israel?” Hadas-Handelsman wondered during an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post. “This gap between image and reality does not make sense.

“As someone who lived in Hungary, I think many false ideas about Hungary are rooted in ignorance and superficiality. Nothing is perfect in Hungary, too. There is always room for change and improvement. But, an image has to reflect a certain reality, not a ‘reality’ that doesn’t exist.

“Here is an example: Before the last general elections of April 2022, there were claims in the US and European press that Orban was gerrymandering the voting constituencies in order to guarantee his victory. According to some of these claims, Orban manipulated the electoral system in a sophisticated way so that even if only one-third of the electorate turned out to vote, he would manage to win a two-thirds majority. However, the fact is that the last time the voting constituencies’ partition was fixed was in 2012.

“Orban returned to power in 2010, after eight years in the opposition, winning a two-third majority, and he has kept this majority most of the time since then. These claims about gerrymandering were baseless. It doesn’t matter what opinions you have – facts are facts. One cannot build a whole theory on nonexisting facts or facts that contradict reality.

“As a representative of a state that also suffers from distorted images and stereotypes, I can understand the situation the Hungarians find themselves in. I tried as much as I could to give advice on how one can improve one’s image. But the world has its habits. We, Israelis, see it daily, over decades in our case. You can explain whatever you want. People have opinions and don’t want to be confused by the facts.”

Let’s be concrete. It is claimed that under Orban, Hungary became less democratic. Orban is being described as an autocratic, nationalistic, and far-right leader. He was accused of antisemitism mainly in connection with his positions on George Soros and his foundation. None of this reflects reality.

“As I said before, nothing is perfect. But to say that Hungary is not a democracy is nonsense.

“One of the criteria for democracy is if you can change a ruling party in an election. Go and check what happened in all the elections that took place in recent years. The last elections were on June 9 – municipal ones and for the European Parliament. Just before these elections, a new political party was established, the Tisza Party, headed by Peter Magyar. Magyar was a member of [Orban’s] ruling Fidesz Party and became anti-Orban. Now, he wants to remove Orban from power. His party won almost 30% of the votes in the European election at the expense of the center-left parties. He crushed the Center-Left. But he could be a serious challenger for Orban and his allies in the coming general election of 2026. On the municipal level, Fidesz didn’t manage to retake Budapest, the ‘jewel of the crown,’ which they lost to the opposition in 2019.

“Isn’t that democracy? The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is not known to be a staunch supporter of the current Hungarian government, published a report after the last general elections emphasizing the freedom of access to voting polls. Nobody tried to influence or threaten the voters. People knew exactly who they voted for and why.

“The funniest case happened a few years ago: it was reported that Orban replaced the judges of the High Court, and as these judges refused to leave their offices, they found out that the locks of their offices were changed and all their belongings were taken out and left in the corridors. There was a ‘minor’ problem with this story: it didn’t happen in Hungary, but in Poland.

“Many things are distorted, including the accusations of antisemitism.

“What happened in Hungary during World War II was a horrible story. Even when the Germans wanted to leave Hungary, the members of the Hungarian fascist Iron Cross went on murdering Jews. You can’t change history.

“You see that Hungary deals with its past. It is not trying to rewrite history or minimize it, while in other corners of Europe, you see attempts to rewrite history. When former Hungarian president János Áder visited Auschwitz in 2017 on International Holocaust Day, he said that it was the biggest Hungarian cemetery in the world because a third of the 1.5 million Jews who were murdered there were Hungarians. Representatives of the Hungarian government have declared at events commemorating the Holocaust that the Hungarians ‘disappointed and abandoned our Jewish citizens.’ One even went as far as to say that Hungary “betrayed [our] Jewish citizens.’”

Hadas-Handelsman stresses the Hungarian government’s contribution to the revival of Jewish life and heritage in the country, which still has one of Europe’s largest Jewish communities.

“You see all the money that was and is invested in the renewal or restoration of Jewish life that once was here and will never return – the synagogues, the cemeteries. It is always amazing to see what remote villages Jews were living in. They were part of the general Hungarian human landscape – farmers, merchants, lawyers, doctors. Today, there are no more Jews in those villages, and there will never be Jews there again. But somebody is taking care of the Jewish heritage. Old synagogues were restored, and sometimes became museums, cultural centers, and public libraries.

“There were some antisemitic incidents here and there, but looking at the situation as a whole, the picture is positive. In Hungary, there is very clear legislation on antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and the laws are vigorously implemented. Hungary is considered one of Europe’s safest countries, not only for Jews and Israelis.

“A few days ago I had some Israeli friends visiting, and they were astonished to see Orthodox Jews walking in the streets of Budapest. They thought it was impossible in Europe, but in Hungary, you can walk around with a kippah and tzitzit.

“During the time I have been ambassador here, the embassy hardly got any complaints on antisemitic incidents. A large-scale survey published in 2022 by the European Jewish Association asserted that Hungary and Italy were the best European countries for ‘visible’ Jews to live in. Compared with other places in Europe and the world, the situation in Hungary is very good.”

Hadas-Handelsman was born in 1957 in Tel Aviv to parents who arrived in Israel from Poland a year before World War II broke out. They were both members of a hachsara (agricultural training) group of Hapoel HaMizrachi. His father’s family was killed by the Germans, and his mother’s family survived, as the Soviets transported them from occupied Poland to Uzbekistan.

After eight years of military service, Hadas-Handelsman studied international relations and Middle East studies, and joined the Foreign Ministry in 1983. He served in Turkey, Austria, Great Britain; was head of missions in Qatar, Jordan, the EU and NATO, Germany, Hungary; and was deputy director-general of the ministry’s Middle East and Peace Process Division.

A decade ago, you served as Israel’s ambassador to Germany. Germany has a very positive image in Israel and in the Jewish world, an image that is far from reflecting the realities there. How do you explain Israelis’ positive view of Germany compared to the negative one of Hungary?

“Germany is another story of very complex and unique relations in many fields. On the whole, the Germans have done and are still doing many things for the State of Israel and for the Jewish people. The problem with Germany, as I see it, is that circumstances have changed there. The German attitude is very positive in many domains. But the more time passes since the Holocaust, the more complicated the preservation of the unique nature of relations and commitment by younger generations that reach higher positions within the political leadership.

“There is the growing influence of the effects of mass immigration that started a decade ago. Add to that the bigger role that Germany is playing today in European and world politics. This influences Germany’s policy towards Israel. It doesn’t mean that Germany is not okay with us, but the circumstances have changed, and we have to understand that there is a new reality.

“Hungary is not Germany. But it’s worth mentioning that both Germany and Hungary are dealing head-on with their past.”

Orban became the leader of Europe’s New Right, being the main force behind the formation of the new “Patriots for Europe” group in the European Parliament, which became the third largest political group. To what extent is he a central player in today’s Europe?

“He is clearly trying to play a central role. He claims that Central and Eastern Europe are today what Western Europe used to be before. In his vision, Western European states have lost their national identity, become subordinated to Brussels’s bureaucracy, and promote multiculturalism. He thinks that the Central and Eastern Europeans represent today the values of the democratic Europe, based on a Judeo-Christian culture.

“One of the major disputes between Hungary and the EU is the issue of immigration. The EU tried to impose a quota of immigrants on every EU member. Orban refused to accept it. Now he says: ‘Look what happens in other countries because of mass immigration, and see the situation in Hungary.’ All of a sudden, other countries are changing their previous policies, limiting immigration and closing borders.

“He has a certain vision of Europe that is not necessarily the vision of the old members of the EU. The formation of the Patriots group was born because the conservative EPP Group didn’t want to keep Fidesz in it. Even the ECR group, which is more to the Right, didn’t want Fidesz. So Orban formed a new group. I didn’t think that it would become such a big group. It’s a new force, which wants to show that it has a say in Europe. The current EU system of ‘one state, one vote,’ which gives every state a veto power, is the main weapon of the small states in the union and is driving the big member states and the EU Commission crazy. Hungary uses it relatively often to block decisions on different issues. Here, we have a case of a middle-sized state in Central Europe. Not a very important one, as Orban himself says. But it acts beyond its size and sometimes moves things.”

Hadas-Handelsman is also critical of the position of the EU Parliament toward “Patriots for Europe.”

“The new ‘Patriots’ group is being boycotted and didn’t get any posts in the EU. I think that this attitude is very dangerous. It’s a double-edged sword, and those who haven’t understood it so far better start understanding it. Once you create a precedent, tomorrow you might be the victim of it. Is the EU a limited democracy? Of course, extremes should be off-limits, but this is not the case for Fidesz and the ‘Patriots.’

“I was an ambassador to the EU, and I don’t think punishment is the way to behave. The EU is the best thing that happened to Europe since World War II. As an Israeli who spent half of his diplomatic career dealing with the Arab world, seeing what is happening in the Schengen zone and its freedom of movement is a dream. You are a European, but you can keep your own national identity.

“My dream is that, one day, we shall have the same situation in our region. When I was an ambassador in Jordan and then director of the Middle East department, I always said that on local issues Eilat has more in common with Akaba than with Beersheba. The proximity strengthens the interest to work together. Today, hundreds of Jordanian workers cross the border daily to work in Eilat. Like in Europe.”

Some would say, though, that the EU has reached the end of its historical role, in light of all the problems it faces nowadays, including mounting nationalism, massive immigration, and the war in Ukraine. Do you agree?

“There is a main problem in Europe that is conceptual: Should the EU become the United States of Europe? Many supported this idea in the past, but there are fewer today. Or, do you want to see a Europe of Nations, united in diversity?

“Even in the most liberal EU member states, people are not willing to change their way of living and habits. I don’t think that the EU is losing its role, because you need a regulator for such a big operation. But this regulator has to act in good faith, with good taste, and in a measured way.

“There are enough examples that show how the larger members of the EU act according to their own interests and not according to the decisions of the EU institutions, and then try to force the small states to do what they don’t do themselves.

“The situation is not perfect, but I really don’t think that the EU’s role has come to an end.

“The EU has a very beneficiary role in [spreading] its values to neighboring countries and even beyond them.

“A war breaks out in Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of wheat. The exports of Ukrainian goods were reduced due to the war. Now, Hungary has a different position on the war in Ukraine than other members of the EU and also has good relations with Russia. Poland has a totally different stand on this matter. When it was suggested that Ukrainian wheat and other agricultural products be transferred to neighboring countries or countries in Western Europe, Hungary and Poland found themselves united with Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, refusing this proposal, which threatened their own farmers. They rejected the import of agricultural products from Ukraine and still block it.

“Since the October 7 massacre and the war that followed, Hungary not only blocked several anti-Israel resolutions, which the EU Commission and other member states were pushing. Hungary also rescued Israeli sports, especially soccer, by enabling Israeli teams and clubs to host their international home games in Hungary.”

Do you feel that Orban’s support of Israel comes from a profound understanding of Israel’s positions and needs, or because he wants to provoke the EU?

“He could have provoked the EU with other issues, and sometimes he does. There are common interests for Hungary and Israel in different issues and domains.

“Hungary sees itself in a situation similar to that of Israel. Hungary is a border country of the EU since it is located at the edge of the EU, next to Ukraine and Serbia. It’s a country that wants to protect itself from uncontrolled waves of immigrants.

“Let us not forget the long history, which is relevant to many Israelis of Hungarian origin and their cultural heritage. The fact that hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Hungarian descent live in Israel plays an important role in both countries. It is clear that the Hungarian support is consequent, and it is across parties. Even within the opposition, I didn’t encounter any reticence toward this support.

“After October 7, there was an initiative to change the name of Herzl Square in front of Budapest’s main synagogue to the October 7 Square. The government published an order forbidding any pro-Palestinian demonstration. The mayor of Budapest, a leader of the opposition, published a similar order. He said in one of his speeches that the only thing the government and he can agree on is forbidding such demonstrations, after what was done to Israel. Israel is sometimes the only uniting issue in Hungary.”

Why did Hungary not transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?

“The Hungarian government really wanted to do it, but not alone. When I came to Budapest, the former US ambassador, David Cornstein, a Jew and a Trump nominee, dealt a lot with this issue and tried to promote it. But the moving of the embassy did not materialize, because other candidates to join Hungary got cold feet. However, it will happen. Since 2018, there is a trade representation office in Jerusalem, which they also use for other purposes to make a point.”

How would you sum up over four decades as an Israeli diplomat?

“Although there is a tendency to take our work at the Foreign Ministry lightly, what Israeli diplomacy is doing – yesterday, today, and I suppose in the future, too – is well beyond the expectations from any other diplomats of other countries with much bigger budgets and manpower at their disposal. An Israeli diplomat with a very limited budget and heavy security restrictions can be much more useful and effective than 10 diplomats of a big country.

“I am now finishing my eighth mission abroad. People ask me which country I enjoyed most. My honest answer is that I can’t say. Every mission was unique and challenging – because of the place, the people, the events, the nature of the relations.

“If you ask me about Hungary, I faced challenges here which I hadn’t thought I would face. The first one was COVID, which influenced us all. Then there was the evacuation of Israelis with the start of the war in Ukraine. Hungary was one of the countries through which this evacuation took place. And then there is the challenge of [Operation] Swords of Iron.

“In between, I also managed to enjoy Hungary. With all the different challenges I had to deal with over the years, I enjoyed my career, even though it wasn’t easy at times.”

Is diplomacy still needed in the digital 21st century?

“Of course. This question popped up with the first video call in the 1990s. It’s true that progress changed the conditions of communication and traveling. When heads of state or ministers want to talk to each other, they might need us diplomats to create the connection. If they already have personal relations, they don’t need ambassadors to communicate.

“COVID brought with it the Zoom culture. But there are dimensions that cannot be covered by Zoom or video conversations. One can’t see the whole picture on the ground: You only get an impression of what your interlocutor wants you to see, and that doesn’t always reflect realities. Then, you can’t really feel the other person through such digital means. Direct contact is irreplaceable.

“Moreover, once leaders make decisions together, a follow-up on the ground is necessary. Somebody has to do it. You have to explain to the decision-makers at home why a certain country is reacting in a certain way; you can do it better if you live in the country and feel it. That’s the role of diplomats, let alone the economic work, which is today a major part of our work. In order to promote economic interests, you have to be on the ground.

“Add to that culture and sport. I tried to deepen the idea of sports diplomacy, especially soccer. The relations we had with people in Hungary enabled us to hold Israel’s national team games here despite all the security issues related to the war.

“Human contact can’t be replaced even by the most advanced digital technology. Therefore, the importance of diplomatic representations is still present.

“The nature of our work has changed. It’s much more down to earth, not as snobbish as it was in the past. But diplomacy is still very well, alive and kicking in every field.”