Hungary on good terms with both Israel and Muslim countries
November 14th, 2023A pro-government pundit wonders why the opposition cannot see what Israel perfectly understands about Hungary’s foreign policy.
On the Mandiner website, Mátyás Kohán sees no contradiction in Hungary’s stance in support of Israel and its fruitful relations with scores of Muslim countries, even if the latter side with Israel’s foes. He quotes an article in opposition-leaning Heti Világgazdaság criticising PM Orbán for his ‘friendly handshakes’ with President Erdoğan of Turkey while ‘trying to sell himself as a steadfast ally of Israel’. PM Orbán, Kohán reacts, shook hands with all the leaders attending the meeting of the Turkic Council, where Hungary is an observer. However, when those leaders adopted a document condemning Israel and supporting Hamas, the Hungarian Prime Minister declined to sign it. Just as Hungary voted against a resolution condemning Israel in the United Nations General Assembly, he adds. Israel, Kohán writes, has no problems with Hungary seeking fruitful relations with Turkey and other Turkic countries, otherwise President Katalin Novák wouldn’t have received a friendly welcome when she paid a solidarity visit to Israel in early November. If Israel doesn’t feel uneasy about Hungary’s Turkic friends, why do people in inner Budapest squirm about them? Kohán asks.