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Hungarian Jews

Rabbi Mihaly Duschinszky sings a prayer at the reopening of the Rákospalota Synagogue in Budapest, September 17, 2026 (EMIH)
'We have a historical responsibility to reclaim them'
Hungary’s abandoned synagogues are finding new life — and attracting new congregants
By Zev Stub
After decades of secular use, two historic Budapest synagogues have reopened as part of a Chabad-led effort to reconnect Hungarian Jews with their heritage
Hungarian-American chess grandmaster Susan Polgar. (Renata Goreczki)
October 25, 2025, 8:06 am
Skewering antisemites and sexists, a chess queen recounts her journey to the top
In new memoir, ‘Rebel Queen,’ Hungarian Jewish grandmaster Susan Polgar details attacking the forces that tried, and failed, to put her in check on the way to becoming a world champion
By Rich Tenorio
Illustrative; An Israeli flag is raised on the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, with the Buda Castle in Budapest in the background on April 2, 2025, as preparations are under way for the visit of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)
September 5, 2025, 10:33 pm
Hungarian Jews spark backlash with letter condemning Gaza war and local Jewish leaders
Online petition signed by hundreds, including prominent figures, decries sidelining of anti-war community members; leadership stays silent and critics call the missive ‘hypocrisy’
By JTA Staff
Adam LeBor, author of 'Last Days of Budapest.' (Courtesy Zoltan Tuba)
April 22, 2025, 2:38 am
New book portrays a chaotic Budapest just before the Holocaust reached Hungary
‘Last Days of Budapest’ by Adam LeBor features oblivious politicians, Zionist forgers, courageous diplomats and murderous priests in a sad but true history of the Hungarian capital
By Robert Philpot
EMIH chief rabbi Shlomo Koves, center left, meets with Hungarian Education Minister Balazs Hanko, center right, in Budapest on February 10, 2025. (Courtesy)
February 18, 2025, 4:26 am
Hungary’s Education Ministry approves new university-level Jewish studies program
The EMIH-run Milton Friedman University in Budapest will offer undergraduate and graduate programs, with the MA track available online in English for international students
By ToI Staff
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks with the media after registering his name as a candidate for the June 18 presidential elections at elections headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Tehran, Iran, May 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
May 8, 2024, 9:04 pm
Jewish groups decry visit of Iran’s Ahmadinejad to Hungarian university
Two congregations urge school to reconsider giving Holocaust-denying ex-president platform; Israel calls invitation a ‘grave insult’ to Hungarian Jewish victims of genocide
By AFP
Fenet Gossa and Kalkidan Eshteu work on their EZ Registration project at the Foka STEMpower center in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, July 2023. (courtesy)
August 21, 2023, 1:40 pm
Daily Briefing Aug. 21: The ultra-Orthodox aren’t bringing down the coalition – yet
Deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan explores scientific entrepreneurship in Africa and religion reporter Canaan Lidor explains a community’s hostile takeover in Hungary
By ToI Staff
Hasidic Jews pray near the gravesite of 'Wonder Rabbi' Yeshaya Steiner in Bodrogkeresztur, Hungary, April 24, 2023. (Yaakov Schwartz/ Times of Israel)
May 7, 2023, 1:38 am
‘Wonder Rabbi’ pilgrimage brings feuds, fraud and huge potential for Hungary’s Jews
As some 150,000 Orthodox Jews flock annually to Yeshaya Steiner’s grave in Bodrogkeresztur, the village’s future is at risk even as Budapest seeks to become a top Jewish center
By Yaakov Schwartz
Abigél Szõke and Károly Hajduk in 'Those Who Remained.' (Courtesy: Menemsha Films)
April 28, 2023, 10:16 am
In Hungarian film ‘Those Who Remained,’ how 2 Holocaust survivors adapt to new lives
In the 2019 film making its US debut in NYC on April 28, a man and a young girl learn to lean on each other for support as the Communist regime ushers in an era of fresh challenges
By Rich Tenorio
A student takes a picture of a graduate of Milton Friedman University in Budapest, Hungary, July 15, 2017. (Milton Friedman University/via JTA)
October 24, 2022, 11:54 pm
A secular Budapest university run by Chabad is eyeing a major expansion
Milton Friedman University, operated by the Lubavitch-affiliated EMIH, is using a $22 million government grant to raise enrollment — and it hopes to attract more Jewish students
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Ukrainian Jewish refugees are seen in a newly opened kosher camp on the southern shore of Lake Balaton in Balatonoszod, Hungary, on July 29, 2022. (Peter Kohalmi/AFP)
August 18, 2022, 12:02 pm
Observant Ukrainian Jewish refugees find peace at Hungarian resort complex
A Chabad-affiliated camp on the shores of Lake Balaton hosts 700 religious Jews; hundreds of others are on a waiting list
By Peter Murphy
Hungary's Prime Minister Victor Orban attends a joint press conference with Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer at the Federal Chancellery during Orban's official visit to Austria in Vienna, Austria, July 28, 2022. (Alex Halada/AFP)
July 30, 2022, 8:17 pm
EU parliament leaders slam Hungary’s Orban for ‘openly racist’ remarks
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen stresses union’s values are ‘non-negotiable’ after Hungarian PM speaks out against ‘race-mixing’
By AFP
Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan (Alex Kolomoisky/Yad Vashem)
July 28, 2022, 6:26 pm
Yad Vashem chair: Orban’s race comments evoke ideologies behind Holocaust
Hungary’s PM defends remarks as misundertood, asserts he was referring to ‘a cultural standpoint’; Austrian chancellor says issue has been resolved ‘amicably’
By AFP and ToI Staff
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban acknowledges cheering supporters during an election night rally in Budapest, Hungary, on April 3, 2022. (Petr David Josek/AP)
July 26, 2022, 10:36 pm
Holocaust survivors call out Hungary’s Orban for ‘stupid and dangerous’ race speech
International Auschwitz Committee says Hungarian premier’s remarks, in which he decried interracial mixing, are reminiscent of ‘dark times’
By AFP
From left: Gyulane Farkas, Istvan Feher, Aron Feher and David Feher at Giero Pub, Budapest, May 16, 2022. (Yaakov Schwartz/Times of Israel)
July 21, 2022, 3:57 am
In Budapest, an underground ‘Gypsy music’ pub plays on Jewish heartstrings
One of the Hungarian capital’s best-kept open secrets is Giero Pub, a small but charming basement venue with top-notch music – and a tragic family history marred by the Holocaust
By Yaakov Schwartz
Women prepare kosher food for Jewish refugees from Ukraine in Balatonőszöd, Hungary, in June 2022. (Courtesy of EMIH)
July 2, 2022, 12:58 pm
In Hungary, a palace tied to political scandal becomes a Jewish refugee camp
Ukrainian Jews fleeing the Russian invasion are taking refuge in a mansion that’s being outfitted to hold nearly 700 people, with a kosher kitchen to feed hundreds more
By Cnaan Liphshiz
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