Budapest blocks anti-Israel attempt to mar Jewish festival

An effort to hold a pro-Palestinian rally at the entrance to the 10th anniversary Cholent Festival (Sólet Fesztivál), held on August 30 at Budapest’s City Hall Park, was thwarted by a combination of community leadership and the Hungarian authorities.

Local rapper Gergely Komáromi (aka. G Ras) attempted to organize a pro-Palestinian demonstration directly at the festival’s entrance under the slogan “Together for Justice – From Palestine to Budapest.”

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Komáromi, himself Jewish, is a political activist and musician who opposed former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch supporter of Israel. He supports a rash of left-wing causes and has boasted of traveling to Cairo to take part in the ultimately failed Global March to Gaza in June 2025. He styles himself a Rastafarian, sporting dreadlocks and even attempting to speak English with a Jamaican creole accent.

“It’s important to note that in his demonstrations to this day, and with the previous provocations he carried out, only a very small number of people took part,” Rabbi Shlomó Köves, who leads the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (EMIH), a Chabad-affiliated organization that has played a central role in reviving Hungary’s Jewish community, told JNS.

“This means that the Hungarian public denounces such people from within. It doesn’t hold extremist opinions like he does,” he added.

Komáromi was trying “to test Hungary’s limits in connection with the security of the Jews who live here,” said Köves. He warned that staging political protests close to Jewish events crossed a red line, turning anti-Israel activism into direct hostility against local Jews.

Community officials registered their anger about the planned protest, labeling it a hostile provocation aimed at disrupting a local religious celebration.

The Cholent Festival, a free, open-air event is part of the city’s Synagogue Week, this year’s 28th Jewish Cultural Festival (Aug. 30-Sept. 10), held during the High Holidays. It’s marked by concerts performed by world-class musicians at synagogues throughout the city, which are thrown open to the public. EMIH organizes the festival.

Public pressure led the municipal authorities to direct the rally away from the festival grounds. Köves commended the decision. “We are glad that he encountered a strong hand. And we are sure that it will continue like this in the future,” he said.

Köves thanked the city for its support. “We have backing from the municipality and we thank the mayor again for his firm stance,” he said.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony condemned another recent pro-Palestinian protest. On Aug. 21, the Community of Palestinians Living in Hungary organized a demonstration to show solidarity with Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. Abu Safiya was detained by Israeli authorities on Dec. 27, 2024. He holds the rank of colonel in Hamas’ Military Medical Services.

Speaking of Synagogue Week, Köves said, “Now before us is a series of events related to the Jewish community, and like the Cholent Festival, we are holding them publicly and openly.”

“We are not hiding, we are not afraid and we are not concerned. Hungary is still, and we’re sure it will continue to be so, the safest country for the Jews in Europe,” he said.

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