The Flourishing of Jewish Life in Hungary www.jewishagency.org

The Jewish Agency is funded by The Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod, major Jewish communities and federations, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, foundations and donors from Israel and around the world.

Partnering with purpose, all over the world.

Our Timeless Vision:To ensure the future of a connected, committed, global Jewish People witha strong Israel at its center.

Our Mission:Inspire Jews throughout the world to Connect with their people, heritage and Land, and Empower them to builda thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel.

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“Proud Jews connected to the past and the future can succeed at making this world a better place.”

- Natan Sharansky, former Soviet refusenik and Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel

Sixty-five years after the Holocaust and in the midst of rising anti-Semitism and spiraling intermarriage rates, Jewish life in Hungary is miraculously beginning to flourish, especially among the younger generation.

The Jewish Agency stands at the forefront of this change. In recent years it has been successfully confronting the challenges to the Jewish community by using Israel as the source and inspiration around which Jewish identity can be nurtured. Key goals in Hungary include:• Outreachtonon-affiliatedJewishyoungsters

• Buildingsupportivepartnershipswiththenewlocalcommunityleaderships

• IncreasingtheteachingofHebrewandJewishliteracyatalllevels

• Intensifying Israel-centeredactivities as awayof strengtheningJewish identity

• Increasing the number of students and young people whoparticipate in long and short-term Israel experience programs suchasBirthrightIsraelandMasa

Hungarian Jewry Before World War II more than 800,000 Jews lived in Hungary.Some 600,000 Jews comprising almost the entire provincial Jewishpopulation of Hungary perished in the Holocaust in the closing monthsofWorldWarII,butmuchoftheBudapestJewishcommunitysurvived.Duringandafterthe1956uprisingsagainsttheSovietUniontensofthousandsofJewsemigrated,buteveninthedarkestdaysofCommunismBudapestJewrymanagedtomaintaincommunitylife.

TherehasbeenamajorrevivalofJewishlifeinHungarysincethefallofCommunismin1989.TodayHungary,a land-lockedcountryof10millionintheveryheartofEurope,isalsoamemberoftheEuropeanUnion.Approximately100,000JewsliveinHungary,thelargestnumber

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• Holiday celebrations – community-wide celebrations of Jewish and Israeli holidays, from Chanukah, Passover and Purim toIndependenceDay.

• Website – operation of a comprehensive website thatprovidesinformationonJewishandIsraeliculturalactivities.

Aliyah EncouragementThe Jewish Agency aliyah emissary (shaliach) for Hungary and the local aliyah staff connect Hungarian Jewry to Israel. They are an important resourceinthecommunitytoprovidepertinentinformationonaliyahissues, streamlining the aliyah process, absorption programs and aliyah rights.Aliyahactivities,partoftheIsraelCulturalInstitute(ICI),targetgraduatesofIsraelprogramssuchasMasaandBirthrightIsrael.

Aliyah representatives work intensively on an individual basis withbothsinglepeopleaswellasfamilieswhodecidetomakealiyah.Theiractivitiesincludethefollowing:

• Toexplainandpromotethebroadrangeof tailoredabsorptionprograms

• Torunaspecialpre-aliyahHebrewlanguageulpan

• Toassistnewimmigrantsinaliyahpreparation

• TobuildongoingconnectionswiththeHungariancommunityinIsraeltoassistnewimmigrantsmakeIsraeltheirhome.

In2009,90HungarianJewsmadealiyah-a90percentincreasefrom2008.WiththerecentchangeinthepoliticalclimateinHungary,therehas been an increase in aliyah inquiries.

“I urge young Jews to recognize that true freedom is a product of a strong Jewish identity and connectedness with one’s history and traditions.”

- Natan Sharansky, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel

Jewish Agency Activities in HungaryThe First Israeli Cultural Institute in Europe TheJewishAgencyseekstostrengthenJewishidentityandconnectionto Israel in Hungary. In a groundbreaking move, it has broughttogether Jewish Hungarian and Israeli businesspeople as well as Jewish philanthropiststocentralizeactivitiesandcreateEurope’s first Israeli Cultural Institute (ICI) in Budapest. The newly established ICI (to be launchedinSeptember2010)aimsto:

• IncreaseIsrael-centeredactivitiesasameanstostrengthenJewishidentity among the next generation

• Connect between Israelis and Hungarians by organizing andpromoting cultural, educational and academic programs

• CreateavenueforpreandpostIsraelexperienceactivities

• Develop a strong Jewish community involved in ongoingprograms,clubs,workshopsandculturalactivities

• Supportcreativeinitiativeswithlocalpartners

• Providequalityservicesincludingabookstore,informationcenterand café

• Create a transparent and sustainable institute to serve JewishcommunitiesinEasternEurope

Agency’sMASAIsrael

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“The Jewish Agency’s Masa Israel Journey program brought me into a circle not just with others from around the world but with my Israeli peers. Last year, I returned to Israel as a Taglit counselor. Back home I volunteer as a board member of the Israeli Cultural Institute.”

- Gabor B, a young lawyer from Hungary

The establishment of the Israeli Cultural Institute heralds a new era of vibrantJewishculturalactivityinEasternandCentralEurope.Itbringstogether educational activities, identity projects, cultural programsand Israel-centered learning to create an exciting environment forconnection to Jewish identity and Israel.

As a pre-cursor to the Institute’s opening, the ICI ran an extraordinary rangeofIsraeliculturalprogramsthatwasreceivedwithenthusiasmbythe Jewish community. It included music, literature, theatre, children’s activities,photographyexhibitionsandanexhibitionintroducingthenewimageanddesignofICI.AsofSeptember2010,alloftheJewishAgency’sdiverseeducationalandculturalactivitieswillbelocatedatthe Institute.

The Institute’s unique programs include:

• Taglit Birthright Israel – activities to promote and recruit youngpeople,18-30,forparticipationinatransformative10-dayeducational peer trip to Israel.

• Pre and Post Taglit Birthright Israel Activities – prepares young people for theirBirthright Israel trip.Some1,400youngpeoplefrom Central and Eastern Europe have participated in this tripto date. Upon their return, post Birthright Israel activities keepalumnaeconnectedtoIsrael,totheirawakeningJewishidentityandtoanetworkofJewishpeers.

• Masa – highly subsidized long-term Israel programs that enhance and deepen the connection of young adults to Israel and to the Jewishpeople.SinceMasabegan,over120Masagraduateshavereturned to Hungary, inspired to serve as Jewish communityleadersandIsraeladvocatesintheirhomecommunities.

• Tikkun-Olam – an educational and social justice program for TaglitBirthrightIsraeland/orMasagraduatesthatinvolvestheseyoung leaders in vital community volunteerwork inHungary’sJewishcommunityandinIsrael,andservesasaspringboardfortheirfutureinvolvementinJewishlife.

• Intergeneration Program - an incredible cross-generational program that brings together Holocaust survivors who haveneverbeentoIsraelandBirthrightIsraelgraduatesinHungaryforworkshopsaswellasaonceinalifetimejointtriptoIsrael.RuninconjunctionwiththeJDC.

• CEE Seminars – Seminars that bring together Birthright IsraelgraduatesandJewishstudentsfromCentralandEasternEurope.Heldeverythreemonths,theyincludeJewishidentityworkshops,Shabbatweekends,Israeliguestlecturersandactivitiesfocusingon Israel and Jewish-based themes.

• Ulpan – Hebrew classes that incorporate language, Israeli culture and Jewish heritage learning. There are some 250 studentscurrently learning Hebrew.

• Cultural events –followingICI’sofficiallaunch,abroadrangeofIsraeli cultural events, from theater to art exhibitions tomasterclassesandmoviescreenings,willbeopentothepublic.

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inEast-CentralEurope.NinetypercentoftheJewishpopulationlivesinBudapest.

Asmost young Jews throughout the regionhave littleorno Jewishidentity, assimilation rather than historic anti-Semitism is now the majorthreattoJewishsurvival.

Jewish Life in Budapest About 90% of Hungary’s Jewish community lives in the capitalBudapest, amajestic city and one of the former imperial centers oftheAustro-HungarianEmpireon thepicturesquebanksof theRiverDanube. TheannihilationoftheBudapestJewishcommunitybytheNazisonlybegan in the last year of the war and the Germans and their Hungarian allieswereunable tocomplete the task,enablingmuchof thecity’sJews to survive. Under communism a relatively liberal attitudetowardsJewishlifeprevailedandarabbinicalseminaryevenremainedoperationalinBudapest.

In recent years Budapest has become a major tourist attractionfor western visitors and with accession to the European Union theeconomy is beginning to boom, although average salaries are stillunder$1,000permonth.

Withassimilationhigh,someestimatethattheremaybeasmanyas90,000 Jews in thecity,althoughonlyaboutone-tenthareactive inthe community or Jewish organizations. Jewish life has flourished since the fallofCommunismandtodayBudapest isnowthe largestJewish community in Hungary, and also in Central Europe, with 23synagogues and prayer houses, two colleges, three secondary schools, three kindergartens, a hospital and two nursing homes, as well asseveralcemeteries.

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