For the first time a unique educational center dedicated to the life of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, was inaugurated in Budapest, the city where he was born and where he worked in his earlier years.
The Herzl Center, which was established by the World Zionist Organization and The Jewish Agency for Israel, will introduce Hungarian Jews to the Zionist movement and strengthen their connection to the State of Israel.
Visitors will be presented with an interactive exhibit on Herzl's work and on the Zionist idea, in theory and in practice. Herzl was the first who envisioned the State of Israel.
The Herzl Center is located in the Israeli Cultural Center in Budapest, a joint initiative between the Hungarian Jewish community and The Jewish Agency that focuses on exposing young European Jews to Israeli culture.
Natan Sharansky, head of the Jewish Agency,said at Sunday’s inauguration ceremony that “it is very important to focus on the fight against increasing anti-Semitism together with the Europeans and here in Hungary together with the Hungarian government.”
The ceremony was also attended by the chairman of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) Avraham Duvdevani, Israel’s Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor, representatives of the Hungarian government, ambassadors of European Union member states and leaders of the Jewish community.
The Herzl Center in Budapest will concentrate on the history and spiritual heritage of Theodor (Benjamin Zeev) Herzl, who was born in Budapest in 1860.
The new center, equipped with interactive exhibits, will be open to Jewish and non-Jewish school groups, tourists and diplomatic delegations in order to show them the past and present realization of Herzl’s thoughts about anti-Semitism and the importance of Jewish identity.
The journey begins with the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 and passes through milestones in Herzl's life as a groundbreaking leader.
The Herzl Center aims to strengthen the connection between Hungarian Jewry and the State of Israel and develop the public discourse concerning the fight against anti-Semitism, the role of Zionism, and the need for a State of Israel.
It includes a unique interactive wall that enables visitors to experience Zionism in cutting-edge ways via various activities that encourage visitors to shape the State of Israel as an exemplary society, true to Herzl's vision.
The center will host unique educational programs run by a trained educational staff that will accompany groups who wish to deepen their familiarity with the Zionist enterprise.
The interactive wall includes eleven stations in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew. The activities include a station on Herzl's life in Budapest, an original, Hungarian-language copy of Herzl's book Der Judenstadt ("The Jews' State"), a short film, "Zionism Now," regarding Herzl's vision, audio from the First Zionist Congress and an interactive station entitled "From Vision to Reality: If You Will It, It is No Dream.";
It also features a station on anti-Semitism and tolerance in Hungary throughout the years and a display on the Zionist youth movements that have operated in Hungary through the years.
On the same day, Sharansky also dedicated the permanent home of the Committee on Anti-Semitism, which will also be housed at the Israeli Cultural Center and which will research and monitor anti-Semitism in Hungary.
Also speaking at the ceremony on Sunday, Avraham Duvdevani, president of the World Zionist Organization, said that “
‘’Nobody thought that after so many years of Herzl and after the Shoah anti-Semitism would again reappear in Hungary. Herzl was mistaken thinking that the Jewish state would be the solution against anti-Semitism, said WZO President Avrahm Dudevani.
His comments were echoed by Sharansky: "In his day, Herzl believed that the establishment of a Jewish state would cause anti-Semitism to disappear. He was right about the future establishment of the State of Israel, but unfortunately anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head around the world. In many cases, the new anti-Semitism also targets the State of Israel. Israel has an important role to play in eradicating expressions of anti-Semitism along with the local Jewish communities."
The Committee on Anti-Semitism was recently created by the Hungarian Jewish leadership in order to combat anti-Semitism in Hungary via both education and legislation.
A recent survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) amongst Jews in eight EU member states, including Hungary, found that 25% of respondents had personally experienced verbal abuse or harassment due to their Jewishness in the past five years. 66% in all states said that anti-Semitism is a "very big" or "somewhat big" problem (90% in Hungary). 47% of respondents in Hungary said that they had personally encountered individuals who claimed that the Holocaust was a myth or that its significance and the number of victims are exaggerated.