Budapest’s annual Jewish Summer Festival has become one of the most important and most popular cultural events in Hungary. This year the festival was held for the fifteenth time, between 26 August and 4 September, and it provided an amazing range of events, such as klezmer-influenced urban and pop music, classical and jazz performances, concerts and exhibitions.
In his opening address, Managing Director of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (MAZSIHISZ) Gusztáv Zoltai described the festival as ‘well-known for its celebrated artists and praised by its audiences, and stressed the need for tolerance of all, regardless of religious, national or ethnic background.’
As part of the festival, Budapest’s Central Library hosted two spectacular exhibitions, on Israel’s finest children’s book illustrations, and on Jewish manuscripts and ceremonial objects. Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor and Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós both spoke at the opening event.
Ambassador Mor hoped that young and old alike would enjoy a glimpse of Israel’s past – both recent and more distant. Mr. Tarlós said that Jewish culture is an essential part of Hungarian culture, and referred to some of the many outstanding Jewish Hungarians, such as Miklós Radnóti, Antal Szerb, Frigyes Karinthy, István Örkény and Gábor Dénes. The exhibition is open until 13 September.
The festival coincided with the 10th Genfest event, an international youth meeting taking place between 31 August and 2 September in Budapest, organised by the Focolare Movement. The participants at the event were greeted by Hungary’s Foreign Minister János Martonyi.
Twelve thousand young people from eighty-five countries took part in the event, the slogan of which was ‘Let's bridge’. Minister Martonyi said that Budapest is a ‘city of bridges’ and that Hungary is a welcoming country. The coming together of peoples, civilisations and cultures enriches the country's culture, civilisation and life as a whole, he added. Maria Voce, the current leader of the Focolare Movement, said that Budapest was the first choice of potential participants who had filled in a questionnaire about which city they would like the meeting to be held in.
At the closing ceremony, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Catholic Church in Hungary, delivered a sermon in Hungarian and Italian in front of Saint Stephen's Basilica, Budapest’s largest church. He said that getting to know each other's communities, cultures and people’s individual problems is the bridge towards love of each other. Alberto Bottari de Castello, the Apostolic Nuncio, said he was delighted to see so many people attending the event, and thanked the organisers for their work.
(Prime Minister’s Office)
