Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Hungary for its continued support during a speech at the Faith Church in Budapest.
An Israeli delegation visited the local evangelical congregation and used the opportunity to call Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas a seven-front war.
She said this is not merely about territory but is a war between ideologies, cultures, and beliefs. “It is a clash of two very different visions of humanity,” she stated.
“I am overwhelmed. Let me convey our gratitude for all your prayers and intercession for our people!” Haskell began her speech, according to the group’s portal, Hetek.hu.
The deputy foreign minister then contrasted democratic Israel, which fights for freedom, human dignity, and respect for all religions, with the “tyrannical” terrorist group Hamas, which fights based on hatred, death, and destruction.
“Hamas does not want peace, it does not seek peaceful coexistence, and it does not want a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It seeks to ensure that Israel no longer exists,” Haskel told those present.
“They burned people alive, beheaded children, raped women, kidnapped grandmothers,” Haskel recalled, stressing that Hamas had specifically chosen to target civilians during the Oct. 7 attack instead of any military installations.
To date, 50 Israeli hostages are still being held by Hamas, but the group is also “doing everything it can to prolong the suffering of the Palestinians.”
She then recounted how she had read passages in the Hebrew Bible on the prophet Habakkuk that repeatedly mention the word “hamas” or “violence” and was left shocked that these passages had accurately predicted the events of Oct. 7th.
Responding to the recognition of a Palestinian state by various heads of state, such as French President Macron, Haskel said, “They don’t understand that this is not a territorial conflict, but a religious and cultural conflict that cannot be resolved by giving up territory.”
Back in 2005, she recalled, Israel accepted a deal to give Palestine autonomy, whereupon all Jews were forced to leave the Gaza Strip, noting that even Jews buried there had ot be relocated. And in return, Hamas used this concession to build an underground city with the goal of destroying Israel.
Sharing some personal stories of relatives elsewhere in Europe, Haskel said that many are so terrified that they are simply moving to Israel. Haskel’s own 86-year-old grandmother was attacked by a group of Arabs in France six months ago, punched, pushed to the ground, and kicked.
Her Norwegian cousin didn’t dare go to university for an entire year because he was too afraid of the anti-Semitism on campus. Another British cousin’s child was stabbed in the back at a London school simply because he was Jewish.
Thanking Hungary for “taking real action” to defend its Jewish population and stand up for Israel in international forums, she told the audience: “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the stance of your government, the support and love we receive from Hungary and their community in this time of hatred and racism,” the deputy foreign minister said.
“Pray not only for the peace of Jerusalem, but for the defeat of those who glorify death and darkness. Because this is not just a war for the future of Israel, but for the soul of the free world. Thank you, God bless you, God bless the state of Israel, God bless Hungary!” she told those present.
