The Action and Protection Foundation, the National Association of the Hungarian-Israeli Friendship Groups, and the Consulate General of Hungary Toronto presented the short film „The End Of The Innocence,” a film by the Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI) that deals with the tragic events of October 7, 2023.
The event was opened by Kálmán Szalai, Chairman of the Action and Protection League (APL), Avi Benlolo, founder and president of AGPI, Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Yacov Hasdas-Handelsman, Israel’s Ambassador to Hungary.
„The October 7 massacre was the largest pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust, committed in Israel, the national home of Jewish people. Eight months have passed, and the world has forgotten what happened in the Beerit kibbutz at the Nova festival, just as it has forgotten about the 128 hostages held by Hamas because they are Jews,” said Kálmán Szalai.
The leader of APL quoted philosopher Gorge Santayana: „Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.”
In his speech, Avi Benlolo said that the film’s title was inspired by the fact that, looking back to the time before October 7, it seems that they were all innocent in the sense that they believed there was a way to reach peace in the Middle East.
Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky stressed that the Hungarian government will continue to stand up for Israel’s sovereignty in all possible forums and will use all means at its disposal to fight antisemitism.
Israel’s Ambassador to Hungary, Yaakov Hadas-Hendelsman, says that since the Hamas terrorist attack, the world is witnessing an unprecedented wave of antisemitism, with more and more people belittling or denying the atrocities of October 7.
After the opening speeches, the film „The End of the Innocence” was screened, which also focused on the hypocrisy of the international community, in particular the congressional hearings of three presidents of the most prestigious American universities, where none of them wanted to state clearly that the call for genocide against Jews was unacceptable. The film also features the voices of Arab people who helped Jews during the terrorist attack.
The screening was followed by two panel discussions. In the first panel discussion, Dr. György Csepeli, Professor at the ELTE Faculty of Social Sciences, presented new research on the impact of the October 7 massacre on antisemitism in Hungary.
The second panel discussion explored the relationship between Israel and the world after October 7.
„The world has forgotten, but we remember!” said APL Foreign Affairs Director Tamir Wertzberger, stressing that the event is intended to remind the world why Israel is at war.
„Even if hypocritical international community labels us heartless and stateless, we will continue to fight for our homes, our safety, and to bring our hostages home!”
The panellists were Ariel Kallner, a member of the Israeli Knesset and head of the Knesset delegation to the EU; Hananya Naftali, an Israeli influencer who also worked on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s communications team; and Mohamad Kabyia, an Israeli-Arab influencer.
The event was a great success, and the organisers received much positive feedback, especially about the need for such events, where Hungarians expressed their support for Israel in this difficult time.
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