Hungary, Israel Renew Ties Cut in 1967

The government continued to press its independent foreign policy initiatives Monday, becoming the first East European regime to restore full diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Soviet Union and all the East Bloc countries except Romania severed relations with Israel after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. Hungary, along with Poland, has been carefully re-establishing contacts with the Jewish state over the last two years. Hungary, quickly followed by Poland, opened an “interests office” in Tel Aviv in 1987.

The restoration of full diplomatic ties was announced by the Hungarian news agency MTI soon after the arrival of Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens, who termed the Hungarian move a matter of “historic significance.”

Officials of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said they expect the resumption of relations to lead to a sharp increase in trade between the two countries. Israeli-Hungarian trade had already doubled since the opening of the interests office and had reached a total of $31.5 million by the end of 1988.

“These ties will bring economic, social and political benefits to both Hungary and Israel,” Arens said in an interview with Israel Radio broadcast from Budapest.

About 80,000 Jews live in Hungary, the second-largest Jewish community in East Europe after the Soviet Union’s.

The Hungarian Jewish community, its leaders say, is beginning to regain its identity after years of silence under the Communists. About 600,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to concentration camps in 1944, near the end of World War II. About 300,000 survivors emigrated to Israel.

Foreign Minister Gyula Horn told MTI that the resumption of ties after 22 years marks another step in Hungary’s reform drive and an attempt to correct what he called past mistakes.

“Hungary is against confrontation, endorses dialogue and wants good relationships based on mutual advantages,” Horn was quoted as saying. “This step is not aimed against anybody and will probably be helpful in solving the Middle East conflict.”

He said the move will not impair Hungary’s relations with Arab countries, pointing out that a major Arab country, Egypt, has established formal ties with Israel.

The diplomatic move came eight days after Hungary angered its hard-line East Bloc neighbors, particularly East Germany and Czechoslovakia, by deciding to allow vacationing East Germans to cross its newly opened border with Austria and settle in West Germany.

Under Monday’s agreement, the head of Israel’s interests office in Budapest, Shlomo Meron, becomes the Israeli ambassador. Hungary’s corresponding office in Tel Aviv also becomes an embassy, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

Four weeks ago, the World Jewish Congress said Hungary had begun allowing Soviet Jews to fly to Israel through Budapest, making Hungary the second East European country to permit the transit of such emigrants. Romania has been allowing Soviet Jews to transit through Bucharest for several years.