Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the Israeli ambassador to Hungary to withdraw a statement that called for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to cancel a billboard campaign against George Soros on the grounds that it was fueling anti-Semitism.
Emmanuel Nahshon, Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, issued a clarification that refrained from criticizing PM Orbán and also criticized Soros himself.
“Israel deplores any expression of anti-Semitism in any country and stands with Jewish communities everywhere in confronting this hatred. This was the sole purpose of the statement issued by Israel’s ambassador to Hungary,” the statement said.
“In no way was the statement meant to delegitimize criticism of George Soros, who continuously undermines Israel’s democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself," Haaretz claims.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is due to meet with Prime Minister Orbán in Budapest on July 18, which will be the first visit by an Israeli premier to Hungary for 30 years.
On Jully 19, both prime ministers will meet with the leaders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.