Hungary's 'illiberal' Orban, Israel's staunchest friend in the EU
The relationship with Israel has strengthened since the start of the war in Gaza, which was sparked by the Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023. Israel's broad and devastating offensive in reaction gave rise to the ICC charges Netanyahu faces.
Orban, who has touted Hungary as "the safest country in Europe" for Jews, became the first leader to extend an invitation to Netanyahu, in defiance of the ICC arrest warrant.
The Central European country is "one of Israel's closest allies and supporters in the EU," said researcher Bulcsu Hunyadi of the Political Capital think tank.
"This alliance has gained particular significance," with Hungary voicing unwavering support for Israel's "war of self-defence," Hunyadi told AFP.
'Spiritual brothers'
In recent months, Hungary has also hosted several matches of Israel's national football team and clubs, as anti-Israeli sentiment and tensions sparked by Israeli actions in the Gaza war have surged in Europe.
Orban's government has even pointed to anti-Semitic acts in Western countries to justify its tough anti-migration stance, and has boasted that in Hungary, pro-Palestinian demonstrations are banned.
Netanyahu last made a trip to Hungary to meet Orban in 2017, marking the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to the Central European country in almost 30 years. The following year, he welcomed Orban as a "true friend of Israel" in Jerusalem.
The two right-wingers -- who share a common ally in US President Donald Trump and who embrace his hardline policies -- also seem to have a close personal friendship, with Hungarian media once describing them as "spiritual brothers".
Orban is also the closest leader in the EU to Russian President Vladimir Putin -- another leader wanted under an ICC arrest warrant, and one whom Trump has sought rapprochement with.
As fellow "populist" leaders, Netanyahu and Orban share their pursuit of advancing an "illiberal" brand of democracy aimed at criticising the values of Western liberal democracies while clamping down on the opposition, said analyst Hunyadi.
Orban has often been accused of democratic backsliding, drawing fierce criticism from fellow European leaders and Brussels, and causing his relative isolation within the bloc.
Accusations of anti-Semitism
By stressing their shared "common patriotic foundation", accusations levelled against Orban that he has been fanning anti-Jewish sentiment at home were pushed to the background.
When Orban's government ran poster campaigns vilifying Hungary-born Jewish financier George Soros and his son Alex in 2017, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) denounced its anti-Semitic overtones.
Orban also came under fire for praising wartime leader and Hitler ally Miklos Horthy -- an autocrat, who ruled Hungary from 1920 to 1944, and who passed anti-Jewish laws and oversaw the deportations of several hundred thousand Hungarian Jews to Nazi death camps -- as an "exceptional statesman".
Dismissing criticism, Orban has vowed "zero tolerance" for anti-Semitism in Hungary, which has a relatively large Jewish community with 100,000 members.
The leader argues that Hungarian school curricula place due emphasis on the Holocaust. He also said that the government has been pouring money into renovating and maintaining synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.
While Netanyahu's visit offers an opportunity to strengthen ties, it is also aimed at framing Orban's international posture ahead of elections in 2026.
Increasingly under threat from former government insider Peter Magyar, who has become the main challenger to Orban's 15-year rule, the nationalist premier seeks to regain "control of the media narrative" during Netanyahu's visit for several days, said Zoltan Ranschburg of the Republikon Institute.
"In this incessant battle of communication, Orban is doing everything he can to divert attention" from the problems many Hungarians face in daily life, such as soaring inflation and the deterioration of the health system, he added.
In early 2024, Orban hosted another high-profile guest in Budapest: Chinese President Xi Jinping.