Hungary’s culture and innovation minister, Balázs Hankó, said he has initiated the revocation of a state scholarship for a foreign student who disrupted a lecture by Israeli historian Alexander Yakobson at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, and will tighten scholarship conditions so that recipients who disturb public order can lose their funding.
The interruption occurred on October 16 during the opening session of a public, three-part course titled “Diversity and Democracy in Israeli Society,” organized by ELTE’s Faculty of Humanities. The university said it was “deeply shocked,” launched an internal investigation, and pledged to reschedule the course after the disruption made it impossible to proceed safely.
Harmful student conduct
Hankó made the announcement at the Third International Pro-Israel Summit in Budapest, hosted by the Center for Fundamental Rights, adding that he instructed the Tempus Public Foundation, which administers the scholarships, to reinforce contract terms so awards can be withdrawn if a student’s conduct harms Hungary’s peace and security.
Local media first reported the walk-back of the student’s funding and the planned rule changes in the government’s Stipendium Hungaricum program, a flagship scheme for international students launched in 2013 and overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Hungarian outlets had previously detailed the ELTE incident and the government’s demand for accountability, noting that ministers condemned the disruption and pressed the university to act.
ELTE is one of Hungary’s leading universities. The Center for Fundamental Rights’ Pro-Israel Summit, held this week in Budapest, featured Hungarian officials and international participants who all highlighted Hungary’s support for Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch, who is still in Budapest, met Thursday with Chief Rabbi Slomo Köves. According to Köves, the minister’s decision indicates that “amid the dangerous and ugly tsunami of antisemitism sweeping across the world, especially throughout Europe, Hungary remains an island of sanity and safety for its Jewish residents".