Questions surrounding Hungary’s mysterious “Jerusalem academy” remain unanswered

A Hungarian institution established in Jerusalem during the final months of Viktor Orbán’s government is raising questions over transparency and public accountability, with little official information available about its legal basis, funding or administration despite its prominent role in Hungary’s cultural diplomacy.

The Hungarian Academy of Jerusalem (HAJJ), which opened in December 2025 in one of Jerusalem’s most prestigious neighbourhoods, describes itself as a flagship of Hungarian cultural diplomacy. However, no publicly available founding charter, government decision or budget documents explaining the institution’s establishment and financing have been identified.

The academy represents the latest step in the close political and diplomatic relationship that Orbán’s government cultivated with Israel over the past decade. According to sources familiar with the project, Orbán had originally envisaged formally inaugurating the academy during what was expected to be his first foreign visit following the 2026 parliamentary elections. Those plans, however, were overtaken by political developments after Hungary’s change of government.

The sources also suggested that the academy’s annual operating budget had been expected to exceed that of Hungary’s embassy in Tel Aviv, although no official financial figures have ever been disclosed.

Little information behind an ambitious project

The academy is located at 6 George Washington Street in Jerusalem’s affluent Talbiyeh district, adjacent to the YMCA building and close to the Czech and Slovak diplomatic missions.

Its website offers only limited information, stating that the academy forms part of Hungary’s Culture.hu network and publishes an English-language academic journal, the Hungarian Academy in Jerusalem Journal. Beyond that, no details are provided regarding the institution’s legal status, governance, staffing or finances. Its programme calendar lists no public events since its opening. A Facebook page was created only in April 2026, several months after the institution officially began operating.

The first photographs of the academy were published by Israeli rather than Hungarian media. The Times of Israel described the institution as an “embassy branch”, rather than merely a cultural centre, a characterisation that may explain why the academy does not appear in Israel’s publicly accessible registers of companies or non-profit organisations.

Searches of publicly available documents from Hungary’s Ministry of Culture and Innovation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have revealed no identifiable budget allocation, grant agreement or financial report linked to the academy.

Equally unclear are the number of employees, the source of its funding and the arrangements under which it occupies its valuable Jerusalem premises.

A broader diplomatic message

The project appears to fit within the broader foreign policy pursued by Orbán’s government towards Israel.

In 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó jointly inaugurated Hungary’s foreign trade office in Jerusalem. At the time, Netanyahu described it as the first European diplomatic mission established in the city in decades and praised Hungary’s role in reshaping Europe’s approach towards Israel.

The new academy appears to go further by combining cultural diplomacy with a broader historical and political narrative.

Israeli media have repeatedly referred to the institution not only as a cultural centre but also as a “diplomatic mission” or “foreign mission”, suggesting that its role extends beyond academic or cultural cooperation.

History, identity and controversy

The academy is headed by archaeologist Győző Vörös, whose appointment as director runs until 2030.

Vörös has been a controversial figure within Hungarian academic circles since the late 1990s, when he gained national attention after identifying a rock cavity as the long-lost tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh, a claim that was later disputed. More recently, he received a Vatican distinction and has lived in Jerusalem for nearly two decades.

In interviews promoting the academy, Vörös has described it as the restoration of Hungary’s thousand-year presence in Jerusalem.

The institution’s historical narrative traces Hungarian links with the city back to the reign of King Stephen I, highlights the role of King Andrew II during the Fifth Crusade and recalls the short-lived Hungarian Institute that operated in Jerusalem between 1946 and 1948.

The inaugural edition of the Hungarian Academy in Jerusalem Journal also reflects these ambitions, bringing together contributions from several Hungarian scholars, including historian László Veszprémy, the former head of Hungary’s Institute and Museum of Military History.

Unanswered questions

The basic facts surrounding the academy’s establishment remain unavailable.

Átlátszó has sent requests for public information to director Győző Vörös, the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Hungarian National Asset Management company and the State Treasury, seeking clarification on the institution’s legal status, founding documents, budget, staffing and financing. At the time of writing, no responses had been received.

Only a small number of countries currently maintain embassies in Jerusalem: the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, and Papua New Guinea. Under its new government, Slovenia is set to become the first EU country to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

Slovenia to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem – Janša announces historic EU first

The EU’s lack of support for moving embassies to Jerusalem stems from its long-standing, unified position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the status of Jerusalem. The EU regards East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory under international law (based on 1967 borders). It views the entire city as a final-status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, not unilateral actions.

The official EU position is that Jerusalem should serve as the shared capital of both a future Israeli and Palestinian state in a two-state solution. Moving an embassy to (undivided) Jerusalem is seen as prejudging the outcome and violating the spirit of the Oslo Accords and relevant UN Security Council resolutions (particularly 242 and 478, which declared Israel’s 1980 annexation of East Jerusalem “null and void”).

The article in Hungarian by EUalive’s partner Átlátszó can be found here.

Caption: A handout photo made available by the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Press Office shows Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) receiving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the government headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, 3 April 2025. EPA/ZOLTAN FISCHER