Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Hungary's "remarkable" support for Israel and the global Jewish community during a joint press conference in Budapest on April 3, singling out Hungary's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a "bold and principled step".

The Orban government’s announcement that Hungary would withdraw from the ICC was timed as a gesture for Netanyahu's first official trip to Budapest in eight years. The head of the Israeli government's stop in Budapest was his first European visit since the ICC warrant was issued. Netanyahu was welcomed with military honours.

Netanyahu, who is on an official visit until Sunday, April 6, said the two countries were "fighting a similar battle" to preserve Western, Judeo-Christian values, and described Hungary under Viktor Orban's leadership as a staunch ally in international forums like the EU and UN.

He said Hungary's withdrawal from the ICC,  which he labelled a "corrupt organisation", marked the first such move by a state and would be appreciated "not only in Israel but in many countries around the world."

"Hungary has done remarkable things for Israel and the Jewish people," he said, adding that Budapest had shown a "very bold stance" against anti-Semitism, which he said often appeared today as anti-Zionism.

Netanyahu framed Israel and Hungary as partners in a broader ideological struggle against radical Islam, naming Iran as the primary threat. "We will smash the Iranian terror axis," he said, noting that one of the hostages taken in the October 7 Hamas attack held Hungarian citizenship.

He also highlighted the strength of bilateral ties beyond politics, citing defence and tech cooperation, tourism and even Israeli sports teams' use of Hungarian facilities as signs of a "deep friendship".

At the joint press conference, Viktor Orban defended decision to withdraw from ICC on Thursday, declaring that "a self-respecting, rules-based democratic state" could no longer participate in what he described as a "politically tainted" institution. He accused the ICC of straying from its founding principles, saying it had devolved into a "political court" and was "no longer impartial".

He framed the decision as part of a broader realignment, casting Hungary as a defender of sovereign states and traditional values in contrast with what he described as the moral decay of Western institutions. Hungary had become "an island of freedom" and the "standard-bearer of Judeo-Christian civilisation in Europe", according to Orban. 

Reaffirming his government's zero-tolerance stance on anti-Semitism, the prime minister claimed Hungary is now the safest place for Jewish people in Europe.

He contrasted Hungary's record with that of Western European countries, where anti-Semitism has surged in recent years due to "imported ideologies" linked to illegal migration.

"Hamas flags have never been waved in Hungary, and never will be," he said.

Hungary's veteran leader has used this argument numerous times, blasting Brussels for its flawed migration policies and citing conspiracy theories such as that of population replacement.

While Orban has promoted a policy of "zero tolerance" in public statements, his government has faced mounting criticism from Jewish organisations for flirting with Hungary's radical right. State decorations have on multiple occasions been awarded to nationalist intellectuals with anti-semitic views.

Orban also highlighted strategic cooperation with Israel in defence and technology, noting that 150 Israeli companies operate in Hungary, employing thousands in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and hi-tech manufacturing.

He welcomed the fact that Israel imposes no barriers on Hungarian exports and expressed hope for continued military-industrial ties, including Israeli technology integration into Hungarian defence systems.

Orban described Israel as a key partner in defending shared values against common threats, and said Hungary would remain a "European bastion of Judeo-Christian culture that is impenetrable to our opponents."

Netanyahu's office said later on the day that the two leaders spoke to Donald Trump on the phone about Hungary's decision to withdraw from the ICC and "the next steps that can be taken on this issue."

The presidency of the ICC expressed concern on the issue and in letter it urged the country to continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the organisation.

Smaller protests were organised during the day in Budapest, one by the Anarchist Student Movement, and the other by far-right opposition party Our Homeland. Activists unfurled a banner above the Buda Castle tunnel, labelling Netanyahu a "child-killer" and "war criminal." Both events were secured amid heavy police presence.

On the sideline of Netanyahu's visit, some analysts wryly observed that the once-infamous phrase "the New York-Tel Aviv-Budapest axis", an anti-Semitic rhetoric in Hungary's far-right circles during the 1990s, appears to have acquired an entirely new, and ironic, significance. Once deployed to suggest a global Jewish conspiracy, the term has been turned on its head with a growing geopolitical and ideological alignment between the nationalist governments of the three countries.