More than a decade ago I met Attila Mandi, a Jewish lawyer from Budapest, son of Gyula Mandi, coach of the Hungarian "miracle league" Harnicsek in the 1950s and the Israel national soccer team in the 1960s.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Mandi the son told me the following story: When he played in the MTC. youth league, his father came to practice one day. The excitement from the national team coach's visit was immense. His father watched for about 20 minutes and then called his son aside: "You have a choice, either you stop playing soccer or you change your last name. No one named Mandi will play such a mediocre level of soccer." The son smiled proudly, while talking about his legendary father.
I published this story in an article that appeared in the Name of the Game magazine about the family – the father, son and mother were saved during the Holocaust by a football fan, who was a Hungarian Nazi. What can I tell you? Israeli readers were shocked by the father's attitude towards his child? Who does not support his son and tell him that he is the best in the world. This does not meet any standard of modern education. Hungarian Jews who hear the story laugh. They know all about this.
Whatever your opinion on raising children is – here are the statistics: after the last victorious Olympic Games, Israel has won three gold medals.
The Hungarian Jewish community – numbering about 600,000 before the Holocaust and 80,000 today – boasts more than 50 medals. For them, "the boy loves to loves to play ball" or a "European runner-up" is equal to a "failing" grade. Similarly, Hungarian Jews have been awarded more Nobel and Oscar prizes than the State of Israel. These are always the standards.
An exhibition launched a week ago near the National Stadium in Budapest focuses on this success. The exhibition, initiated and curated by Adi Rubinstein, also a sports reporter at Yisrael Hayom, includes about 15 top Jewish Hungarian and world athletes , along with Hungarian footballers – Istvan Pisont, Istvan Salloi and others – who greatly contributed to Israeli soccer in the 1990s. Rubinstein suggested to the Foreign Ministry and the Ambassador of Israel to Hungary, Yaakov Hadas, to hold this exhibition. The Embassy of Hungary in Israel said "yes."
Displayed in the exhibition, among others, are Agnes Keleti, winner of the Israel Prize and the Hungarian winner of most Olympic medals (10 in all, 5 gold), is obviously there. She also merited being present at the Olympic opening at the age of 101. Bela Guttmann, manager of the legendary Benfica. Lili Kronberger, a four-time world Hungarian figure skating champion. Alfred Hajos, the first Olympic champion swimmer – after whom dozens of streets, schools and swimming pools across Hungary are named.
But if you want to know something about the impact of Jewish-Hungarian sportmen – pay attention to who is not there: the best ever players of water polo in history – Gyorgy Karpati and Dezso Gyarmati. Jeno Fuchs, winner of four Olympic gold medals in fencing, or Roland-Garros champion Zsuzsa Körmöczy. The bar is set very high.
Some have introduced dramatic changes to sports around the world. Kronberger was the first to accompany her skating performance with music (she simply asked the orchestra what they were going to play). Guttmann and Mandi sent their defenders forward and brought the message of the 2-4-4 to the world. Eva Szekely "founded" the butterfly style – which, when she won the Olympic swim, was still permitted in the breaststroke heats.
Occasionally they are also part of the historical tragedy of Hungary and the Jews. When Attila Petschauer, the popular fencer and favorite of many women in Budapest, stood on the Olympic podium with the Hungarian team in 1928 and 1932, he certainly did not consider the possibility that he would die as a forced laborer in the Hungarian army during the Holocaust.
Jozsef Csibi Braun was a hero figure in children's books in Hungary and author Bela Szenes (Hannah's father) used his character to tell of a Jewish boy who integrated into Hungarian society and defeated antisemitism. He too would later die in the same labor battalions.
But when considering historical events, one must also remember Istvan Toth: the non-Jewish coach of Ferencvarosi, who saved the lives of many Jewish soccer players and paid for this with his own life after being betrayed by informers.
And if anyone needed to be convinced of the importance of the exhibition to the Hungarian public, as contemporary Hungary displays true intent to show their respect to Jewish heritage, they should look no further than extreme right wing websites. The exhibition has already been dubbed: "The Exhibition of the State of Terror" and also "Bringing Harm to Hungary."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
