Israeli tourists scammed and abused in Budapest, suspects freed by police

Assailant made antisemitic gestures, told them to “Go to Israel”

An Israeli mother and daughter traveling to Budapest were assaulted, scammed and became the target of antisemitic slurs by individuals posing as subway conductors last Thursday, Ynet news reported.

During the attack, one of the assailants made antisemitic gestures, mimicking a long nose and told them to “Go to Israel,” according to Tamar Hayardeni, a 48-year-old tour guide from Jerusalem.

Hayardeni and her 65-year-old mother were traveling on the subway in Hungary’s capital of Budapest when, upon exiting a subway station, they were confronted by two men claiming to be subway conductors who requested to see their tickets and claimed they were invalid.

“My mother is well-acquainted with Budapest, and an argument broke out when she told them that what they were saying was not true,” Hayardeni told Ynet.

“We quickly realized they were trying to scam us. They took our passports in order to levy a fine. We refused to pay.”

“The conductors cornered us in an area where there were no security cameras,” she said. “They demanded that we pay a 250 euro fine and even offered us a half-price discount if we paid in cash. It was very scary. We decided to call the police and told the conductors that the police were on their way.”

“At that point, we started filming, but then the conductors attacked us. One of them pushed me to the ground and tried to steal the camera. The other one punched my mother, who was filming - she's a 65-year-old disabled woman.”

After realizing that the police were indeed on their way, the suspects returned the passports to the Israeli tourists.

“At that point, I decided I wasn't going to let it go, and then the event, which began as a scam, took an antisemitic turn. Of course, they knew we were Israelis because of our passports. One of the conductors told us, 'You're Jews, go to Israel,' and made a long-nose gesture, a disgraceful antisemitic sign. People standing there were shocked.”

When the women filed a complaint about the incident, the police refused to take action.

“We were in shock. Then they started stalling us. It was clear they wanted us to drop the complaint. They were dragging their feet. It took forever."

“We were essentially detained at the station because, according to procedure, the complainant must remain on-site as long as the suspects are being investigated,” she added.

In the end, the suspects were let go without consequences.

“Despite expressing that I felt uncomfortable both as a tourist and a Jew and that I had no intention of returning to Budapest, the police chief seemed indifferent to our concerns,” Hayardeni ended her account.

Hungary is a very popular travel destination among Israelis.