At a ceremony on October 14 2012, organized for the 90th anniversary of József Schweitzer, political leaders and prominent public figures acknowledged the achievements of the retired Chief Rabbi of Hungary.
Zoltán Balog, Minister of Human Resources opened the celebration, emphasizing that the Chief Rabbi can simultaneously represent the Hungarian ad Jewish values. Greetings of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Foreign Affairs were conveyed. Before the ceremony, the National Rabbinical Theological Seminary – Jewish University awarded an honorary doctorate to Mr. Schweitzer.
Public figures celebrating the anniversary included the mayor of Budapest, the president of the Hungarian Red Cross, Archbishop Asztrik Várszegi, abbot of Pannonhalma and a former president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The Holocaust Memorial Center was represented by Prof. Dr. György Haraszti, chairman of the board of the Holocaust Documentation Center and Memorial Collection Public Foundation and Prof. Dr. Szabolcs Szita, managing director of the Institution.
The staff of the Holocaust Memorial Center joins the congratulations and wishes happiness and good health to Mr. Schweitzer.