Israeli festivalgoer stabbed in Hungary, two arrested over drug suspicions

Police don’t indicate motive, but Ozora festival has history of violent incidents unrelated to identity; trance event draws tens of thousands each year, including many Israelis

An Israeli festivalgoer was stabbed in Hungary on Tuesday, after two Israelis were separately arrested for drug offenses at one of the largest annual trance music events in the world.

The stabbing victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to a hospital by paramedics after he was attacked on the grounds of the Ozora festival, located in the center of the country.

Further details about his identity and condition were not publicly available several days later.

Police said they had arrested two suspects, accused of aggravated assault, in connection with the incident.

Authorities did not state a motive for the incident, and reporting did not suggest there was evidence that the victim was targeted for his identity.

Similar violent incidents have occurred in the past at the annual festival, including just last year, when one Israeli stabbed another Israeli.

Last weekend, police at the festival stopped a car with a German license plate, driven by a 27-year-old Israeli man, and discovered a significant quantity of what were suspected to be drugs.

The Israeli and his passenger — a 22-year-old Colombian national — were taken into custody, according to a statement by the department.

On Monday, another Israeli was arrested for drugs, along with a Belgian and a Portuguese national.

Ozora, which brings tens of thousands of international visitors to the county of Fejer every year, is frequented by Israeli partygoers who flock to Hungary for various festivals every summer.

Hungary is one of Israel’s closest allies in the European Union. Though longtime pro-Israel premier Viktor Orban was defeated in April by a center-right opponent more friendly to the EU, the new government is expected to remain a solid friend of Israel.