Jews have a long history in the region now known as Hungary, with some records pre-dating the 895 AD Hungarian conquest of the area's Slavs by over 600 years. By the early 20th century, the community had grown to constitute 5% of Hungary's population and 23% of the population of the capital, Budapest. They became prominent in science, the arts and business. During the last few months of World War II, they suffered severely.

Under communist rule (1944-56), discrimination against the small number of Jews remaining in Hungary continued. Zionism was banned and the number of Jews in the country shrank even further.

Today, between 50,000 and 100,000 Jews live in Hungary, mostly in Budapest, although official records indicate only 12,800 self-identified religious Jews. The inter-marriage rates for Jews is around 60%. There are many active synagogues in Hungary, including the Dohány Street Synagogue, the second largest synagagoue in the world after the Temple Emanu-El in New York City.

Lucy Wright (1760–1821) was the leader of the central ministry of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers or Shaking Quakers, from 1796 until 1821. Because few women preached at that time, and even fewer led churches, her administration of a religious sect of several thousand members was a radical departure from Protestant Christianity.

Lucy was born February 5, 1760, the daughter of John and Mary (Robbins) Wright of Pontoosuck plantation (later Pittsfield, Massachusetts), in the Housatonic River valley of the Berkshire hills, just a few miles from the New York border. Pontoosuck plantation was essentially a frontier settlement. Aside from Jonathan Edwards’ Indian mission in Stockbridge, the area had no church until Lucy Wright was almost thirteen. The woods were so thick that newcomers had to girdle trees to clear land for planting.

Lucy was a bright, lively, dark-eyed child. She grew into an attractive young woman, tall, graceful, and energetic, with strong shoulders and arms. She had dark hair, a good figure, and a beautiful smile. She also was popular, a leader among her peers.

John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior United States Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to then President George W. Bush.

The son of an Army Air Corps serviceman, Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado. He attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and went on to graduate from Yale University class of 1966, where he majored in political science. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966 and, during 1968-1969, served a four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge (OIC) of a Swift Boat. For that service he was awarded several combat medals that include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in which he served as a nationally recognized spokesperson and as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam war. During that period, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed United States war policy in Vietnam to be the cause of "war crimes".