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Short Scientific and Professional Biography

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Dombi Gábor

Dr. Gábor Dombi, PhD

Field of expertise: Jewish cultural history, research, publishing, exhibitions, and science communication

Contact
Email: dombi.gabor @ outlook.com
Phone: +36 20 9 544 176

Professional Summary

I am a scientific researcher, educator, exhibition curator, non-fiction author, and book publisher engaged in researching, teaching, and conveying the history of Hungarian Jewry. I have over 30 years of professional experience in research, academic writing, and public education. I currently teach at the Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies (OR-ZSE) and work with various civil foundations.

Education

PhD – Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Doctoral School of Religious Studies, 2025. [Dissertation: The emblematic building (Orczy House) and society of modern (Buda)Pest Jewry in sources and the press]
MA – Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Jewish Cultural Historian, 2016
BA – Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Hungarian Language and Adult Education, 1989

Research / Teaching Areas

  • The detailed history and heritage of the Jewish community in Budapest (especially in the districts of Terézváros and Erzsébetváros), from its beginnings to the present day
  • The history of the Holocaust in Budapest (with special focus on the ghetto and Jewish resistance)
  • The history of Hungarian and Central European Jewry
  • The Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah), Jewish religious movements, rabbinic biographies, and notable Jewish figures
  • Local history and historiography
  • The history of urban modernization and its reflection in literature
  • Jewish economic history, Jewish middle class and working class
  • Information technology and its social impact (internet, media, artifical intelligence, sociology)

Professional Experience

Teaching

Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest
2022 – Present
Research and teaching on the modern and contemporary social and religious aspects of Hungarian Jewry, with a special focus on the Jewish community of Pest and its cultural heritage.

University of Miskolc, Department of Sociology
2006–2007 Digital literacy, information society, Hungarian social development, and modernization

Exhibitions and Public Education Projects

2012 – 2015: Erzsébetváros Jewish Local Tenement Museum (Csányi5)
Initiator, content planner, and curator

Smaller exhibitions: 2014: History of the 1944–45 Budapest Ghetto; 2015: History of Budapest Orthodoxy; 2016: History of Hungarian-founded kibbutzim in Israel; 2025: Time Machine Budapest (Ghetto history)

2015: Media trainings for Hungarian Jewish high school students

2018 – Present. Curator, exhibition at the Dohány Street Synagogue
The exhibition presents the dramatic fate of Hungarian Jews between 1918–1948 and the history of the Pest Ghetto.

Publications and Editing

Book Editing and Publishing (selected major works)

  • Selected Historical Writings of Zsigmond Groszmann, Vol. 1–2. (2021), editing, publishing
  • Tamar Meir: Francesco Tirelli’s Ice Cream Shop (2021), Hungarian publishing
  • Jenő Lévai: The History of the Pest Ghetto (2014), editing
  • Pál Forró: The Science of a Happy Marriage (2013), editing, publishing
  • Pál Forró: The Art of Getting Married (2013), editing, publishing
  • Inclusion into the Information Society – Now! (2007), editing, publishing
  • Don Tapscott: Growing Up Digital (2001), Hungarian publishing
  • István Váncsa: News World: Information Society for Kids and Grown-Ups (2001), publishing
  • János Nyíri: Birdland (1990), editing
  • Péter Gosztonyi: The Governor, Miklós Horthy (1990), editing

Books (author)

  • Class Enemies. Jewish Victims of the 1951 Deportations in Hungary (2020)
  • eInclusion Report (2008)
  • First Hungarian eInclusion Report and Action Plan (2007)
  • Towards the Information Society (2001)
  • Hungarian IT Charter (2000)
  • The Key to Central and Eastern Europe (1998, in English)
  • Cultural Mediation and Hungarian Jewry (1990)

Publications

Approximately 1,000 articles and studies (published in outlets including):

  • Népszabadság, Magyar Hírlap, Pesti Hírlap, HVG, Figyelő, Igazság, Nők Világa, Cégvezetés, Gazdasági Értesítő, Könyvvilág, ABCD Multimedia Magazine, Szombat, European Parliament, Egység, Erzsébetváros, Magyar Orthodox, Pesti Sólet, Istoreco (IT), Wina (A), Múlt és Jövő
  • In 2014, collection and online publication of all news and articles related to the Holocaust Memorial Year

Editor-in-Chief

  • 2006 – 2008: Ma:HolnaP Magazine. Publisher: Hewlett-Packard Hungary
  • 2007 – 2012: Társaság Magazine. Publisher: Vodafone Hungary
  • 2018 – 2019: Magyar Orthodox. Publisher: Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary

Lectures and Public Speaking

I regularly give lectures on the Holocaust, Zionist resistance, and the history of Jewish communities and prominent personalities. In 2014 and 2024, I gave several talks related to the history of the Pest Ghetto during Holocaust Memorial Years.

Media and Information Society

Journalist, Népszabadság (the most popular political daily paper in Hungary)
1992–1997
Editor-in-Chief, Népszabadság Online (NOL)
1996–1997
As the founding editor-in-chief of Népszabadság Online, I contributed to the development of digital media in Hungary.

Film Producer, Director

  • 140 Years of the Rabbinical Seminary, 2017, Director
  • Computers Made Child’s Play series, 2005, Producer. 30-part educational TV series for teaching basic computer literacy to the elderly.
  • People and Mice. Documentary on information society mentors, 2008, Producer
  • Bridges Across the Digital Divide. A brief chronicle of the e-Inclusion Year, 2008, Producer

TV Show Producer (TV3 channel)

  • Top Trend (1996-1997)
  • Jövőnéző (Future Watch) (1998)

E-Book Publisher, Publio
2011 – 2015 Founder of Publio e-book publishing house

Book Publisher, Infopoly Foundation
2014 – Present

Civic Engagement

President, Infopoly Foundation
1997 – Present
The goal of the Infopoly Foundation is to promote e-democracy and digitally present Jewish heritage.

President, Foundation for Hungarian Jewish Youth
2015 – Present
Supporting the development of Hungarian Jewish youth movements.

Radio Program Host, Civil Rádió
2006 – 2009. Ember a hálózatban (Human in the Network). Issues of the Hungarian Information Society

Secretary General, Forum for Information Society in Hungary
1997 – Present

Skills and Competencies

  • Research: subject-specific research, data collection, and analysis
  • Project Management: exhibitions, publishing projects, research programs
  • Education: university lectures, training, youth and adult education
  • Media: journalism, editing, educational TV and radio production
  • Methods: holistic win–win approaches and creative solutions

Awards and Recognitions

  • Hanukatalizátor Award – For the ‘Houses with Stars’ program, December 18, 2014
  • eInclusion Award – European Commission, June 22, 2012
  • For the Development of the Hungarian Information Society – from the Minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office and the Government IT Commissioner, November 19, 2009
  • Role Model Award – Pannon Role Model Foundation, September 2009
  • eInclusion Award (Gold Medal) – European Commission, December 1, 2008
  • Hungarian Bronze Cross of Merit – August 20, 2007
  • For Hungarian IT Development – Minister of Informatics and Communications, October 23, 2002
  • Honorary Citizen – City of Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, September 2002
  • Honorary Citizen – State of Nebraska, USA, September 2002

Key Achievements

  • The History of the Orczy House (PhD, 2025)
  • Zsigmond Groszmann – Selected Historical Writings, Vol. 1–2 (2021) – Editor, Publisher
  • Class Enemies: The Jewish Victims of the 1951 Deportation in Hungary (Book, 2020)
  • The Haunting Past of Hungarian Jewish History and the Budapest Ghetto (Exhibition at the Dohány Street Synagogue, 2018)
  • They Were the Future (Exhibition on Israeli Kibbutzim Founded by Hungarians, 2016)
  • Jewish Local History Museum of Erzsébetváros (Museum Establishment, 2012–2015)
  • Grandchild–Grandparent IT Competitions (2003–2009)
  • Establishment of the Ministry of Informatics and Communications (2000–2002)
  • Népszabadság Online (Creation and first Editor-in-Chief of Hungary’s first daily newspaper online, 1996)

Language

Hungarian: Native
English: Intermediate
Hebrew, German: Reading comprehension