Köves graduated from the Yeshiva High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), the Institut Superieur D’études Rabbiniques et Talmudiques and the Central Lubavitch Yeshivot (New York).

In 2001, Köves began teaching at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, at the Faculty of Hebrew Law; he also taught the Talmud at the Neolog Rabbinical Institute.

In 2009, Köves invited Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel to visit Budapest on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Hungary.

"During my work over the past two years, I have met a very committed, noble-minded patriot in the person of Shlomo Koves," said the minister.

The village of Mád is the starting point for the 150-kilometer “Trail of the Wonder-Working Rabbis” pilgrimage, which takes visitors through 10 towns, rich in Jewish history, in Hungary's Tokaj-Hegyalja region.

Köves has been attacked by the liberal, Neolog (Reform) Jewish community Mazsihisz for not being sensitive enough to the Holocaust and practicing "moral relativism".

Köves established the Action and Protection Foundation (Tett és Védelem Alapítvány or TEV) to fight antisemitism[21] in a progressive way, based on legal reform, actual legislation and education.

[26] Lawsuits against Varga, who threatened and harassed TEV for its efforts to shut him down, and an investigation by the FBI, sought to figure out who in Hungary was supporting the endeavor.

However, he encountered further controversy regarding this issue upon saying that KDNP MP István Hollik had been helpful in renewing Jewish life in Hungary.

[30] Köves responded by saying that he looks to work with anyone open to a stronger Jewish community in Hungary and that he “maintains good relationships with many opposition MPs as well”.

"[31] Still, the appearance of campaigning for a particular politician created confusion, as Köves is a proponent of the Jewish community not committing to any political party.

Mazsihisz has further criticized EMIH for its visible presence in Hungary, saying that the group's public lighting of the menorah and ice skating event to celebrate Hannukah (open to all) as well as having a tent at the super-popular Sziget music festival will fuel antisemitism.

Köves made headlines when far-right politician and former Jobbik vice-president Csanád Szegedi requested a meeting with the rabbi to discuss the discovery of his Jewish roots.

[34] Szegedi said he had apologized to his Jewish grandmother — a Holocaust survivor — for being one of the forces behind the highly antisemitic Jobbik and one of the loudest and most visible voices of its many hateful campaigns but “felt it was not enough”.

But as Hungarian Free Press aptly noted: "Mr. Vona is naive or perhaps overly optimistic to think that one Hanukkah greeting sent to Rabbi Köves would somehow erase years of antisemitism.

"[38] The situation was not aided by one Jobbik chapter posting on Facebook that they support no one who would have such  “a crazy idea”, that is, to send Hanukkah greetings.

[39] The House of Fates project initiated originally by the Hungarian government in 2013 was meant to create a high-tech, memorable and thought-provoking experience for people looking to learn more about the Holocaust.

Although the building of the museum (approximately 100,000 square feet) was finished in 2015, the project came to a halt because of a controversy around the leading curator, Maria Schmidt, who according to some, was too politically involved and may have intended to whitewash Hungary's role in the holocaust and deportation of Hungarian Jews.

Köves also hired the Washington-based Gallagher & Associates for the project; top Holocaust museologists were consulted and nearly 150 survivors and rescuers were interviewed.

Rabbi Köves has said he wants visitors to the museum to "get to know [Jews] not only as unfortunate victims, but also as survivors of thousands of years of values, as prominent figures in the modernization of Europe and Hungary".

The exhibit is being built around five principles: historical context, emotional involvement of the viewer, an invitation to personally connect with the topic, the Jewish perspective, and modern language.

Despite a decision from the religious court of Israel, the beit din of the Eidah Charedit, disqualifying the new community members, the new Chabad-affiliated members defied this ruling and, during the turmoil caused by the pandemic, held a virtual assembly, where they overthrew Mr. Deutsch and appointed Gábor Keszler as president and Shmueil Oirechman as chief secretary of the community.

The new Chabad-affiliated leadership, has taken over the MAOIH properties which include a synagogue, a study hall, a nursing home, a restaurant and an archives library.