HUNGARY: Anti-semitic statements by members of one of Hungary's largest parliamentary parties worry the local Jewish community and cause outrage in the country

Record ID: 837359

  • Title: HUNGARY: Anti-semitic statements by members of one of Hungary's largest parliamentary parties worry the local Jewish community and cause outrage in the country
  • Date: 13th December 2012
  • Summary: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOREIGN MINISTRY STATE SECRETARY, ZSOLT NEMETH, SAYING: "I just didn't believe with my ear what I heard. I prepared for answering. I separated myself from that in a way, in an English way, with a relative understatement. But later on it was clear that I should have been a bit more resolute. The next day the Hungarian government, I was glad that the Hungarian government was the first to condemn very strongly the statement." PROTESTER WEARING YELLOW STAR WITH JEW WRITTEN ON IT PROTESTERS WITH YELLOW STAR HOLDING BANNER AT ANTI-NAZI PROTEST ANTI-NAZI PROTESTERS BOOING AND SHOUTING MAN WAVING BANNER SAYING 'NO NAZIS' PEOPLE SHOUTING 'NO,NO,NO' BANNER SHOWING JOBBIK MP MARTON GYONGYOSI PHOTO WITH HITLER MOUSTACHE AND SAYING 'HEIL MARCI' [MARTON NICKNAME] US AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY ELENI TSAKOPOULOS KOUNALAKIS LISTENING AT PROTEST (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY, ELENI TSAKOPOULOS KOUNALAKIS, SAYING: "Five hundred thousand Jews being deported and killed at the end of World War II when it was almost overto hear that kind of language come back, to hear it from an elected representative in this country was shocking and appalling." VARIOUS OF PARLIAMENT SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOBBIK FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF, MARTON GYONGYOSI, SAYING: "It was completely in context but a reference was made to Jewish origin as such and this made it very easily mis-understandable which was picked up by the hysteria."
  • Embargoed: 28th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Hungary
  • City:
  • Country: Hungary
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAJ4KGIAFMQUZ8U4E7VDE3NK9D
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Shortly after sunrise, even on cold winter mornings, a dozen Jewish men file into a small, modern synagogue in south-western Budapest to pray together; a scene that's a reminder of the vibrancy of Jewish culture in Hungary.
    But the community is shocked and still reeling from the recent scandal in parliament when a far right MP demanded lists of Jews to be drawn up among members of government and Parliament.
    Jewish community members say they have seen a rise of anti-Semitism in recent years, with political forces exploiting it, often going to extreme lengths as they do so.

    "There is a real Nazi party in the Hungarian parliament, which is extremely harmful not only to Jews but to the country," said Andras Heisler, member of the Beth Shalom community, after the prayer.
    The far-right Jobbik party's, which holds 42 out of 386 seats in Hungary's parliament, stunning demand came from its foreign policy chief Marton Gyongyosi a few weeks ago during question time when he criticized the Hungarian government over its stance with Israel.

    "I think such a conflict makes it timely to tally up people of Jewish ancestry who live here, especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who, indeed, pose a national security risk to Hungary," Gyongyosi said addressing the parliament.
    Gyongyosi spoke at 3:45 p.m. Nobody protested. Deputies who were present said they barely realised what had just happened. Foreign Ministry state secretary Zsolt Nemeth said he was "not in favour of such research." The session went on sleepily.
    Appalled statements only began to arrive hours later, and by the evening social media sites lit up in revolt both at Jobbik's remarks and at the lukewarm putdown by the government.

    "I just didn't believe with my ear what I heard. I prepared for answering. I separated myself from that in a way, in an English way, with a relative understatement. But later on it was clear that I should have been a bit more resolute. The next day the Hungarian government, I was glad that the Hungarian government was the first to condemn very strongly the statement," Nemeth said.
    Putting aside differences temporarily, Hungary's political elite got together for a big rally on December 2, where ruling and opposition party leaders expressed their disdain for Jobbik's politics.

    "Five hundred thousand Jews being deported and killed at the end of World War II when it was almost overto hear that kind of language come back, to hear it from an elected representative in this country was shocking and appalling," said US ambassador to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, who also attended the bi-partisan protest.
    Gyongyosi apologised for his remarks and later told Reuters that his tongue had slipped under intense time pressure but many observers say it was a calculated move.

    "It was completely in context but a reference was made to Jewish origin as such and this made it very easily mis-understandable which was picked up by the hysteria," said Gyongyosi.
    Although the entire political establishment and most of the diplomatic community quickly condemned Jobbik for the remarks, they were not the first nor are they likely to be the last in a long row of the party's anti-Semitic slur.
    Debt-laden Hungary, which has been among the nations hit hardest in the latest economic crisis, is struggling to exit recession and cut debt, and a series of austerity measures by the government have caused increasing tension among voters.
    Although anti-Semitism has not yet led to serious physical confrontations, hate crimes have included desecration of Jewish cemeteries and an attack in Budapest on 90-year-old former Chief Rabbi Joseph Schweitzer.
    For some time, Jobbik was a nationalist group but eschewed anti-Semitism. That began to change when its present leader Gabor Vona took over the lead in 2006 and formed the uniformed vigilante group, the Hungarian Guard, in 2007.
    Jobbik's 2010 election campaign included frequent anti-Semitic remarks, sometimes carefully coded, other times raw and direct. With 17 percent of the vote, the party shot to third place in parliament.
    Jobbik held a rally a few weeks ago at Israel's embassy where it denounced what it said was politically motivated aggression in Gaza and a biased reaction from Hungary.

    "Let us see clearly, they (Israelis) always start wars when their elections approach," Jobbik Chairman Gabor Vona told the crowd. "So they need the blood of Palestinian children for a Jewish seat in Parliament?"
    Amid chants of "Filthy Jews!" Vona also called for a review of members of Hungary's government and parliament to find any Israeli-Hungarian dual citizens, who he said posed a national security threat as citizens of an aggressor state.
    Israel's ambassador, Ilan Mor, who jointly with Nemeth unveiled a Holocaust memorial on Tuesday, told Reuters he had expected Jobbik's anti-Israel rhetoric to toughen.

    "What we are witnessing is a new phenomena called a new anti-Semitism. Yes, the Jobbik are claiming that they are not against Jews but they are against Israel etc, but actually new anti-Semitism means that you criticise Israel, the land of the Jewish people, but actually what you mean is the Jewish people as a whole," Mor said.
    Jewish community members are worried that as Jobbik is getting stronger their extreme rhetoric will gain more ground. Jobbik is especially popular among young voters, where its support is nearly 20 percent, making it the strongest party in the below 30 age group, according to a Republikon Institute poll earlier this year.
    Jewish community leaders warn that the responsibility of the government and lawmakers is crucial as anti-Semitism is creeping higher and higher grounds.

    "Whatever was said previously a few years ago in the pub, then it became to be said in internet sites and printed papers and now it's said in the parliament. So there is a shift, you know, in the last few years, the content is the same but the forum is different. The problem is that if someone in the parliament says a speech like that the regular person sees in the street and says, well, this is acceptable to be said, these ideas are okay to be said and that's a huge responsibility," Slomo Koves, chief rabbi of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation, told Reuters.
    Jobbik's status quo has changed little in recent weeks as the two-thirds ruling majority has stopped short of a political quarantine, and the opposition parties hold a minimal weight in Parliament without Jobbik.
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