“But in normal daily life there is not any danger.” “Many people are afraid,” said Andras Heisler, a former president of the Federation of Jewish Communities. Members of the Jewish community said anti-Semitism was widely expressed verbally but there have been few episodes of physical violence.
But, he added, “It is not easy to separate the anxiety that Jews feel together with many other left-of-center Hungarians at current political developments and unease at what are more directly anti-Semitic rumblings.” “There are real problems and a high degree of uncertainty,” he told JTA after a fact-finding mission to Hungary in April. Rabbi Andrew Baker, the representative on anti-Semitism to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said it is not simple to gauge the extent and impact of anti-Semitism in Hungary. “Although the safety and well-being of Hungarian Jews in their daily life is not physically in danger - or no worse than in any other European country - anti-Semitic public speech has escalated to a point which cannot be ignored by a single decent person.” “The gravity of the situation is unprecedented in the past two decades of Hungarian democracy,” Rabbi Shlomo Koves told The Associatied Press. These developments have ratcheted up the anxiety level for Hungary’s 100,000 Jews, the largest Jewish community in central Europe. In a recent incident, addressing Parliament just before Passover, a Jobbik lawmaker went so far as to advance the blood libel - the accusation that Jews kill Christian children and use their blood for ritual purposes.Īnd in a February interview with the London Jewish Chronicle, Jobbik foreign affairs spokesman Marton Gyongyosi called Israel a “Nazi system based on racial hatred,” accused Jews of “colonizing” Hungary and stressed Jobbik’s support of Iran. In a recent incident, addressing Parliament just before Passover, a Jobbik lawmaker went so far as to advance the blood libel - the accusation that Jews kill Christian children and use their blood for ritual purposes The lack of a minimum platform of common understanding among all democratic parties and civil groups is the real weakness of the Hungarian society.” “No role models and no people who can set positive reference points. “There are no real credible voices and opinion-influencing figures,” he said. The country, he said, faces a “moral crisis” along with its other woes. “Intolerance is growing, radical narratives and voices are powerful, and many people feel that the risk of a greater conflict is real,” said Cernov. This month, for example, the Israeli ambassador to Hungary canceled an official visit to the town of Eger after an audio recording came to light in which a Fidesz town councilor slammed a prominent actor as a “filthy Jew” with leftist-liberal sympathies.
Many Hungarian Jews, who traditionally have gravitated toward leftist-liberal parties, are deeply troubled by appeals to nationalism, even by mainstream parties.Īnd there is a perception among Fidesz opponents that some of its members may be sympathetic to Jobbik’s more extreme stance. Jobbik and other extremists have capitalized on the economic uncertainly and social and political polarization to push a virulently nationalist message that stigmatizes Jews, Roma, immigrants and other minority groups.įidesz is not formally allied with Jobbik and has condemned anti-Semitism.īut a defense of Hungarian national honor is one of Fidesz’s platforms.
Jobbik and other extremists have capitalized on the economic uncertainly and social and political polarization to push a virulently nationalist message that stigmatizes Jews, Roma, immigrants and other minority group But critics claimed they contributed to a “democracy deficit” and undermined democratic rights. The government said the new laws were needed to consolidate the legal and judicial system. Other new laws cut social benefits, nationalized private pension funds and even outlawed homelessness.