A call by a far-right Hungarian MP for a list to be drawn up of Jewish politicians and government members who pose a “threat to national security” has caused outrage among both Hungary’s estimated 80,000-strong Jewish community and liberal politicians. Marton Gyongyosi, a leading MP of Jobbik, Hungary’s radical rightwing party, called for the list in the Budapest parliament on Monday, saying that it was justified by the increased tensions following the latest conflict between Gaza and Israel.
“Jobbik MPs have made anti-Semitic and anti-Roma statements in parliament before, but nobody has ever called for a list. This is totally unacceptable in a democracy,” Timea Szabo, an MP for the liberal-green LMP party and deputy chairperson of parliament’s human rights committee, said.
“I am a Holocaust survivor,” Gusztav Zoltai, executive director of the Hungarian Jewish Congregations’ Association, told Reuters. “For people such as me this generates raw fear, even though it is clear that this only serves political ends. This is the shame of Europe, the shame of the world.” Up to 600,000 Jews from Hungarian territories died in the Holocaust, the majority after mass deportations began in the last year of the war.
Mr Gyongyosi appeared to back track on Tuesday, saying he was referring to citizens with dual Israeli-Hungarian citizenship. “I apologise to my Jewish compatriots for my statements that could be misunderstood,” he said on Jobbik’s website.
Jobbik, which holds 44 of 386 seats in parliament, making it the third-strongest party in Hungary, has been accused of stoking anti-Semitic and anti-Roma feelings and of supporting the Hungarian Garda, a uniformed militia which has made frequent appearances in rural areas with Roma populations, despite being banned by law. Jobbik denies any anti-Semitic or anti-Roma sentiment, saying that it only wants to protect Hungary from the dangers of international capital and citizens from petty theft and lawlessness.
Liberal and left-wing politicians also accuse Viktor Orbán, the prime minister, and his governing Fidesz party of being soft on Jobbik and pandering to radical policies in order to win voters from the far-right camp.
“Fidesz definitely has double standards. When something happens like this [Gyongyosi statement], they always denounce it but otherwise their actions and policies show otherwise,” Ms Szabo says.
In a short statement on its website, the Hungarian government on Tuesday said it condemned Mr Gyongyosi’s statement “to the greatest possible degree”, adding that it took the “strictest possible action against every form of racism and anti-Semitic behaviour”.
