Hungarian politician denounced for calling Jews "national security risk"
Tue, 27 Nov 2012
Hungary's government and opposition parties have condemned a far-right politician who called for a survey of how many Jews there are in Hungary, especially in the government and the legislature.
Márton Gyöngyösi, a deputy of the far-right Jobbik party, said Monday in Parliament that the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a timely opportunity to assess "how many people of Jewish origin there are who represent a certain national security risk for Hungary."
Although the inital response from the governmetn was muted, on Tuesday, a spokesman said that it "most categorically condemns" Gyongyosi's remarks, while the largest opposition group, the Socialist Party, called for stricter laws against hate speech. Deputies from the other opposition groups also said they were outraged by Gyongyosi's proposal.
Only last week, in an opinion piece published by the leading Hungarian newspaper 'Népszabadság', World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder had called on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary to take decisive action against those who attack religious and ethnic minorities in the country. He accused Orbán of not doing enough in the wake of racist and anti-Semitic incidents in recent months.
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