Refugee crisis: Hungarian Jews pledge support for refugees, reject any comparison with Holocaust

The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) and the Hungarian Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community (MAOIH) on Sunday released a statement concerning the refugee crisis and recent developments related to the topic. 

"For the Jewish communities it is of high importance to help those in dispair. Supporting outcasts and refugees is a commandment of Judaism. We are concerned and shocked about racist hate speech often directed against those arriving to Hungary.

"We are aware of the difficult situation in which Hungary find itself. The country has to find an answer which is in line with European values to respond to an unprecedented situation, while the European Union as a whole is looking for ways to handle the crisis.

"We are grateful for the help civil society is providing and we ourselves offer further assistance in order to ease the trouble of those in need.

"At the same time, the Jewish communities categorically condemn any comparison between the current situation in Hungary and the Holocaust. Comparison of the refugee crisis with the Holocaust is irrespondible and trivilalizes the Shoah.

"On the occasion of the Jewish New Year, we wish everybody in Hungary and beyond, and also the refugees currently in the country, health, peace and a resolution of their problems."