Over 15,000 people took part in a rally in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, opposing anti-Semitism. HaMevaser reports the rally was in response to a call of a member of a right-wing extremist party to conduct a census to count the number of Jews due to the conflict taking place in Israel between Jews and Arabs, citing this will permit counting the number of Jews towards evaluating the security risk in Hungary.
Hungary’s government and opposition parties joined ranks to condemn Marton Gyongyosi of the extreme right-wing Jobbik party, who feels the Jews must be counted if Hungary is to assess the significance of the Jewish threat.
While several smaller protests against the extremist statements were held last week, on Sunday, 18 Kislev 5773, the large protest was held outside the parliament building. The event was arranged by the government and attended by cabinet ministers and members of parliament.
Also present was the rav of the local chareidi community, HaRav Moshe Tuvia Weissburger, rav of Kehillos Yereim of Budapest. He is quoted as telling HaMevaser “As a Jew born here I felt a need to attend. The statements threw me back decades, to the years of the Holocaust. In essence, that parliamentarian was referring to me as a Jew, one who holds Hungarian citizenship. His statements represent incitement that no one dared to utter. If this trend is not stopped here, in Budapest, then it may chas v’sholom spread to other areas throughout Europe.”
The Jobbik party, a member of the opposition, holds 44 of 386 seats in the local parliament and three seats in the European Parliament.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
We need Rachmei Shomayim.
We must show the Reboino Sh. Oilom, that we are the exact opposite than our oppressors. We love and care for every Human Being, his health, his belongings, and happiness. We don’t differentiate between people based on which parents he was born to.