HUNGARY 2003-4

 

Antisemitism in Hungary in 2003 was manifested mainly in far right publications and demonstrations. Istvan Csurka, of the Hungarian Justice and Life Party, was a leading purveyor of antisemitic and anti-Israel commentary.

 

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

The 80,000 Jews living in Hungary, out of a total population of 10.55 million constitute the largest Jewish community in eastern Europe outside the borders of the former Soviet Union. The great majority live in Budapest, with communities also in Miskolc and Debrecen as well as in smaller cities.

The Federation of Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) is the main body of Hungarian Jewry. Several major philanthropic organizations are active in Hungary, especially the Lauder Foundation, whose summer camps attract youth from across central and eastern Europe. The Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association publishes a monthly, Szombat (Saturday), and conducts a wide variety of cultural and educational activities. The quarterly Mult es Jovo (Past and Present) publishes original and translated essays on a variety of topics. The bi-weekly Uj Elet (New Life) is the official publication of the Jewish community, and its content reflects a religious revival among some segments of the Jewish population.

 

POLITICAL PARTIES AND EXTRA-PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS

Political Parties

Since its loss in the May 2002 elections, the center-right FIDESZ, which was the main governing party before the elections, has been transforming itself into a conservative bloc which seeks to topple the Socialist-led coalition. The nationalist, xenophobic and antisemitic Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIEP), led by Istvan Csurka, has had no parliamentary representation since the election. Attempts to challenge Csurka’s leadership have continued. While intra-party rivalry might weaken the extremist camp, any wing of the party which claims to be the ‘true’ representative of the populist right has little chance of competing with Csurka’s reputation and oratorical skills, which have dominated the extremist camp in Hungary since 1992.

 

Extra-Parliamentary Groups

The number of neo-Nazis is small, but they are visible at public demonstrations on national days or anniversaries linked to World War II. The most notorious neo-Nazi group is the Hungarian Welfare Association, which has appeared under various names and in different guises and adheres openly to the legacy of the Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross movement, led during the war by Ferenc Szalasi. Various small groups, such as Blood & Honour, are active in organizing demonstrations on anniversaries linked to World War II and the legacy of Hungarian fascism.  

Skinhead numbers have not increased in the last few years and their activities appear to have diminished, evidenced by less activity in the streets and fewer publications. Nevertheless, this violent sub-culture with its neo-Nazi symbols continues to be a threat to public order. In February 2003, Hungarian police confronted groups of local neo-Nazis, especially from Blood & Honour, who were celebrating the anniversary of the 1945 attempt of Hungarian and Nazi troops to break out of Soviet-besieged Budapest. A similar demonstration took place in February 2004. Following these displays of neo-Nazi power, the authorities promised to clamp down on such demonstrations. However, the marches have become an annual display of neo-Nazism and Holocaust revisionism, which has been criticized by liberals and leftists in the Hungarian media. Thus, the liberal daily Nepszabadsag (21 Feb. 2003; translated and reprinted in TOL Wire – the web publication Transitions Online) noted that in the absence of tougher hate speech laws, neo-Hungaricists and neo-Arrow Cross supporters, “exercising their human rights,” have begun to speak out and organize.

A neo-Nazi organization called Group for a Hungarian Future (Magyar Jovo Csoport), which openly adheres to the legacy of the Arrow Cross and its leader Szalasi, attracted media attention and served to spotlight the re-emergence of other similar small groups which still draw dozens of adherents. The group is led by 26-year-old Diana Bacsfi.

 

ANTISEMITIC AND RACIST ACTIVITIES

Antisemitism in Hungary was manifested mainly in far right publications and demonstrations. MIEP supporters continued their tradition of shouting antisemitic slogans and tearing the US flag to shreds at their annual rallies in Budapest in March 2003 and 2004, commemorating the 1848–49 revolution. Further, during the anniversary demonstrations of both right and left marking the 1956 uprising, antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans were heard from the right, such as accusing Israel of war crimes. The center-right traditionally keeps its distance from the right-wing demonstration, which was led by Csurka.

On 11 January 2004 an Israeli flag was burned at a demonstration organized by right-wing groups demanding the closure of an alternative radio station, Tilos Radio. During a debate on Christian values on this station, the talk show host had said that he would “wipe out all Christians” (Ha'aretz, 12 Jan. 2004). This comment generated a heated public discussion. It was alleged that Jews/Jewish-leftists were behind anti-Christian expressions and that antisemitic manifestations were treated much more harshly than anti-Christian hate speech (website of the daily Magyar Hirlap, as well as sites of other major dailies). The radio station was banned temporarily by the National Radio and TV Authority (BBC News, 21 Jan. 2004, 168 Ora, 22 Jan. 2004). Both the Hungarian Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy condemned the burning of the Israeli flag. Those charged with the act appeared to have acted spontaneously.

On 27 January 2004, marking Auschwitz Liberation Day, the plaque on the bank of the Danube in Budapest in memory of hundreds of Jews shot and dumped in the river by Hungarian Arrow Cross members in late 1944, was defaced.

 

Propaganda

Hungary's support for the US position in Iraq, an issue widely debated in the country, was criticized by Csurka, who provided regular analyses in the weekly and monthly Magyar Forum, in an attempt to prove complete Hungarian servitude to foreign interests. In a characteristic remark, Csurka wrote in the weekly Magyar Forum (20 Nov. 2003), that in “Hungary everything is decided according to the interests of the global war-axis, Washington–Tel Aviv.”

Such perceptions, shared by Hungarian populists and by the extreme right, emphasize the Jewish-Israeli aspect of globalization, a favorite theme of Csurka. Every issue of Magyar Forum contains articles describing the pauperization of Hungary, allegedly a consequence not only of Hungary joining the EU – a theme which lacks clear-cut antisemitic elements – but of its subordination to US-Israeli global interests. This fits well with the old-new conspiracy theories of Jewish control of world – and specifically Hungarian – finances, also a frequent theme of Csurka’s column in Magyar Forum.

In early November 2003 the British Holocaust revisionist David Irving appeared on the state-owned Hungarian TV station, invited by Csurka to promote his book on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution which he portrayed as a workers' uprising against a Jewish-dominated communist regime (see Balint Molnar, “Drawing Red Lines,” TOL, 9 Jan. 2004). The show in which he appeared, “Night Shelter,” is known for its right-wing tendencies. Following a public outcry, the program was taken off the air, prompting Csurka to attack ‘leftist’ control of the media. Csurka referred to David Irving, as a “prominent British historian” whose views were not tolerated in Hungary and other countries by “Holocaust industrialists” (Magyar Forum, 20 Nov. 2003).

The nationalist weekly Magyar Demokrata is also a regular forum for the publication of antisemitic, anti-Israel and anti-Zionist articles. Articles dealing with the size and impact of Israeli-Jewish financial interests in Hungary are published in almost every issue. Such themes are combined with a negative approach toward the EU.

In late 2003 the verdict against Lorant Hegedus, a Reformist Church minister and leading MIEP member, who headed the party list for the 2004 European Parliament elections, was annulled. In 2002 Hegedus had published an article in a Budapest district paper in which he called for the elimination of the “Galician hordes” (a euphemism for the thousands of Ostjuden, east European Jewish refugees from Galicia who flocked to Hungary in the late 19th century seeking a better life) from Hungarian public life (see ASW 2002/3). Hegedus had been given a suspended 18-month jail sentence for “inciting hatred against a community.” The ‘victory of free speech’ was hailed by the Hungarian right, and he became an instant hero of the MIEP, as well as of the conservative right (from FIDESZ rightwards). Some eighty-four intellectuals signed a letter condemning the repeal (TOL, 9 Jan. 2004). Such protests on the part of liberals were strongly criticized by Csurka, who called for combating attempts by the Federation of Jewish Communities to lead a revolt “against the Hungarian judiciary,” and branded them as “a group which has great influence and tremendous wealth, seeks to.... create anarchy and works for complete robbery of the Hungarian nation” (Magyar Forum, 20 Nov. 2003).