The 14th General Assembly of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) will take place in Budapest between 5-7 May
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed in his letter to President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald S. Lauder that it is an honour for Hungary to host the event. Numerous high-ranking governmental officials will participate and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will address the opening ceremony.
The conference will discuss global issues concerning Jewish communities. János Lázár, Minister of State heading the Prime Minister’s Office declared that the Government will do everything in its power so that the human dignity of the participants and Hungarian Jewish communities cannot be harmed. Reaffirming this statement, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has instructed Minister of Interior Affairs Sándor Pintér to not allow any event or demonstration that could harm human dignity.
In relation to the Prime Minister's order, the Captain of Budapest City Police banned an anti-Bolshevist and anti-Zionist demonstration organized in parallel with the opening of the World Jewish Congress. The decision of the Budapest City Police was overruled by the Budapest Metropolitan Court and according to its decision the demonstration may be held.
Reacting to the judgement of the Budapest Metropolitan Court Viktor Orbán stated that „I find today's court ruling on Saturday's anti-Zionist demonstration unacceptable. My stance is clear: no matter in what disguise, there is no place in Hungary for events of an obviously anti-Semitic nature and for the circumvention of the rule of law. Allowing such organised meetings is incompatible with the values of the Hungarian people and with the contents and spirit of the constitution. I would ask the Chairman of the Supreme Court to consider what legal instruments Hungary has at its disposal to enforce the Constitution. At the same time, I hereby order the Minister of Interior to utilize all legal means to prevent this anti-constitutional demonstration.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth. In the interview, the Prime Minister explained that "we are clearly not anti-Semitic. It is our duty to refute these accusations and also to consider why people who judge Hungary from the outside today include anti-Semitism as one of our country's characteristics". According to Viktor Orbán, this is a consequence of history. "Look around in Europe, and especially in its eastern half: Hungary is the only country in which - despite the Nazi reign of terror - there is an original, large Jewish population.
Accordingly, Hungarian anti-Semitism isn't a theoretical question, but a personal issue", he said. The Hungarian Jewish families who survived the holocaust live here, as do those Hungarians who collaborated with the Nazis. This cohabitation raises more issues than in other countries, he added.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also mentioned some of the measures introduced by the Government to combat anti-Semitism and extremism in general. "The freedom of speech is very important in a democracy, but when the freedom of speech comes into conflict with respect for others, it is something that the current Government is not prepared to accept. Jobbik's paramilitary organisations, which operated freely during the liberal government, have been banned. Laws have been passed that make the organisation of similar groups illegal. It has been made clear that incitement to hatred and holocaust denial are regarded as crimes", he said, listing just some of these measures. "If someone violates the respect of a community, they may face prosecution according to both the penal and civil codes. This is not true of any other European country, and it is something we’re proud of", he added.
The Prime Minister agreed with a question regarding the possible danger posed by Jobbik. It is a "real and increasing danger", he said. In his opinion, the reasons for this can be found in the economic recession that is seriously affecting the EU. Political views that are fuelled by hatred, anger and frustration regarding the economic situation are cropping up throughout the world. There is a tendency in Europe to search for scapegoats, and this is always dangerous, he added. "We in Hungary must be very wary and step up as categorically as possible against this phenomenon. If we wish to protect democracy we must be very determined in opposing Jobbik", he said.
With reference to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary, the Prime Minister said that "the Jewish and Hungarian victims of the holocaust, whom we did not protect sufficiently, live among us, and so it is difficult to face the past, but this is something we cannot shy away from. We have done more in recent years with regard to this issue than anyone else in previous decades."
With regard to Israeli-Hungarian relations, the Prime Minister said that he views the State of Israel's Hungarian community as especially important. "In my interpretation, they are part of the Hungarian nation", he stressed.
(International Communications Office)