Ferenc Orosz just found out what Hungary's changing political climate has wrought. Orosz, who is the chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg association, was assaulted after an argument ensued between him and a group of Nazi youth who had been chanting slogans at a soccer match.
Hungary is due to host the World Jewish Congress soon. And if this is a prelude of what is the sentiment of the Hungarian people, it will pose some very difficult questions.
The fans, who had been chanting 'Sieg Heil' during the match, attached Orosz, and broke his nose.
The Congress is slated to begin in less than five days.
Anti Semitism, and a resurgence of extreme right wing ideology is a problem throughout Europe, but especially in certain locales, like Greece and central European countries. in Hungary, the neo nazi party, called Jobbik, has called for lists of prominent Jews to be drawn up in order to protect national security in November.
For those who are not familiar with Jobbik, the party is seated in the parliament since 2010, and since then, hate speech has gained a lot of ground.
In fact far right campaigners are planning to stage a rally against Zionism on Saturday, right at the onset of the Congress.
The Hungarian prime minister has already declared that he will take measures to prevent offensive demonstrations.
But one has to remember how deep Hungary's antisemitic roots are. During the Holocaust hungarian Jews were some of the first to die, to the tune of 500,000, almost the entire Jewish presence in that country, after Hungary quickly agreed to side with the Nazis in World War II.
Source : Haaretz 4.29.13
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