Israeli Lawmakers Visit Hungary to Discuss Antisemitism

Jobbik graffiti.

A delegation of leading parliamentarians from Israel and Europe traveled to Budapest over the weekend, where they voiced their concern at the growing level of antisemitism in the country to senior Hungarian ministers and officials.

The main impetus for the visit was remarks made by Marton Gyöngyösi, a Hungarian MP from the far-right Jobbik Party, who last month called for the creation of a “registry” of Jewish MPs and government officials in Hungary. His remarks caused global outrage and were roundly condemned by senior members of the Hungarian government.

The visit was also specifically timed to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, in order to provide greater emphasis for the urgent need to combat the surging antisemitism across Europe.

The 11-member delegation included Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein, British MP John Mann and a group of five Israeli current and former politicians headed by Yossi Peled, a Holocaust survivor, former minister and current chairman of the advisory board of the Israeli-Jewish Congress (IJC).

Nirenstein, who recently announced her decision to leave the Italian Parliament to make Aliyah, said “we will never allow antisemitism and racial hatred to spread again its tentacles” and “will fight with all of our might, with our minds, with our bodies, we will oppose with the strength of culture and democracy the darkness of evil and of hate.” She adds, “and we will win.”

During their visit, the Parliamentarians met with senior Ministers from the ruling Fidesz party and members of the Opposition, including Dr. Tibor Navracsics (Minister of Public Administration & Justice and Deputy Prime Minister), Zoltan Balog (Minister of Human Resources – Culture, Education, Welfare, Integration), Mihály Balla (Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs) and Lazlo Kovacs (Deputy Chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party and former Minister of Foreign Affairs).

John Mann, MP, who heads the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism, said “it is crucial for us as elected members of our various parliaments to work together to combat this scourge of racism and anti-Semitism”, adding that the kind of language being used by the Jobbik party, “will not be accepted.”

Source Article from http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/01/29/israeli-lawmakers-visit-hungary-to-discuss-antisemitism/

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