The Artistic Director of the Oscar-winning Son of Saul, László Rajk, gave an insightful talk at Concordia University in Montreal on November 4th. The event was coordinated by Professor Emeritus András Göllner, Founder of the Canadian Hungarian Democratic Charter, with many partners from the university and the local Jewish community. We will publish videos of the well-attended talk itself, which focused on the depiction of the Holocaust in art, but as a small glimpse into some of the discussions and ideas, we are sharing in advance a question put forward by a Canadian student. In light of Mr. Rajk’s longstanding career as a civil rights activist, he asks what activists in the West can do to help those fighting for democracy and pluralism in Hungary, and for those who are the targets of the country’s current, authoritarian government. The student raises the politically-motivated shuttering of Hungary’s largest circulation national daily, Népszabadság, as well as rising antisemitic and xenophobic sentiment due to the state-sponsored hate campaigns of the governing Fidesz party. Should we be boycotting Hungary?
Here is a small part of the talk–more to come in the next day or so!
