The Hungarian-American Coalition has somewhat surprisingly joinded a growing chorus of individuals and organizations in North America condemning the Orbán government’s decision to provide 15 million forints in funding for a statue in memory of interwar antisemitic politician and Minister of Education Bálint Hóman, who was among the most enthusiastic supporters of Hitler’s Germany, even as some in the government […]
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Intolerance for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, issued a statement regarding plans by the Hungarian government to fund a statue honoring Bálint Hóman, one of the architects of Hungary’s anti-Jewish laws and member of […]
Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, had some sharp words this week, regarding plans to erect a statue in memory of historian Bálint Hóman, Hungary’s Minister of Religion and Education between 1932 and 1938, and again between 1939 and 1942, during the fascistic Horthy era. The statue is planned for the western Hungarian town of Székesfehérvár. While […]
Csaba Latorcai, the Orbán government’s deputy state secretary in charge of religious groups, minorities and affairs relating to the Jewish community, just wrapped up what was likely a very successful trip to Canada. Hungary’s state news agency (MTI) published quite a gushing report of the unbridled successes of the week-long Canada-wide tour, where Mr. Latorcai was accompanied, for most of […]
HFP’s Hungarian-language sister publication, the Kanadai Magyar Hírlap, published a lengthy and–we think–insightful interview with András Heisler, the President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz), during his official visit to Canada this week. Mr. Heisler was coming alongside Deputy State Secretary Csaba Latorcai and spent five days in Canada, meeting with various levels of federal government, including the […]
My father’s cousin is a retired engineer who moved to Israel with his wife, Lory, over four decades ago. Endre Borsai now lives in a retirement home in Haifa, with his wife. On December 31st, 1999, as the twentieth century drew to a close, he wrote a lengthy letter–a very personal testimony–of our family’s experiences during World War II and, […]
Géza Szőcs, a Romanian-born poet, is one of the foremost promoters of Hungary’s anti-Semitic writers from the Transylvania region (today part of Romania). He was invited to the Göteborg Book Fair. According to the official program, Mr. Szőcs is scheduled to appear on Saturday, September 26th, in the afternoon, with Ms. Katalin Mezey as moderator. We protest the invitation of […]
Dear Editor, Recently while searching for some news items and articles about Hungarian Jews and the relationship between the Hungarian government and Jewish interests in Hungary and abroad, I was very surprised or rather shocked to read some articles by the author György Lázár in the Hungarian Free Press, in which he is accusing the Hungarian government and particular the […]
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) issued a statement a few weeks ago on antisemitism in Hungary, during a joint visit to Budapest by Michael Georg Link, the director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and Rabbi Andrew Baker of Washington, DC. The Hungarian media quoted parts of the statement, but did not […]
Tad Stahnke from Human Rights First has published an article in which he warns American lawmakers not to be “duped” by the Fidesz government’s “charm offensive.” Here is a story about the communication tricks Hungarian diplomats play in the United States. Ferenc Kumin is 40 years old and the Consul General of Hungary in New York. Before this position, he […]
