Since 2003, I have served as president of the United Hungarian House in Los Angeles, an organization which is not only not antisemitic, but is ultimately a non-political and secular institution.
Growing up as a child, we didn’t ask our classmates about one another’s religion (especially considering that few people practiced religious faith at that time), but rather we asked if one could play soccer or if one was good at math.
We were of very modest means, but ultimately our childhood was just, because we were not prejudiced. We respected knowledge, skills and the rules of the games that we played out on the streets and in the schoolyards.
I still live by the same principles, even if — due to my age — I now see some things a little differently. I will, however, never accept religion-based prejudice. The guests who visit the United Hungarian House of Los Angeles keep coming back precisely because of the center’s tolerant atmosphere.
It is true that Mr. György Lázár contacted me about an upcoming event at our center. I am certainly sensitive to the questions and issues raised about Fruzsina Pregitzer’s upcoming presentation. A such, I quickly asked an actor friend of mine, Péter Pankotay, if there will be any element in Ms. Pregitzer’s presentation that is questionable or problematic. (Mr. Pankotay had recommended Ms. Pregitzer to me earlier on.)
Mr. Pankotay responded with a definitive “no.”
It is very important for me to note, that as president of the United Hungarian House, rejecting antisemitism and antisemitic propaganda in the diaspora, and keeping it from surfacing, is a priority.
Miklós Pereházy, President of the Los Angeles United Hungarian House