Speaking at the Jewish World Congress board of directors meeting on Monday, the Hungarian deputy prime minister said that Hungary, unlike other European nations, had created an environment where Jews could live "in complete security ... Their institutions are functioning, and physical atrocities do not affect anyone in Hungary because of their Jewry."
Semjén said Jewish traditions across the country are respected and defended, adding that "many hundreds of associations and foundations are custodians of Jewish culture and Jewish life."
“The anti-Israel, atheist communist regime persecuted Judaism with varying intensity and in a different way," the deputy prime minister told the meeting. "Today, the Holocaust is part of the curriculum in schools in Hungary, it has a day of remembrance, and many monuments and museums are associated with it, paying tribute to the victims,” he added.
Semjén highlighted the Hungarian government’s support to Hungarian Jews since Viktor Orbán became prime minister in 2010, noting that €100 million had been provided in support to Jewish denominations since that time. In addition, the government had implemented a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism.
Jewish community leaders from more than 50 countries arrived in Budapest for the meeting where antisemitism, the rise of far-right parties, and the war in Ukraine and consequent humanitarian crisis were on the agenda.
Photo credit: MTI