Rassismusparagraph: Wieder Haftstrafen für Roma
“Null Toleranz gegen Antisemitismus” verkündete Viktor Orbán die Tage auf dem Jüdischen Weltkongress. Auch Rassismus wird von der ungarischen Justiz konsequent geahndet – allerdings nicht bei rechtsextremen Hassverbrechen gegen Minderheiten, sondern im Fall von Roma, die sich tätlich gegen rechtsextreme Angriffe wehren. Laut der neuen Verfassung schützt der Rassismusparagraph mittlerweile auch die ungarische Mehrheits(volks)gemeinschaft vor “rassistisch” motivierten Angriffen, in diesem Fall Mitglieder der verbotenen Ungarischen Garde.
Neun Roma aus Sajóbábony, die 2009 Mitglieder der Ungarischen Garde angegriffen hatten, wurden in Miskolc wegen “Gewalt gegen eine Gemeinschaft” (Rassismusparagraph, wirkt strafverschärfend) und Sachbeschädigung zu insgesamt 27 Jahren und 9 Monaten Haft verurteilt, so hvg gestern.
Die neun Männer demolierten am 14. November 2009 mit Stöcken, Äxten und Stangen bewaffnet ein Auto, in dem Mitglieder der Ungarischen Garde saßen. Während des Angriffs schrien sie: “Wir bringen euch um, ihr stinkenden Magyaren!”
Am Tag zuvor hatte in Sajóbábony eine Gardeversammlung stattgefunden, und die Romabevölkerung verbrachte die Nacht in Angst und Schrecken.
2008-2009 war die Zeit der Mordserie an Roma mit sechs Todesopfern und die Stimmung entsprechend aufgeheizt. (Das Verfahren läuft; gibt es bis 20.8.2013 kein Urteil, müssen die rechtsextremen Angeklagten freigelassen werden.)
Nachtwache im Freien (Index)
Als sich dann nachts erneut ein mit Gardisten besetztes Auto dem Dorf näherte, wurden es von den Angeklagten auf der Zufahrtsstraße angegriffen.
Die Angeklagten hatten die Sachbeschädigung gestanden, jedoch war es Aufgabe des Gerichts, zu überprüfen, ob der Angriff rassistisch motiviert oder aus Angst und Selbstschutz erfolgt war, so hvg. Laut dem Gericht handelt es sich um eine rassistisch motivierte Straftat.
Siehe auch ausführlich: morgenpost.de: “Rassismus” gegen Rassisten – Haftstrafen für Roma, von Boris Kalnoky
(MTI)
Aus der Stellungnahme der Bürgerrechtsorganisation TASZ:
“Dieses Fehlurteil des Gerichts gibt deshalb Grund zur Sorge, weil unserer Erfahrung nach in Verfahren gegen Roma immer häufiger wegen Rassismus geklagt wird, während bei rassistischen Handlungen gegen Roma entweder überhaupt kein Verfahren eröffnet wird, oder die Behörden die Straftaten nicht als Hassverbrechen, sondern als geringere Vergehen qualifizieren, die milder bestraft werden, und die Mehrheit der Fälle noch im Ermittlungsstadium eingestellt werden.” (Quelle; vgl. auch hier).
Kommentar Blog Fideszfigyelő auf Facebook:
“Roma aus Sajóbábony wurden zu insgesamt 27 Jahren Haft verurteilt, weil sie getan hatten, was Orbán versprochen hat zu tun: Die Gardisten zu schlagen (Anm.: Orbán hatte 2008 versprochen, mit den Gardisten so umzugehen wie Horthy mit den Pfeilkreuzlern: Sie “mit zwei Ohrfeigen nach Hause zu schicken.”)
Das ist auch in Ordnung, niemand darf andere mit Stöcken und Stangen angreifen.
Jedoch bleibt die Frage, warum kein Verfahren wegen des provokativen Jobbik-Auftrittes in Sajóbábony eröffnet wurde. Nicht einmal wegen der verbotenen Gardisten-Uniformen, worauf eigentlich eine Geldstrafe von 50 000 Forint steht.”
Kommentar der Kulturwissenschaftlerin Magdalena Marsovszky:
“Laut der neuen Verfassung ist das rechtmäßig. Im neuen Grundgesetz Ungarns ist die Nation als Gemeinschaft (Volksgemeinschaft) definiert, und der Paragraph über die Hetze oder Gewalt gegen eine Gemeinschaft, d.h. die Volksverhetzung, der ursprünglich die Minderheiten schützen sollte, dient jetzt auch dem Schutz der Mehrheit. In Ungarn nennt man das umkehrten Rassismus, in Deutschland Täter-Opfer-Umkehr. Ein historisches Beispiel: In Deutschland haben die Nationasozialisten die Nation im Sinne eines Volkstums definiert, und heute ist es nur noch die NPD, die als Ziel die Herstellung einer Volksgemeinschaft Deutschtum verfolgt.”
Die Vorgeschichte auf diesem Blog:
- Dorf abgesperrt: Massenschlägerei zwischen Roma und Jobbik, 15. November 2009
- „Krieg“ in Sajóbábony – Verbot der Gardeuniform, 17. November 2009
- Erstes Urteil wegen rassistischer Gewalt: Hohe Haftstrafen für Roma, 11. November 2010
- Erneut Prozeß gegen Roma wegen rassistisch motivierter Gewalt, 11. Januar 2011
- Zwei fatale Urteile: Jobbik-Bürgerwehr wird nicht aufgelöst, hohe Haftstrafen für Roma wegen “Gewalt gegen Magyaren”, 28. Juli 2012
- Verbotene Ungarische Garde marschiert legal auf dem Heldenplatz auf, 27. August 2012
- Jüdischer Weltkongress in Budapest: Nazidemo findet statt, 3. Mai 2013
Gardisten auf der “antizionistischen” Jobbik-Gegendemo zum Jüdischen Weltkongress am 4.Mai.
(20min.ch)
Über verpasste Chancen und wahrgenommene Fehler
Gastkommentar von József Berta zur Orbán-Rede auf dem Jüdischen Weltkongress. Der Autor ist Politologe und Kulturwissenschaftler. Er lebt in Berlin. Gegenwärtig befindet er sich auf Forschungsreise in Indonesien.
Die Rede des ungarischen Ministerpräsidenten Viktor Orbán beim World Jewish Congress (WJC) vom vergangenen Sonntag war in vielerlei Hinsicht bemerkenswert. Ein ansonsten stets souveräner Orbán präsentierte sich in ungewöhnlich schwacher Form. Eine Analyse.
Es ist wirklich rätselhaft, wie diese Rede, in dieser Form, mit diesen Formulierungen und Wendungen, sowie in dieser Präsentation zustande kommen konnte. Es könnte beinahe gesagt werden, dass Viktor Orbán, seine Berater und Redenschreiber diese Konferenz nicht begriffen oder nicht ernstgenommen haben.
Aber dafür war die Anspannung im Vorfeld (Orbáns Weisungen an die Behörden und das „Oberste Gericht“ über das Verbot rechtsradikaler antisemitischer Kundgebungen) zu groß. Nicht zu verbergen und damit nicht zu übersehen war sie in der Vorstellungsrunde vor Ort, im Hotel Intercontinental Budapest, beim Eintreffen des Ministerpräsidenten und während der ganzen Rede. Ein Gastgeber, der sich in seiner Rolle wohlfühlt, redet und benimmt sich anders.
Facebook, Mazsihisz (Koszticsák Szilárd / MTI)
Selten lag so viel Furcht (ja, teilweise auch Angstschweiß) in der Luft wie hier. Kaum ist eine Rede oder ein Auftritt von Orbán in Erinnerung (vielleicht das legendäre TV-Duell vor den Wahlen von 2006), wo Orbán so mit der Situation, aber auch mit seiner Stimme zu kämpfen hatte, und das keineswegs aus Ergriffenheit (denken wir an die Rede von Bundespräsident Horst Köhler vor der Knesset). Orbán brachte zwar die obligatorischen Sätze über die ungarische Beteiligung am Holocaust, jedoch ging es ihm um einzelne Individuen, mit denen er jegliche Gemeinschaft ablehnte.
“We are aware that during the course of history there were bad Christians and bad Hungarians, who committed grievous sins.”
Eine Annahme der historischen Gemeinschaft, wie dies z.B. mit den „Opfern des Kommunismus“ im Budapester Museum “Haus des Terrors” geschieht, wo die Generationen der Vergangenheit eine Schicksalsgemeinschaft mit den Besuchergenerationen bilden, blieb aus. So musste die lange Aufzählung der aus „moralischer Pflicht“ seiner Regierung errichteten institutionellen und institutionalisierten Erinnerung wirkungslos und eben nichts anderes als eine notorische Aufzählung bleiben.
Nochmals: Der WJC tagt nicht in Budapest, weil die institutionelle Erinnerung in einem hervorragenden, durchschnittlichen oder desolaten Zustand ist. Institutionen sind in ihren gegenwärtigen Formen offenbar wirkungslos, wenn es um die Ausbreitung und Dynamik von Antisemitismus, Rassismus, gesellschaftlicher Ausgrenzung und Angsterzeugung geht.
Hinzu kam aber, dass die Berater und Redenschreiber von Orbán wohl kaum mit einer plötzlichen „das Herz rutscht in die Hose“ – Situation rechneten. Genau das ist aber passiert. (…) Fast konnte man sich an einen anderen historischen Auftritt erinnert fühlen, die Israel-Reise von Papst Benedikt XVI. (und auch oder noch eher die des Joseph Ratzinger). „Nichts falsch gemacht und doch die historische Chance verpasst“ – lautete damals die Schlussfolgerung.
Aber nach Viktor Orbáns Rede ist diese Parallele wohl doch nicht haltbar. Ja, hier wurde die Chance verpasst, glaubhaft, vertrauensvoll, vielleicht auch herzlich, auf jeden Fall aber menschlich aufzutreten. Es ist bedauerlich, dass das nicht passiert ist, aber so etwas – könnte man sagen – kann ja mal vorkommen. Aber – und das wiegt wesentlich schwerer – hier wurden gravierende Fehler gemacht.
Es ist kaum nachvollziehbar – und so deutlich und klar war die Formulierung noch nie – wie Carl Schmitts Antagonismus, die Freund-Feind-Unterscheidung ausgedrückt im Gegensatzpaar „gut-böse“, gerade an diesem Ort, in diese Rede Einzug finden konnte:
“In the end, things always become simplified. They are simplified into good and bad. (…) in the final analysis, the world is governed by two types of human intent and actions: good and bad. (…) Anti-Semitism is a state of mind in which evil takes control of people’s thoughts and actions, and this danger also threatens us, Christians.”
Es ist kaum nachvollziehbar, oder wirft zumindest berechtigte Fragen auf, wie man in Orbáns Team auf die Idee kommen konnte, den Talmud, die lebendige Kommentierungsquelle von geltenden jüdischen Gesetzen, mit einem wie auch immer gehandhabten historischen (!) Erbe Ungarns, dem Vermächtnis des Staatsgründers, König Stephan des Heiligen, in Zusammenhang zu bringen, um auf diese Weise ahistorische Gemeinsamkeiten zu konstruieren.
“We still hear in our ears and feel in our hearts the teachings of our first Christian king, with the wisdom we know well from the Talmud. The Talmud teaches: “Hate, evil tendencies and vanity drive men from this world”. Our King, Saint Stephen, wrote to his son: “Always bear in mind that all men are born in a similar state, and it is only humility that lifts him up, and only arrogance and hatred that topples him”.”
Erneut: es mangelt in Ungarn nicht an Quellen institutionalisierter Erinnerung. Sie bleiben aber offensichtlich unbeachtet. Der Verweis auf das neue Grundgesetz (…), das angeblich eben auf diesem Vermächtnis beruht, ist angesichts der Entwicklungen in Ungarn nichts mehr als ein ohnmächtiges Pochen auf ein nicht beachtetes Konstrukt.
Ein wirklich grober Fehler war es, die Gäste der Konferenz auf Ungarisch als „betértek” zu bezeichnen, bedeutet dies doch im Judentum die Konvertiten. Auch wenn die Übersetzung vorab geklärt und das Wort „Konvertit“ vorab ausgeschlossen wurde, konnte so höchstens im Saal selbst eine negative Wirkung vermieden werden.
Die Aussagen über den zu Fall gebrachten „Kommunismus“ und die überdimensionierten Verdienste von Orbán dabei (was einfach faktisch falsch ist) wurden in den bisher erfolgten Reaktionen auf die Rede wiederholt angesprochen, darum soll es hier nur am Rande erwähnt werden. Wie es auch nur am Rande erwähnt werden soll, dass das Aufzählen von katastrophalen Negativbeispielen – mögen sie „schlimmer“ sein, als die eigene Situation – nicht als Exkulpation hierfür verwendet werden können. Müßig ist der wiederholte Verweis auf radikale Parteien in den Parlamenten anderer europäischer Staaten, um damit die 17% von Jobbik als etwas „Normales“, Europäisches darzustellen. Dies als „Normalität“ zu vermitteln, begünstigt nur das, was Orbán selbst aussprach, dass die „Anständigen“ in Passivität verfallen. Dass Orbán selbst aktives historisches Bewusstsein und proaktives Handeln in der Verteidigung von europäischen Werten einfordert, ist angesichts seiner Politik der vergangenen Jahre einfach unglaubwürdig, um nicht zu sagen eine Farce.
Der ungarische Ministerpräsident sprach im direktem Anschluss an den unmissverständlichen Auftritt des Präsidenten von WJC, Ronald Lauder. Nach Lauders Rede hätte Orbán sein präpariertes Manuskript einfach weglegen können, ja teilweise sogar müssen. Dass er spontan reagieren kann, steht außer Zweifel, er hat das in unzähligen Fällen, auch vor weniger wohlgesinntem Publikum unter Beweis gestellt. Stattdessen klammerte er sich verkrampft an seinem Papier fest und versuchte sich an den Fragmenten altbekannter Sätze abzuarbeiten, und das rettende Ufer war nur die begrenzte Redezeit.
Es ist wohl noch zu früh, um zu sagen, ob dieser Auftritt nur ein Ausrutscher war, oder aber für den Anfang von etwas stehen wird, was wesentliche Veränderungen mit sich bringt. (…) Für diesen Sonntag gilt: Es passte an diesem Tag (und auch im Vorfeld) so gut wie nichts. Nicht die Verfassung Orbáns, die vorbereitete Rede schon gar nicht, wie auch die Ratschläge seiner Berater bezüglich Auftreten und Verhalten. Es war ein in jeder Hinsicht erstaunlicher, teilweise peinlicher, insgesamt enttäuschender Auftritt. Orbán wird ihn wohl so schnell wie möglich vergessen wollen. Und doch wird er sicherlich noch lange von unterschiedlichsten Seiten daran erinnert werden.
Die Rede des Bundesministers des Auswärtigen, Dr. Guido Westerwelle MdB, 14. Vollversammlung des World Jewish Congress am 6. Mai 2013 in Budapest,
hier als pdf.
“— ES GILT DAS GESPROCHENE WORT —”:
Nach der Stelle “Some people think: What do I have to do with this? That is not my business.” improvisierte Westerwelle und zitierte den Theologen und Widerstandskämpfer Martin Niemöller:
„Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.“
(Aus dem Livestream hier, noch keine Aufzeichnung im Netz; deutsche Version zitiert von hier)
In den ungarischen Medien blieb dieses Detail bisher unerwähnt.
Im Unterschied zu den übrigen Redebeiträgen ist das Skript über den WJC nicht erhältlich; auf der Regierungsseite ist der Text noch nicht eingestellt, wird ggf. nachgeliefert.
Update 6.5.2013: Die Rede wurde heute morgen auf der Regierungsseite eingestellt:
Speech by Viktor Orbán at the 14th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress
May 6, 2013 7:54 AM
Budapest, 5th May 2013
President Lauder, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good evening. May I just welcome you whole-heartedly here in Budapest. Shalom. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Budapest in the name of Hungary and the people of Hungary. I greet the representatives of the Jewish community, and a warm welcome to our guests in our country. It is with special pleasure and friendship that I greet those who have in fact come home, because they have their family roots here. Hungary has a deep-rooted tradition of welcoming and respecting guests. Here, all who knock on our door have a right to hospitality. And so I wish that you all have an enjoyable stay and take pleasure in our wonderful capital! Hungary is a free country, and so the right to hospitality includes mentioning the things that may bother you and that you may find wrong. Your leaders justified your visit by the fact that they wished to draw the world’s attention to increasing anti-Semitism in Hungary. If this is the way they feel, then it is good that you have come to us, because we need everyone’s help and cooperation to successfully act against the spread of hate.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I know that Jewish leaders have come here from all over the world. Including from places where anti-Semitism sometimes claims the lives of schoolchildren. And from places where following the anti-Semitic murder of children, there is no consensus on whether a minute’s silence in memory of the victims may be ordered in state schools. From places where bomb attacks that claim lives are launched against synagogues. Nothing of this nature has so far occurred in Hungary. We do not want Hungary to become a country of that kind, and so I ask you to share your experiences so that hate cannot degenerate to this level here in Hungary.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
History has taught the Hungarians that anti-Semitism must be recognised in time. Hungary lived through and is intimately aware of the inhumane destruction that anti-Semitism caused to the Jewish people, Hungary and the whole of Europe. It is with a broken heart that we bow our heads in memory of the victims. And at the same time we thank God that despite the Nazi and Arrow Cross destruction an authentic Jewish community, one of Europe’s most significant and ancient Jewish communities, managed to survive here in Hungary. We thank God that he has enriched all of Hungary as a result. We have also learned that anti-Semitism isn’t a natural disaster but the work of men. And as a result we must all feel and accept our own, personal responsibility. We are all aware of the growth of anti-Semitism throughout Europe, including Hungary. The situation is a difficult one. The economic crisis is shaking Europe to the core, and the unsuccessful crisis management of European leaders is causing increasingly deep frustration, and consuming people’s hope. Let’s talk straight. Disillusionment, anger and hatred are on the increase. In a situation such as this it is especially important that we make it clear: anti-Semitism is unacceptable and intolerable.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today’s difficult situation requires an answer to the question, where did we go wrong in Europe during the past twenty years. We finally destroyed communism. We put an end to the Cold War. Europe was given the chance to once again be the continent of peace, cohabitation, understanding and tolerance. And here we are twenty years later and are searching for a cure for increasing intolerance and anti-Semitism. What happened to us? This is a question that is asked by many and we hear many arguments. We Hungarians provided our own answer two years ago when we set down our first, democratic Constitution. We Hungarians think that it was a mistake to believe that a community with a weak national and religious identity would give us a better chance of peaceful cohabitation. Today, it seems that a strong identity provides better bedrock for mutual acknowledgement and respect. Today, it seems that all of us, Jews and non-Jews alike, benefit most if we strive to be good patriots and the good children of God. Each according to their own laws, but all standing firm on the bedrock of unconditional respect for human dignity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the end, things always become simplified. They are simplified into good and bad. You know perhaps better than anybody else that in the final analysis, the world is governed by two types of human intent and actions: good and bad. When the will of good people was at the fore here in Hungary, then Hungarians and Jews lived together in peace and prosperity, and if needed the State of Hungary protected its citizens. Anti-Semitism is a state of mind in which evil takes control of people’s thoughts and actions, and this danger also threatens us, Christians. We are aware that during the course of history there were bad Christians and bad Hungarians, who committed grievous sins. In the light of all this, our answer to increasing anti-Semitism in Europe and in Hungary is not the giving up of our religious and moral roots, but exactly the opposite: to recall and reinforce the examples and tradition of good Christians. Accordingly, the current Constitution provides true protection, true security, real and full human dignity, personal and community dignity to the Jewish people, and of course to all minorities, who live side-by-side with us.
Today’s Hungarian Christian Democrat government politics felt that it was its moral duty to introduce a remembrance day for victims of the holocaust in schools. It felt that it was its moral obligation to establish Holocaust Memorial Day. It felt morally bound to stand with heads bowed and listen to the Kaddish in the same houses of parliament in which the anti-Jewish laws were once passed. It felt that it was its moral duty to organise a memorial year in respect of Raoul Wallenberg. It felt it was its moral obligation to ban the operations of paramilitary organisations. It felt it was it was morally bound to set up the Holocaust 2014 memorial Committee. It felt that it was its moral duty to ban symbols of dictatorship. And it felt and feels it to be its moral obligation to declare a policy of zero tolerance against anti-Semitism.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We still hear in our ears and feel in our hearts the teachings of our first Christian king, with the wisdom we know well from the Talmud. The Talmud teaches: “Hate, evil tendencies and vanity drive men from this world”. Our King, Saint Stephen, wrote to his son: “Always bear in mind that all men are born in a similar state, and it is only humility that lifts him up, and only arrogance and hatred that topples him”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our generation is the generation of peace and revolutions. In our youth we toppled communism and regained our country’s independence so that we could all live here in freedom. We know that there is no freedom without human dignity. And so our generation will not tolerate the wounding of the human dignity of anybody in our country because of their ancestry or religion, because that would be an affront to the freedom that we have struggled together to achieve.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing, please let me thank the Jewish people of Hungary and the world for repeatedly standing up for Hungary and the national objectives of the people of Hungary in recent years. I recall the memory of Tom Lapid, who spoke out against the assaulting of Hungarians in the Vojvodina. It is here that I remember those Jewish communities who stood up for the rights of Hungarians living beyond our borders and for the dual nationality of Hungarians. It is here that I must mention the loud and open support expressed by Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger during the course of international debate on our Constitution. Their support is living reassurance and encouragement of the fact that our work is not in vain. There is hope that our children may live in an era in which anti-Semitism is just as inconceivable as the past ages in which the world suffered from the plague. This is not just a dream, it is a possibility, and one that I feel is only up to us. We know that the triumph of evil requires only that good people remain inactive. We Hungarians are not and shall not be inactive. I would ask you all to take this message with you to the Jewish people of the world.
Welcome to Hungary.
(orbanviktor.hu)
*
Hier ungarisch, ohne Untertitel:
PRESS RELEASE: Reaction by the World Jewish Congress to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech in Budapest, 5 May 2013
BUDAPEST – “The World Jewish Congress appreciates Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s decision to address the international Jewish community by speaking here tonight. We welcome that the Prime Minister made it clear that anti-Semitism is unacceptable and intolerable.
However, the Prime Minister did not confront the true nature of the problem: the threat posed by the anti-Semites in general and by the extreme-right Jobbik party in particular. We regret that Mr. Orbán did not address any recent anti-Semitic or racist incidents in the country, nor did he provide sufficient reassurance that a clear line has been drawn between his government and the far-right fringe.
As the Jewish people have learnt throughout history: Actions speak louder than words, no matter how well intended they are. The WJC will continue to urge all democratic forces in Hungary and elsewhere to combat with great determination rising extremism, anti-Semitism and hatred. We will continue to evaluate the situation in this regard.”
Statement can be attributed to a WJC spokesman.
Read the speech by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder on the WJC website http://www.worldjewishcongress.org.
Transcript of Amb. Ronald S. Lauder’s remarks at WJC Plenary Assembly opening
Remarks by Amb. Ronald S. Lauder
President of the World Jewish Congress
WJC Plenary Assembly
Budapest, 5 May 2013
Prime Minister Orban,
President of Mazsihisz, my friend Péter Feldmájer,
Cardinal Erdö,
Rabbis, Ministers and
Members of Parliament,
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Representatives of our Jewish Communities from all around the world, ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends:
First of all, I want to thank Péter Feldmájer and the wonderful Jewish community here in Hungary.
The fact that we are here tonight – representatives of Jewish communities from 100 countries around the world – is a tribute to the strength, resilience and vitality of Hungarian Jewry and to your leadership, Péter. Thank you.
Prime Minister Orban and Cardinal Erdö, we thank you for being with us. Your presence here tonight is also fitting because Budapest’s history is tied to Jewish history.
Less than one hundred years ago, a quarter of this great city’s population was Jewish. Hungary’s Jews contributed to the country’s economy, its culture, and its universities as well as its extraordinary tradition of mathematics and science.
Albert Einstein happens to be one of the few top physicists in the last century who was not born in Hungary but figures such as Szilard, Teller and Johnny von Neuman were just some of the brilliant Jewish minds that all came from Hungary and left a huge impact on the world.
Joseph Pulitzer, one of America’s greatest newspaper publishers and the founder of the most coveted prize in journalism that still bears his name today came from Hungary. And of course, Theodore Herzl, who founded the modern Zionist movement that led to the creation of Israel is from here as well.
My own mother’s parents were born here. The Lauder family dates back to the 13th Century and there was a special Jewish community there at that time, so you see my connection to Hungary is both deep and personal.
But sadly, all of the famous Jews I mention – and there are many more – noble laureates, artists and scholars – all left Hungary because they were forced to leave.
The rise of anti-Semitic parties in the 1920s and the 1930s led to the darkest chapter of all – the deportation and gassing of more than 400,000 Jewish men, women and children. A staggering one-third of the 1.1 million Jews murdered at Auschwitz were Hungarian.
It is so clear that if these dark forces of anti-Semitism had not been allowed to rise in the 20th Century – all of Hungary would have prospered.
This always strikes me as so obvious – when Jews are allowed to live their lives freely and practice their religion, countries always flourish. It is obvious. But all too often, the irrational hatred that is Anti-Semitism defeats common sense.
After 1920, the government of Admiral Miklós Horthy – a vicious anti-Semite – moved Hungary towards this irrational hatred. His government passed successive anti-Jewish laws and aligned itself closely at that time with the Nazis in Germany. And in 1938, the Horthy regime enacted its version of the infamous Nuremberg Laws.
The first deportations of Jews from Hungary to concentration camps occurred in 1941, during the time of Admiral Horthy.
I am recalling these facts now not because we are not familiar with them, but because today we are seeing, once again, growing ignorance, growing intolerance, growing hatred.
Once again we see the outrage of anti-Semitism.
This is by no means only in Hungary, but also in other places in Europe – in Greece, where I was a few weeks ago, in Ukraine and elsewhere. We see that Jews and other minorities are singled out, vilified, demonized.
We see that more and more people openly deny the Holocaust, which happens to be one of the most well documented tragedies in history.
We see that a growing number of people actually believe the old canard that Jews control world finance, or the media, or everything.
And we see that Jews again are being blamed for economic troubles.
Today, there are members of the Hungarian Parliament who want the government to draw up “Lists of Jews” who hold public office. That sends out warning signals around the world.
In the press and on television, anti-Semitism and incitement against the Roma minority are becoming commonplace, and sometimes even accepted. We were shocked to learn that an anti-Semitic TV presenter was awarded a prize.
Thankfully the Government withdrew this prize. But the fact that it was awarded in the first place is the kind of thing that has us worried.
And there is this journalist, Zsolt Bayer, who recently called Gypsies “cowardly, repulsive, noxious animals.” He said they were “unfit to live among people” and called for “dealing with them immediately.”
Such words are reminiscent of the darkest era in European history. Let us never forget the Roma were also victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
Today, Jews are again wondering whether they will have to leave the country, for similar reasons.
Because they wonder why anti-Semites like Miklós Horthy are being glorified, and why statues honoring them are unveiled by Hungarian officials. Horthy was equivalent to Hitler and seeing statues of him going up sends the wrong signal.
Perhaps because they wonder if Jews have a future in Hungary?
Whatever the reason, their concerns must be taken seriously.
When Hungarian Jews are attacked by fanatics, they should be able to count on the unequivocal support of their government and of their authorities. It is the authorities that must stop this before it even begins.
Mr. Prime Minister, I know that the Hungarian people love freedom. They are courageous.
In 1956, Hungary was the first country to rise up against the Soviet oppressors.
Hungary was the first country in 1989 that set off the chain reaction, which opened the Iron Curtain and brought down the Berlin Wall. For this the world thanks the Hungarian community.
Mr. Prime Minister, you were part of this. You did many things positive at that time.
The fall of Communism paved the way for a rebirth not just of a new Hungary but also for the revival of Jewish life here in Hungary and frankly no one frankly after the Shoah could ever imagine that. I remember when I opened my summer camp here we had 400 children from all over Europe attend a ceremony and the translator as I was speaking started to cry. I turned to him and asked “why are you crying?” He said “old man, I never thought I would see Jewish children again in Hungary.”
I decided to support that Jewish renaissance as much as I could. In 1990, I established the Lauder Javne School in Budapest. It is now welcoming 600 Jewish students a year and enriching their lives with Jewish values.
I am very proud of all the things we have accomplished, and tomorrow we shall all have a chance to see more of the children when we have dinner at the school.
I have also had the honor to rebuild many synagogues here – showing my strong commitment to Hungary’s history and it’s great heritage. Let there be no doubt: I still believe in the future of this country. And so do many others.
Prime Minister Orbán, I thank you for your presence here tonight.
It is no secret that Hungary’s international reputation has suffered in recent years.
But Hungary’s good name was not smeared by the foreign press, but by extremists.
Mr. Prime Minister, we are especially concerned about one particular party. I am talking about Jobbik, a party that won almost 17 percent of the vote in the 2010 elections. Through its anti-Semitism, its hostility to the Roma, and its paranoid rantings at the outside world, Jobbik is dragging the good name of Hungary through the mud.
That same party held a demonstration just yesterday against our gathering here in Budapest. Granted there were only a few people but it was symbolic because they were told they should not protest.
Hungarian Jews, Mr. Prime Minister, need you to take a firm and decisive lead. They need you to take on these dark forces. They need you to be pro-active. They need your leadership in this fight.
They need you to send the message to the entire population that intolerance will not be tolerated.
As President of the World Jewish Congress, I ask you to do precisely that and thus to demonstrate and talk about this great country’s finest traditions.
It is time for leadership and strong actions. We truly hope that you will be successful.
Fascism and intolerance always single out the Jews first. But they are never the last victims. All good people suffer. Countries suffer. In the end, this hatred and intolerance only destroys a nation’s hopes, its progress and its future.
Mr. Prime Minister this hall is full of hope. We welcome you here to our gathering as you and the majority of your compatriots have welcomed us to your country.
We thank you for being with us in your stunningly beautiful capital city.
Thank you very much.
Transcript of Péter Feldmajer’s remarks at WJC opening
Péter Feldmajer, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Hungary (MAZSIHISZ), May 5, at the opening of the World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly in Budapest.
Mr President Lauder,
Mr Prime Minister,
His Excellency, the Cardinal,
Bishops,
Rabbis,
Mr and Madam Ambassadors,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ma nishtano halailo haze?
What makes this night different from all other nights, we ask each Passover Seder evening; today we can ask the question: ma nishtano hacongres haze – i.e. what makes this congress different from all other congresses?
First and most, it is that we would like to welcome you in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, a glorious city that safeguards the joys and also the tortures of the past.
You have arrived in a country which – legend has it – saw the Jewish people from the Kazar empire come into this land together with the state founding proud horse tribes, and also where for many decades in the 19th century the Jews of the east were greeted with a warm and wholehearted welcome. The Jews here had become Hungarian patriots, they quickly lost their own language and supported the cause of Hungarian independence without reservations; nevertheless, already in the very first days of the 1848 heroic freedom fight, a pogrom was launched against the Jews of Bratislava.
You have come to a city that is proud to have Tivadar Herzl, the visionary of modern Israel, as its son and student.
You have come to a country which had lost World War I and with that 2/3 of its territory. The heroism of the Jewish soldiers and officers fighting the war as Hungarian patriots had become legendary, yet it did nothing to stop the political elite from blaming the Jews for the defeat and introducing the very first anti-Semitic laws of Europe, which served as models for the Nazis.
You have come to a country where the vast majority of the then mainstream society approved of the anti-Semitic laws and while most of them did not identify with the massacres, ultimately the entire Hungarian public administration – led by the Governor – successfully organised and implemented the gathering and deportation of Jews to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. You have come to a city that is proud of its jewel, the blue Danube, whose water was once painted red by the blood of tens of thousands of Jews shot dead on its banks.
You have come to a city where despite decades of anti-Semitic propaganda, despite official prohibitions, there were still hundreds and thousands that risked their lives standing up for, hiding and saving the lives of Jews.
You have come to a country where the majority of Jewish people – despite the massacres – remained patriotic to the land.
You have come to a country in which Moscow-based concoctors of leftist anti-Semitic pogroms could not achieve anything because the otherwise loyal Communist leaders of the country were not willing to identify with and fulfil the mad plans and commands of red tsars that followed the footsteps of Hitler.
You have come to a country where after the fall of Communism, the largest Jewish community of Central Europe revived Jewish religious and cultural life with unparalleled enthusiasm; the education system they brought to life may be an example to all.
You have come to a country whose proud Jewish residents can freely express their love of Israel and may freely proclaim not to ever forget Jerusalem, the spiritual capital of the united Jewish people.
You have come to a country which – perhaps the first one in the world after Israel – adopted a bill to commemorate the victims of the holocaust and – in line with the measures of the first Orban-cabinet – does a tremendous lot to keep the memory of the holocaust alive, to make the history of the holocaust part of school education.
You have come to a country whose Jewish community is again under threat by horrific ideologies and acts, which are the remnants of the Middle Ages and the holocaust, where an elderly Chief Rabbi is attacked in the street, where Fascists are hailed, where the courts set murderers as role models for the young as squares, and streets are being named after keen anti-Semites, as the works of court poets of Hungarian Nazis are included in the national curriculum and thus polluting the souls of our students.
You have come to a country whose government is in support of the security of the state of Israel and is ready to stand up for the inalienable religious rights of Jews and would never consider placing animal rights before the religious rights of Jews.
You have come to a country, where Jews could live in peace and enjoy the support of the majority of Hungarian society if the holler of the vindictive minority did not suppress their sober and friendly voices.
Two decades ago, the director of MAZSIHISZ, Mr Zoltai, and I used to think that not only did Hungarian Jews have a great past, they also hag a great future ahead of them. What has happened in this country in the past decades has proved that we were not wrong. We are still convinced today that not only is the present of Hungarian Jews great, but so is their future despite the raving of the anti-Semite rabble.
Thank you for coming and being here with us. We are proud to have been found worthy of holding the congress here, to be together, and for you to express your solidarity with the Hungarian Jewry.
I believe that the Jews of the world must unite their forces. This day also shows us that we are not alone, we are all listening to each other no matter where we may be living across the globe. The task we have is no little one to handle.
Hungary and Europe are on the wrong track.
As the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet put it:
“The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!”
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, time is out of joint and only together can we set it right; it is as if we the sounds and voices of the sinister ’30s were back again. All of us here tonight, Jews and non-Jews can only succeed in preventing the dark era of anti-Semitism from retuning to Hungary, Europe and the entire world and in ensuring that not a single Jewish person is ever in fear of terror if we unite our forces.
Thank you for your attention, I wish you all a pleasant evening.
