Hannes Swoboda, president of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D) Monday condemned the anti-Semitic demonstrations and tendencies in Hungary, one day afterthe World Jewish Congress opened its plenary assembly in Budapest with a speech of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban calling anti-Semitism today in Hungary "unacceptable" but stopping short of censuring the extreme-right anti-Semitic Jobbik party.
The opening of the WJC assembly was marred by an anti-Jewish rally organised by Jobbik, which holds over 10% of the seats in the Hungarian parliament.
"Europe was built on the ruins of World War II and we owe it to the millions of Jews who were killed not to ever let anti-Semitism prevail in Europe again. The current political climate in Hungary under Fidesz' government which maintains close links to the openly anti-Semitic Jobbik, is failing the Hungarian Jews and undermining the fundamental European principle of non-discrimination,” Swoboda said in a statement.
He said that in his “disappointingly vague speech”, Viktor Orban “again failed to distance himself from anti-Semitic tendencies in Hungary, probably to avoid offending some of his political and personal friends.”
“My group has previously criticised the rising anti-Semitism in Hungary, a result of Viktor Orban's refusal to take a strong stand on the situation in Hungary,” Swoboda added.
“I urge him to show real determination against the increasing anti-Jewish streams in Hungary. If, as he said yesterday, his government will not remain idle in the face of such threats, then his hollow words must now be followed by action,” he added.
"The political situation in Hungary is volatile in many aspects, the rise of antis-Semitism being only one of many worrying developments, » he said.
The European Parliament's committee for civil liberties is to hold Tuesday a first debate of its report on the situation of fundamental rights, standards and practices in Hungary.
Anti-Semitic streams and discrimination will play an important role in the report.