Hungarian officials have questioned the methodology behind a recent survey that showed a greater fear of anti-Semitism among Jews in Hungary than any other European country.
The head of the Hungarian delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Gergely Prohle, questioned whether the survey, published by the Vienna-based European Union’s Fundamental Right Agency, was representative in nature. He raised “several questions with relation to methodology, strongly questioning its representative nature,” according to a statement by the Hungarian foreign ministry.
The survey titled “Discrimination and Hate Crime against Jews in EU Member States: experiences and perceptions of anti-Semitism” polled 5,847 Jewish individuals in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
It showed Hungary , France and Belgium are among the most anti-Semitic European countries. Jews in Hungary were particularly concerned by discrimination and nearly half of them were considering emigrating.
In Hungary, where the anti-Semitic extreme-right Jobbik party is the third largest in the parliament, 90 percent of the 517 respondents said anti-Semitism was either a “fairly big problem” or a “very big problem.” The average rating for the statement in all countries surveyed was 66 percent.
Around 100,000 Jews live today in the country.
Ferenc Kumin, Hungary’s Deputy State Secretary for international communication, said at a press conference with Prohle in Budapest that “the survey was negative about Hungary.”
Prohle said the survey was conducted in Hungary in 2012 and failed to reflect possible changes following steps by the Hungarian government to combat anti-Semitism.
“Having reconsidered the seriousness of the situation, the Hungarian government has since brought several important decisions designed to monitor and combat anti-Semitic phenomena,” Prohle said.
In addition, legislation has been introduced to regulate and sanction soccer hooliganism and anti-Semitic political statements, he added.
Last October, in an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban excluded the possibility of any kind of cooperation with the Jobbik party and said he and his government are strongly committed to combating anti-Semitism.