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July 31st, 2012

US criticizes Hungary church law, Jobbik gaining ground; gov’t welcomes US recognizing freedom of religion in Hungary

The US State Department has criticised parts of Hungary’s church law and the strengthening of the radical nationalist Jobbik party in its international report of religious freedom for 2011.

In terms of the Hungarian church law, the report criticised rules of registration for religious organisations, as well as the requirement of parliament’s consent for recognition. The report noted that the legislation had reduced the number of Hungary’s recognised religious groups from over 300 to 32.

The survey also noted the increasing popularity of Jobbik, which it labelled as an openly anti-Semitic party.

The Hungarian government welcomed the report on freedom of religion recognising Hungary’s “constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom”, the government’s international communications office told MTI on Tuesday.

The report praised the government’s financial support for the historical churches and the restitution of former communal real estate properties confiscated during the communist era.

It noted that the state secretariat for education organised study trips for teachers to the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem, Defence Minister announced that the Defence Ministry was funding the renovation of graves of soldiers of Jewish origin who died in combat during the First World War, and the government hosted a Christian-Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Conference during Hungary’s EU presidency in 2011.

The communications office reiterated the government’s commitment to taking action against anti-Semitism.

Hungarian government commissioner Andras Levente Gal informed Hannah Rosenthal, special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, during her recent visit to Budapest that Hungary would set up a monitoring system which would provide an authentic picture about anti-Semitic and anti-minority phenomena as well as the social approach and institutional reactions to them.

Rosenthal praised the government’s effort and stressed that the government acted in the spirit of tolerance in several programmes, including the Wallenberg Year commemorations

The office cited Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor as saying on July 25 that fighting against anti-Semitism is highly important for both countries. He also welcomed Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s statement on a policy of zero tolerance towards any forms of anti-Semitism.

MTI (Magyar Távirati Iroda) is the Hungarian news agency.
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  • Bambara

    I was just gaping for air in fear that today no anti-Semitism theme was going to be tabled today inside and outside Hungary. I counted 31 insider anti-Semitism stories, and 5 outsider anti-Semitism subjects so far during the day. I feel relieved.
    The other day, I happened to visit Nyirbator, a town in northeastern Hungary, where I asked, out of curiosity, an elderly gentleman sitting in front of his house if he could list me all the things that bothered him in Hungary and the world. He listed 27 others, but anti-Semitism was not one of them. An hour later, I managed to talk to a middle-aged lady who taught mathematics in a local grade school. She listed 9 things that bothered her. Anti-Semitism was not on her list, either. I wonder if we can call our world democratic if the opinion leaders are separated by an impenetrable wall from you average Joe or Joan.

    • Magyar

      Next time ask them what they think of Jews and Gypsies.

    • Magyar

      Next time ask them what they think of J@ws and Gypsies.

    • ricsi

      No Hungarian has anything negative to say about REAL semites :) Those who falsly call themselves the chosen ones and have to hide behind laws to disguise reality however are well known by ALL here.

  • Damien

    Ricsi – you are so SCARY!

  • Free Speech for You

    What they call anti-semitism is only a natural self defense, if you’re being pushed around too long, you just might start to push back. Is that wrong?
    Israeli moneybag donors influence the US elections.
    Romney will not represent the best interests of the American People, he’s already making stupid remarks, pissing off Muslims. He’s willing to start yet another pointless war, just to please his Israeli and Jewish-American financers. He also have the support of the terminally confused religious right, so he just might get elected. And we thought it cannot get any worse than the Obama era.
    Jews have also demonstrated many times that they have no respect for host countries, or anyone, but themselves, and they just love to “pressure” our spineless politicians to do anything to make them feel safe and comfortable here.
    The Jewish controlled US send their annoying diplomats here to enforce the “law”: Jews are allowed to do as they please, and if you don’t like that, you’re called an anti-semite, which can be a career likker if you’re in politics, the media, os any other significant position.
    A small number of Jews should not make so much noise, it’s not a good idea to let them get away with their lies, corruption, double standards and other practices.
    They should be held responsible, the same rules apply to all nations in the UN for example, no exceptions, no automatic US vatoes, ne excuses. Fair treatment is considered anti-semitic. How did that happen? How far can Israel and the many Zionist organizations of the “diaspora” can go before it becomes too much?

  • Géza

    It is already to much….

  • Cano Butchwell

    Free Speech For You’s comment is ridiculous. If Romney has pissed off the Muslims, then good. It’s about time someone stood up to them. Muslims consistently flood non-Muslim countries, claiming to be refugees from their own terrible regimes, and then they try to force their culture onto other people, demanding special rooms to pray in, and that Islam be taught to school children how they see fit. I hope Romney takes the White House from the gutless turd in there right now. At least he might fix the economy, instead of copying all the mistakes Europe made when it came to inflating government. As for Jobbik, people need to accept that Eastern Europe is going to be a hotbed of anti-semitism for at least another generation, which is why many Jews left to go to Western Europe, the US, and Israel. The point being, as the far right swells across Europe, these fringe elements in the east will be far more focused on the gypsies. All the anti-Jew sentiment is really just pandering to the “old guard”. The young people of Hungary and Greece really don’t have a problem with jews, but instead see gypsies (who are often involved in crime) as a problem. In the west, they see Muslim supremacists as the problem, and as far as I can see, both are indeed a problem. If Muslims love their way of life so much, why do they bring so much of it with them when they move to the UK and France? They would be happier if they lived in Saudi Arabia, but of course, Saudi Arabia doesn’t have the vast welfare state that feeds their lazy asses, so they pack their honor killings, burkas and female circumcision along with their Jew-hatred and fly off to the nations that welcome lazy immigrants with open arms.

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