Alarming: one in three Hungarians is anti-Semitic

Seventy years after the Holocaust of Hungarian Jewry, a research report published today (Monday) states that one in three Hungarians holds anti-Semitic views. The tudy, conducted last November by the polling company "Midein" for a Jewish-Hungarian organization "Action and Protection Foundation" checked how common anti-Semitic views are in Hungary. Editors of the survey sampled a diverse group of 1,200 respondents older than 18.

According to the conclusions of the survey, published on the background of the ERC conference in Budapest, one of three Hungarians have prejudice against the Jewish people, and about 25 percent of them have extreme views that support anti-Jewish activity. In 2010 the highest percentages of anti-Semitism were recorded, and since then they have decreased slightly, but there is still no significant recurrence to lower levels as measured before 2010.

Politically, the anti-Semites tend to radical right-wing views, and the vast majority support of the racist "Jubbik" movement.

Another alarming statistic displays a significant increase in the percentage of Hungarians who deny the Holocaust and the number of those increased by 19% since 2009.

An analysis of the survey respondents' opinions on the state of Israel, floods a phenomenon called "new anti-Semitism" which is gathering momentum in Hungary. Thus, one in five Hungarians who are not explicitly characterized as anti-Semitic, holds views that reflect a hidden anti-Semitism.

According to members of the association, the comprehensive survey conducted reveals that in fact the rate of anti-Semitism in Hungary is much higher than thought so far.

In a conversation with Behadrey Haredim, CEO Rabbi Daniel Bender says that the organization intends to take a series of measures to stimulate public awareness against anti-Semitism. "Actually," said the rabbi, "anti-Semitic preaching and Holocaust denial is an illegal activity under state law, but the authorities do not enforce these laws. We will exert public pressure to remove anti-Semitic views out of political discourse in Hungary. What we learned from the Holocaust is not to be silent."