Magyar Nemzet urges stronger reaction against anti-Semitism

An article in pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet condemned conservative politicians for not reacting more vehemently against an anti-Semitic speech by a Jobbik MP calling for a list of of Hungarian citizens of  Jewish origin—especially of those who sit in Parliament—because they pose a threat to national security.

In a November 28 Magyar Nemzet editorial, Zsuzsanna Körmendy criticized State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Zsolt Német for not giving “a manly reply” to Jobbik MP Márton Gyöngyösi when he made his anti-Semitic remarks. Körmendy also asked why MPs did not walk out of Parliament or otherwise show their immediate distaste for such language. “What are they waiting for? For Jobbik to demand the gas bill for Auschwitz?” Körmendy wrote. She added that this kind of hateful rhetoric damages the country’s international reputation and plays into the hands of the government’s opponents, both at home and abroad.

Magyar Nemzet is a national daily owned by Fidesz-linked businessmen Gábor Liszkay and István Töröcskei.