Three years ago, a Hungarian
far-right politician with a strong line in anti-Semitism discovered that
he was Jewish. He left his party, and set out on a remarkable personal
journey to learn and practise his Jewish faith.
Only seconds
before he goes on stage, Csanad Szegedi paces the school corridor like a
bear in an unfamiliar forest. Then the headmaster's introduction is
over, the pupils who pack the hall are clapping enthusiastically, and
the big man is going up the steps, the blood roaring in his ears. [...]
"I'm speaking to you here today," says the tall chubby faced man, with
small, intelligent eyes, "because if someone had told me when I was 16
or 17 what I'm going to go tell you now, I might not have gone so far
astray."
As deputy leader of
the radical nationalist Jobbik party in Hungary, Szegedi co-founded the
Hungarian Guard - a paramilitary formation which marched in uniform
through Roma neighbourhoods. And he blamed the Jews, as well as
the Roma, for the ills of Hungarian society - until he found out that he
himself was one. After several months of hesitation, during which the
party leader even considered keeping him as the party's "tame Jew" as a
riposte to accusations of anti-Semitism, he walked out.
Not a man to do things in
half-measures, he has now become an Orthodox Jew, has visited Israel,
and the concentration camp at Auschwitz which his own grandmother
survived.
"Anti-Semitism
doesn't need Jews, because its based on false premises. It is the
projection of one's own fears, and lack of self esteem." [...]
Still
a patriot, he defends his people from the slur of racism. Hungarian
people are not anti-Semitic, although there is an anti-Semitic discourse
in society, he says.
In fact, Budapest is a great place to be a
Jew in, he beams - with its kosher restaurants, synagogues, and Jewish
shops. You can practise your culture, and practise your faith here. You
might get funny looks if you wear a kippah - a traditional Jewish
skullcap - but you won't be spat on, or physically threatened as you might be in France or Belgium. More.
No comments :
Post a Comment