Vona’s Hanukkah greeting rejected by traditionalist Jewish leader

A liberal weekly criticises Shlomo Köves for spurning a Hanukkah greeting message from the radical right-wing leader. Other commentators put the matter in the more general context of Jobbik’s changing political profile and of preparations for the 2018 parliamentary elections.

Jewish leader against fear-mongering

In a rare oped piece, the chairman of MAZSIHISZ, the Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Faith Communities criticises the World Zionist Conference held in Budapest for complaining about anti-Semitism in Hungary without gathering accurate information first about Jewish life in the country. He condemns political forces which he accuses of playing  the ‘Jewish card’ in order to stoke fear towards ...

Vona moves towards the centre

Commenting on the move of Jobbik’s Chairman to remove several vice presidents in an attempt to transform Jobbik into a broad based party, a radical right-wing pundit argues that the party Chairman must be given a free hand to choose his deputies.

House of Fates to express a ‘Love Story’

Historian Mária Schmidt, in charge of the ‘House of Fates’ project, defends the concept of the planned Holocaust memorial museum against leftist criticism and condemns the Cabinet Minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s office for employing one of the main opponents of the project as his adviser.

Liberals at a loss about state honours to Kertész

A left-liberal writer thinks the government has managed to baffle the opposing camp by decorating Nobel Prize winning author Imre Kertész. His conservative counterpart believes this was a win-win game for both sides and a contribution to bridging deep-set divisions.

Controversial elections in Jewish organisations

The most popular Jewish web magazine sharply criticises the Budapest Jewish Faith community for electing a former transvestite performer as its chief administrator and treasurer.

Monument to mark Nazi occupation nears completion

Left-liberal commentators reject the Prime Minister’s statement, which justifies the controversial statue project as a gesture to remember all victims of Nazi occupation. One even calls the statue a Nazi monument that will be blown up. A pro-government columnist says it is obvious that the monument expresses the condemnation of ...

American Embassy on the Nazi Occupation Memorial

A leftist daily describes a statement issued by the US Embassy as another clear warning to the government, while its right-wing counterpart finds it strange that a the Embassy takes a view of a Hungarian issue.

Culture war resumes over Nazi occupation monument

Left-wing commentators accuse the government of courting anti-Semitic voters and PM Orbán of reneging on his earlier promises, as the building of the controversial Second World War memorial in Budapest resumes. A conservative pundit suspects “external forces” of trying to blame the persecution of Hungarian Jews on ordinary Hungarians rather ...

Holocaust remembrance conflicts explained

A liberal analyst predicts that the Prime Minister will reject the demands put forward by Jewish leaders as pre-conditions for their presence at the government sponsored events of the Holocaust remembrance year. A right-wing pundit, on the other hand blames “uneducated” advisers who led the Prime Minister into a controversy ...