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 "Given our current situation, anti-Semitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews."
This quote appeared in a newsletter published by an organization calling itself "The trade union of Hungarian police officers prepared for action".
Hungarian law allows police officers to organize in trade unions of their own. The union - by its own definition - aims to protect the professional interests of those unionized, and not to partake in political activity.
However, the law does not prevent the union from distributing a newsletter, the content of which is at the discretion of its editor, and its editor alone.
The editor of the "prepared for action" union, Judit Szima (who also serves as the secretary-general of the union) didn't see anything wrong with the content of the article quoted above. It is little wonder, given the fact that the union has signed a cooperation agreement with the radical right wing Hungarian party "Jobbik" (Movement for better Hungary) which backs and operates the extremist paramilitary movement "Hungarian Guard" and warns against the "gypsy crime" - in effect trying to terrorize Hungary's gypsy community, as well as its Jewish community or anyone else they don't like.
Szima is the Jobbik candidate in the upcoming election for the European Union parliament, to be held June 7.
She has been removed from her post in the police force ahead of the election, but continues to serve as the union's secretary general.
The author of the article, which focuses on the duty of every Hungarian patriot to adopt anti-Semitism, did not stop at one.
The following issue of the newsletter included another of his articles, in which he argued "I am in favor of peaceful solutions. But a peaceful solution could only be implemented if our Zionist government were to relocate to Tel Aviv, as it is them who are calling for war."
"A crumbling country, torn apart by Hungarian-Gypsy civil war, could easily be claimed by the rich Jews," the article went on to say. "That is why we should expect a Hungarian-Gypsy civil war, fomented by Jews as they rub their hands together with pleasure."
This article elicited an official complaint filed with the prosecution, arguing that it contained incitement against minority groups. The prosecution rejected the complaint, stating that it did not call for violence against Jews or Gypsies, but rather called to defend against these groups' probable attack.
The "prepared for action" union affair is a testament to the state of racist incitement and anti-Semitism in Hungary. It has emerged that the union boasts more than 4,000 members, some 10 percent of the total number of police officers in Hungary. It is believed that in Budapest, the capital, the numbers are higher. This is not to say that all the union members harbor the same racist views held by its primary spokespeople and leaders - in most cases members join the union simply to protect their personal rights - but the Hungarian government and justice system can't, or won't, take action to separate the union's lawful protection of policemen's rights and its detestable political activities.
For example, after the recent resignation of prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, one of the candidates for the post was Gyorgy Suranyi, formerly the governor of the Hungarian Central Bank, a brilliant economist, and (unfortunately) a Jew.
The extreme right Hungarian Justice and Life party published on the front page of its newsletter a picture of Suranyi's face inside a yellow star of David (reminiscent of the yellow patch from the days of Fascism) with the following caption: "Suranyi is actually the candidate backed by the elderly [Israeli President] Shimon Peres. The takeover deal announced by the Israeli leader has now reached the stage in which a Jewish Hungarian prime minister is required. The deal has been in the works for many months." (The Forum referred to the unfortunate remark made by Peres recently, when he described the success of Israel's economy by saying "we are buying out Manhattan, Poland, Hungary...")
One of the two main reasons for the Hungarian authorities' failure in the face of racism and anti-Semitism is the fact that there are many right-wing elements within the government, who secretly or outright support the racist views and refuse to battle their perpetrators seriously. The other reason is that during the regime change of the 90s, the lawmakers viewed freedom of speech and expression as an absolute priority, and to this day don't provide protection to the victims of the misuse of this freedom.
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