“While Hungary is led by this Government, nobody in the country has anything to fear, regardless of what ethnic or religious community the belong to”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI on Monday.
The Minister is attending the 72nd session of the United Nations general Assembly in New York, and during his visit also met with representatives of American Jewish organisations.
“The greatest challenge currently facing Europe is the quested of whether European leaders can succeed in restoring the security of the continent and the people living there”, Mr. Szijjártó said. “Security challenges are clearly even more serious with relation to ethnic and religious communities, an accordingly, just as is the case for the whole of Europe, security also represents the most important challenge facing Jewish communities living in Europe”, he pointed out.
The Minister said that for precisely this reason he had assured American Jewish organisations that there are two things with regard to which the Hungarian Government knows no compromise. One is the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people: “We know no compromise with regard to the fact that we will protect Hungary and the security of the Hungarian people”, he stressed.
It is the duty of Hungary’s government to not bow to pressure from Brussels, but to instead “protect Hungary and the people of Hungary, including members of Hungary’s Jewish community, with all of its strength and through its rational decision and responsible politics, he stated.
In addition, “we know no compromise with regard to the policy of zero tolerance that we have declared with relation to anti-Semitism; while this Government is leading Hungary nobody has anything to fear, regardless of what ethnic or religious community the belong to”, Mr. Szijjártó declared.
“Hungary guarantees that members of all religious groups can feel safe in the country. In the spirit of zero tolerance we have declared war on anti-Semitism, and we re proud of the fact that Hungary’s government is one of European governments that is doing the most to combat anti-Semitism”, he said.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister said he had informed the members of the American Jewish community that the Hungarian Government had decided to launch a one billion forint (EUR 3.2 million) reconstruction programme within the framework of which it will be renovating Jewish cemeteries in Hungary that have long been in a serious state of disrepair. “This is being performed while respecting religious traditions and regulations”, he added.