It’s Hard to Be a Jew in the Jobbik Party

Csanád Szegedi, a member of the European Parliament from Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party, just learned he is a J-O-O. Which is pretty priceless because, as James Kirchick reported in April, members of his crypto-fascist movement frequently dabble in anti-Semitism. Not excluding post-Jewish Szegedi! “Knowing who is a pure-race Hungarian is not what counts,” he said as part of his apologia. “The important thing is the way one behaves as a Hungarian.” Which presumably means that Hungary’s 100,000 Jews—as well as the 400,000 Hungarian Jews who were murdered in Auschwitz—weren’t really Hungarians.

Anyway, the rock Szegedi has overturned has led party leader Gabor Vona to try to hide the insects underneath. “Jobbik has never had and will never have any program point, proposal or idea which discriminates between Hungary’s inhabitants on the grounds of ethnicity and religion,” he said this week. Of course, Vona founded a paramilitary group that condemns “Gypsy Crime,” and members of his party have engaged in Holocaust denialism, so that doesn’t really work.

As for Szegedi, he might find a model to follow in the tale, below, of one Jew who learned he really wasn’t. Throw yourself all the way in; get your hair wet. Bagel and lox in the morning, indigestion at night. Works for me.

Jewish Leaders Mock Hungarian Politician Who Reveals Jewish Origins [JTA]
Related: Meet Europe’s New Fascists [Tablet Magazine]