The Hungarian Government takes categorical and decisive action against all manifestations of anti-Semitism based on the principle and practice of zero tolerance, Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Deputy State Secretary for EU Affairs of the Prime Minister’s Office said in Washington on Thursday, in a speech delivered before the joint concert of the Glass House Orchestra and the Hungarian ensemble Muzsikás Együttes commemorating the victims of the Holocaust with the music of the Hungarian Jewry.

The performance of the two orchestras, which was received with a standing ovation, was held in the historical synagogue located at the junction of 6th and I Streets of the capital of the US (Sixth & I Historic Synagogue), under the auspices of the Hungarian Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and was co-organised by the Hungarian Embassy in Washington and the Hungarian Cultural Centre of the Balassi Institute in New York.

Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky thanked the audience for their attendance “on behalf of Hungarian generations who had the opportunity for the first time after centuries to control their own lives without external or internal totalitarian oppression”. “We are now experiencing freedom with a sense of absolute commitment to universal human rights and humanism.”

The Deputy State Secretary stressed that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has always condemned the denial or relativisation of any of the crimes of Nazism. He pointed out that the governments led by Mr Orbán declared the anniversaries of the main events of the Holocaust memorial days, and rendered the conclusions of anti-Semitism a compulsory part of the curriculum in Hungary, thereby combating all manifestations of anti-Semitism, “categorically, based on the principle and practice of zero tolerance”.

He reiterated the statement made by Mr János Lázár, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office at the plenary meeting of IHRA held in Budapest, based on which the Holocaust was not just an un-Christian and inhuman act but also an act of treason. “Hungary is not seeking excuses for that which is inexcusable. What’s more, Hungary is not only committed to keeping remembrance alive, but we are also driven by a strong commitment to the present and the future”, Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky said, and stressed that Jewish culture is thriving in Hungary.

Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that 106 events will be held this year world-wide under the auspices of the Hungarian IHRA Chairmanship and the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the concert held in Washington was one of these. The Deputy State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office had talks in Washington with Sara Bloomfield, Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Daniel S. Mariaschin, Executive Vice President of B’nai B’rith (in Hebrew: Children of the Covenant) International, one of the most influential international Jewish organisations, and Director of the organisation’s Center for Human Rights and Public Policy, and Nicholas Dean, Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues of the US Department of State and Head of Delegation for the United States in IHRA.

Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky told MTI, the Hungarian News Agency that while his negotiating partners levelled some criticisms against certain elements of the Hungarian Government’s remembrance policy, they were on the whole satisfied with the activities of the Hungarian Chairmanship of IHRA, and also had a favourable opinion on the plenary meeting held in Budapest. The negotiating partners requested Hungary to continue on the path it had embarked upon.

Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the US IHRA delegation visited the House of Fates during the plenary meeting of the remembrance alliance held in Budapest between 8 and 11 June, which they found most appealing architecturally and from the viewpoint of layout. The delegation requested the Hungarian Government to fill the centre with appropriate content.

The Deputy State Secretary confirmed a statement made earlier by Mr János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office that the House of Fates will only be opened, once there is full consensus regarding its content. Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky told Nicholas Dean in Washington that the Hungarian Government is engaged in an ongoing consultation with the Hungarian Jewish community, and would also like to continue talks with the international organisations concerned.

The Glass House Orchestra and Muzsikás also performed highly successful concerts in Ottawa and New York this week.

(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)