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NEWS
Hungarian Jews Worried Over Formation of Right-Wing Militia
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
The Jewish community of Hungary is voicing concerns over the formation of an armed guard called the Hungarian Guard under the auspices of far-right party, Jobbik, which says Hungarians lack "physical, intellectual and spiritual self- defense and the people have nowhere left to retreat."
The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities, Mazsihisz, warned that members the pseudo-military guard bear a striking resemblance to fascists in the 1940s, particularly their black uniforms with a medieval coat of arms associated with the fascist Arrow Cross Party, which murdered thousands of Jews during World War II and oversaw the deportation of hundreds of thousands to Nazi death camps. The ruling Socialist Party and its coalition partner, the Alliance of Free Democrats, along with the Hungarian Democratic Forum, condemned the formation of the guard and Jewish Federation heads said they hope the government finds a way to ban the party and others like it "and to guarantee a peaceful life for Hungarian Jewry and every Hungarian citizen."
Three hundred members have joined the extremist group, which claims to be striving to preserve Hungarian culture and history. Shortly before the swearing-in ceremony in Budapest's Buda Castle a demonstration last weekend drew unprecedented numbers of protesters representing Jewish, Gypsy, inter-ethnic, antifascist and liberal organizations.
Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany recently expressed concern over the rise in antisemitism in Hungary, calling it a "disgrace" and calling on the Chief Prosecutor to examine the possibilities for legal action against "this palpable threat to democracy."
With 100,000 Jews the Hungarian kehilloh, which is concentrated mostly in the capital, is the second largest in Eastern Europe following Russia.
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