Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday condemned a call by a far-right Jobbik lawmaker to draw up lists of Jews as "unworthy" of his country, promising he would protect all citizens from any kind of discrimination.
Orban was responding to comments by Marton Gyongyosi, one of Jobbik's 44 lawmakers in the 386-seat parliament, who said on November 27 during a debate on violence in the Gaza Strip that it would be "timely" to draw up a list of people of Jewish ancestry who posed a national security risk.
His remarks, for which he later apologized, triggered international outrage. The US Embassy said it condemned "in the strongest terms the outrageous anti-Semitic remarks made on the floor of Parliament by a Jobbik parliamentarian."
Seeking to distance himself and his country from the comments, Orban said Gyongyosi's outburst had no place in modern
"Last week sentences were uttered in parliament, which are unworthy of
"I rejected this call on behalf of the government and I would like you to know that as long as I am standing in this place, no one in
He and the rest of the country would protect
Gyongyosi has said his remarks were misunderstood, saying he had only been referring to Hungarians with Israeli passports in the government and parliament. He has refused to resign over the scandal.
On Sunday, more than 10,000 Hungarians protested against the far-right with leaders from governing and opposition parties denouncing Gyongyosi's call, which they said echoed the Nazi era. The rally united the country's deeply divided political scene in an unprecedented way.
Jobbik dismissed the protest as "political alarmism" and Gabor Vona, its leader, told parliament on Monday that Gyongyosi had only been suggesting examining "the citizenship of MPs and government members."
The matter should have been closed after Gyongyosi's apology, he argued.
Reuters