The embassy posted on its Twitter account that it “strongly condemns” statements made in an article equated by a debate about the European Union’s attempt to strengthen democratic norms in its member countries “with the horrific killing of millions of others during the Holocaust. “
On Saturday, Szilard Demeter, Ministerial Commissioner for Culture and Director of the Petofi Literary Museum in Budapest, wrote an opinion piece on the ruling Origo newscast, calling Europe “George Soros’s fuel chamber” and calling Soros “the liberal Fuhrer. (whose) The liberal-Aryan army deifies him more than Hitler himself.
In this article, Demeter also noted the clash over the upcoming EU budget, which Hungary and Poland are withholding from provisions that can block bills for countries that do not meet democratic standards. He called on the two countries, either under EU investigation for undermining judicial independence and press freedom, “new Jews. “
Soros, who was born in Hungary and is a Holocaust survivor, is a common target of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opposes Soros philanthropy that promotes liberal causes.
The statements provoked strong reactions from several Hungarian Jewish teams and Hungarian opposition politicians, while the Israeli embassy condemned the article. More than 12,000 people, adding many Hungarian public figures such as Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony, signed a petition calling for Demeter’s resignation.
Demeter retracted the article on Sunday after the backlash and would delete his Facebook account.
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