Péter Jakab replied to Lauder: It is strange that the criticism of the President of the World Jewish Congress was not addressed to PM Viktor Orbán.
Péter Jakab, president of Jobbik, was a guest on ATV’s “Straight Talk” on Tuesday night, where Ronald Lauder’s statement about Jobbik’s past was also discussed.
As we wrote, in a recent op-ed, the president of the World Jewish Congress came out in defense of Orbán. The op-ed was published in Magyar Nemzet.
Peter Jakab, who only recently was named leader of the party, had said in the ATV interview that Jobbik “was never a far-right party, but tolerated unbearable, far-right people.”
Lauder stated in his op-ed:
“Unfortunately, this statement is not sincere because although some Jobbik politicians have apologized for their earlier statements, the party, denying its past, is unable to renew itself. In fact, many of Jobbik’s antisemitic politicians from the past still belong to the party.”
The statement, in defense of Orbán and taking direct aim at Jobbik, a member of the opposition in Hungary, came as a bit of a surprise, as Lauder has always been more aligned with neolog Mazsihisz — a large Jewish community that has had more of a “bumpy” relationship with Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government.
