An important question that touches on how Christians, Muslims, and Jews interact was recently answered, even if inadvertently. On 7 January 2026, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán asserted that ‘In our capital [Budapest], Jewish families and Jewish communities are safer than anywhere in Europe. There is no other European country where Jewish communities living in the capital enjoy even a comparable sense of security to what they experience in Budapest.’
He continued by pointing to one of the reasons why Jews are safe: ‘There are no violent migrants on the streets of Budapest, and there will be none. This is how we believe a nation’s capital should function. This is how it ought to be. This is what a modern European capital should look like.’
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli publicly backed Orbán’s claim: ‘Budapest is one of the safest and most welcoming European capitals for its Jewish community and for Israeli citizens alike.’ He too linked this phenomenon to Hungary’s ‘responsible immigration policy that recognizes the danger posed by radical Islam.’
Two points make these claims, as true as they are, somewhat incongruous:
1) Christian nationalism is often seen as a precursor to antisemitism;
2) Hungary is by far one of the most Christian nationalist nations in the world.
The first point—that Christian nationalism begets antisemitism—is so oft repeated that substantiating it seems superfluous. Suffice to say that, according to a study quoted by the notorious Anti-Defamation League, ‘the more one adheres to Christian nationalism the more likely they are to view Jews as a threat to their values, freedom, and safety.’
As seen, however, Hungary, especially its seat of power in Budapest, is unique in that it fosters a very strong Christian civilizational identity and national character—and yet Jews are safer there than in the rest of highly secular Europe.
‘Hungary…is unique in that it fosters a very strong Christian civilizational identity and national character’
The conundrum runs deeper still: if anything, it would seem that the less a European nation is associated with Christian nationalism, the more it is associated with antisemitism. As one report states: ‘According to the ADL, [antisemitic] incidents rose sharply in countries including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Jewish communities reported increased security threats, while many Jews said they felt unsafe wearing visible religious symbols in public.’
Interestingly, the three Western European nations singled out for experiencing a rise in antisemitism are much more renowned for their secular liberalism—not their sense of Christian nationalism or identity.
Does that, then, mean that secular liberalism fosters antisemitism? What can be said with certainty is that secular liberalism does welcome in something else that is notoriously anti-Jewish: Islam.
It is no secret that much of the rise of antisemitism throughout Europe is, as both Orbán and Chikli indicated, connected to the rise of Muslim migrants. This is self-evident: every European nation that has received an influx of Muslim migrants has also seen a concomitant rise in violence, intolerance, and criminality in general—not just against Jews, but against all non-Muslims (aka, kuffar—infidels).
For example, according to the Observatory of Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report 2025, there was a large spike in anti-Christian hate crimes in 2024. A total of 2,211 were committed, ranging from attacks on Christians and the outright slaughter of clergymen, to desecrations and arson of churches. The number one cause behind these anti-Christian attacks was identified as ‘radical Islamist ideology’.
Even more telling is the report’s finding that ‘most anti-Christian hate crimes were recorded in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany’. Once again, the same three nations appear.
The point should be clear. Attacks on Jews, and attacks on Christians, are on the rise in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, precisely because those are the same three Western European nations with the largest Islamic populations.
The primary culprit, then, behind the rise of antisemitism in Europe would appear to be Islamic immigration—not Christian nationalism.
Indeed, if anything—as the Hungarian model demonstrates—a healthy sense of Christian nationalism and identity turns out to be protective of Jewish human rights and dignity, certainly in comparison with those Western environments shaped by secular liberalism.
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