Hungarian Conservative

Here in Hungary, few people know the name of Baroness Éva Kohner, but in professional circles, she is well known, as her work, particularly her research on the effects of diabetes on the eye, is internationally outstanding.

‘Many Jewish citizens from European nations like Sweden are enduring levels of hostility that are non-existent in Hungary. In contrast, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, the current Israeli ambassador to Hungary, earlier this year named Hungary as one of the safest nations for Jews to live in. Furthermore, the Jewish community in Hungary is not only thriving, but also one of the largest in Europe.’

‘It is one of history’s great ironies that Budapest, from which hundreds of thousands of European Jews were shipped to their deaths by the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators, Jews can walk the streets this dreadful autumn without fear. This is an achievement for which Hungarians can and should be proud. Don’t expect European leaders to give Orbán credit. In fact, they will probably increase their public odium directed at him.’

‘The path to peace in the Middle East is clear and straightforward, it’s about having the political will…If we can envision a world in which world powers actively check the Islamic Republic regime or even support the Iranian people in their quest for freedom to overthrow this regime and return to Iran’s ancient noble history, we could eliminate 90 per cent of the destabilization in the region. From there, we would work towards more peace deals between Israel and its Arab neighbours, building on the successful model of the Abraham Accords.’

‘Regardless of whether the outcome is positive or negative, I believe a historian’s duty is to try to reconstruct what happened through primary sources from the archives, as objectively as possible.’

‘Through the gaps in the door, I saw Arrow Cross members leading people to the Danube bank to be shot to death. I also witnessed that those who could no longer walk were shot dead then and there, on the street.’

US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman caused quite an outrage with his recent decision to invite Jobbik president Márton Gyöngyösi to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Pesach at his residence. Gyöngyösi called for the creation of a list of Hungarian politicians of Jewish ancestry some years ago.