The English-language Israeli paper, The Jerusalem Post, published an article based on an interview conducted with János Martonyi on November 27. Israel should “intensely and closely” be engaged in monitoring its implementation, Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi told the paper. He also claimed that the political opponents of the Hungarian government exaggerated the significance of anti-Semitism in Hungary.

Mr Martonyi said that while Netanyahu repeated his opposition to the accord, which he has voiced publicly, “at the same time [he] said Israel wants to be engaged and would have been engaged even before if it would have been involved more intensively. But the thing was, and of course we all know, that the negotiations were conducted in a kind of secrecy, and when the Israeli government tried to voice its concerns, maybe it was too late.”

When it comes to implementing and discussing the agreement now, the Hungarian foreign minister indicated, Israel should be intimately and actively involved. “Israel should be engaged as intensively and closely as possible in the implementation process to contribute in the monitoring, which is a key aspect, to make the process move in the right direction. Abstention in this case would not help,” he said.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister took strong issue with depictions of rising anti-Semitism in his country, saying the phenomenon was exaggerated and an instrument being used by opponents of the government currently led by Viktor Orbán. If anti-Semitism was as serious as it was being made out to be in Hungary, he asked, why would some 2,000 Israelis opt to study there each year, most of them in medical schools, and why would some 200,000 Israelis visit annually, some of them multiple times each year.

Mr Martonyi said no one was denying that anti-Semitism existed in Hungary, and – in reference to the anti-Semitic, far-Right Jobbik party, the third-largest party in parliament – asserted that it also existed on the “political level.” Minister Martonyi said his government had “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism, had made its position on the matter very clear and reacted strongly whenever “unacceptable statements” were made. “I would not agree with any kind of suggestion that we tolerate anti-Semitism or do not do enough. It is just the opposite,” he concluded.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)