Anti-Semite MP learns he is a Jew

BUDAPEST - The Associated Press

Hungary’s far right politician Csanad Szegedi (L) is seen at a rally in this file photo. AP photo

Political career of Hungary’s far-right politician, notorious for his incendiary comments on Jews, is on the brink of collapse since he has acknowledged in June that his grandparents on his mother’s side were Jews, making him one too under Jewish law.

As a rising star in Jobbik Party, Csanad Szegedi accused Jews of “buying up” the country, railed about the “Jewishness” of the political elite and claimed Jews were desecrating national symbols. However, after the Internet rumors said his grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor and his grandfather a veteran of forced labor camps, the 30-year-old has become a pariah in Jobbik.

Tape reveals Jewish roots

In audio tape of a 2010 meeting, former convict Zoltan Ambrus is heard telling Szegedi that he has documents proving Szegedi is Jewish. The right-wing politician seems genuinely surprised by the news - and offers EU funds and a possible EU job to Ambrus to hush it up. Szegedi acknowledges that the meeting took place but contends the tape was altered in unspecified ways.

Under pressure, Szegedi resigned last month from all party positions and gave up his Jobbik membership. Last week the party asked him to give up his seat in the European Parliament as well. Jobbik says its issue is the suspected bribery, not his Jewish roots. Szegedi came to prominence in 2007 as a founding member of the Hungarian Guard, a group whose black uniforms and striped flags recalled the pro-Nazi party Arrow Cross. The Hungarian Guard was banned by the courts in 2009.