I experience it as a gift from the Creator that I can live my Jewishness here and in this way. I am proud of my country, my Government - writes Péter Weisz, president of the Barankovics Israelite Workshop.
Do we need to hear it, but do we most of all need to care that Mr. David Pressmann does not like the consultation posters of the Hungarian government. Even if his outburst is so loud and vehement, what should we do with it?
The basic question: who is David Pressman, who calls the posters in question anti-Semitic? Is he the one who "brought together" Hungarian Jewry at the highly successful Seder evening? Is he the one who represents his nation as an ambassador of a country, standing above politics and working on friendly relations between the two peoples?
Is he the one who, as the American ambassador in Budapest, is taking a stand for the alleged attacks on the Soros dynasty and immediately burning an anti-Semitic stigma on the Hungarian government if it utters the name Soros?
Are you accusing the Hungarian government of fomenting division and campaigning with anti-Semitic rhetoric?
As a Hungarian Jew, I don't need the help of David Pressman to interpret the government's posters.
Looking back on my own and my family's past, I can distinguish between real anti-Semitism and accusations of Jewish vilification concocted for political gain.
The Gyöngyös Jewish cultural festival in the autumn, which also eloquently demonstrates the presence of rural Jewry, is proof enough for me that even if there is a certain level of anti-Semitic attitude in Hungarian society, it does not endanger Hungarian Jewry in being able to live its religion and culture freely, and not should be afraid of attacks on Jewish institutions.
I experience it as a gift from the Creator that I can live my Jewishness here and in this way. I am proud of my country, my Government,
that it provides shelter and guarantees security to Jewish mothers and children who fled from terror.
Compared to that, who cares what or who is currently blowing the fuse at David Pressman.
Featured image: Embassy Budapest's Facebook page
