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Israeli premier lauds Orbán for opening Budapest center to battle anti-Semitism

“I look at what they do, at what they say also on the European level,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hold a joint press conference at the Parliament building in Budapest on July 18, 2017. Photo by Haim Zach/GPO.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hold a joint press conference at the Parliament building in Budapest on July 18, 2017. Photo by Haim Zach/GPO.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for opening a center in Budapest to battle fight anti-Semitism in all European Union member states.

He did so participating in a question-and-answer session in the Knesset with international Jewish journalists and bloggers who attended the third World Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu, responding to a question from a Hungarian journalist who asked him what he thinks of Orbán, who is described by the mainstream media as being “fascist,” the Israeli prime minister said: “I noticed that Viktor Orbán opened a center to battle anti-Semitism, which I think is important. I noticed a similar event in Austria by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who convened a conference against anti-Semitism which included right-wing, anti-Zionists because anti-Zionism is the modern form of anti-Semitism.

“I think that these two leaders are doing a very important job in understanding what is anti-Semitism,” he said.

“When I was in Hungary, Prime Minister Orbán openly condemned the practices of the fascist leaders in Hungary, saying that this was a terrible mistake in the country’s history,” continued Netanyahu. “I look at what they do, at what they say also on the European level.”

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