A former far-right Hungarian MP, Csanad Szegedi, who has been described as a “rabid anti-Semite” has made plans to make Aliyah to Israel after discovering he was Jewish. He now wants to make amends for his past and help fight against Jew-hatred around the world.
Prior to discovering his Jewish roots, Szegedi was known for his extremist positions and anti-Semitic statements as a member of Jobbik, a far-right Hungarian political party. He was also one of the founders of the Hungarian Guard, an extreme nationalist group whose members don black uniforms and see themselves as the descendants of the Hungary’s fascist Arrow Cross Party, which collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
Szegedi rose in the ranks of Jobbik through the years, becoming a senior member and even serving as the party’s vice president until 2012, and as the party’s representative to the European Parliament.
In June 2012, Szegedi stunned Hungary, particularly his fellow Jobbik members, when he revealed that his grandparents on his mother’s side were Jewish. His grandmother survived Auschwitz and his grandfather was in forced-labour camps. Szegedi began to learn about Judaism, to observe the Sabbath, to keep kosher and to go to synagogue. He has since had the opportunity to visit Israel.
He said that his grandmother was in her 90’s and had never told him she was Jewish. Then she revealed all the stories of the Holocaust, how she had survived and how his family had been annihilated. It was a shock to him, because it was the first time he knew the Holocaust happened, until that point he thought it was a myth.
Watch his amazing testimony by CBN from 2013 below.
His life changed from that moment and he realised he could not be a part of any organisation that promoted anti-Semitism.
Szegedi has now submitted his emigration papers for himself, his wife and his two children.
Speaking to Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv, he said, “Israel is an amazing country, and I believe that every Jew who lives in the diaspora seriously considers making aliyah.”.
“The biggest gift for any Jew is the existence of the state of Israel.”
He stated that his intention is to make up for the wrongs he committed as an anti-Semite.
“Right now, I am acting in the arena that I am familiar with, Hungary and Europe, in order to raise awareness of the issue of anti-Semitism and to work for the betterment of Israel, as a sort of compensation for the past,” he said.
“I have a lot of years of experience in politics and I would be happy to contribute my experience to Zionist organisations in Israel as well,” Mr Szegedi added.
This is an amazing transformation and we wish him all the best in combatting anti-Semitism.