Hungarian Jewish leaders refused an invitation to the Hungarian president’s annual year-end dinner party.
In a public statement, the Association of the Hungarian Jewish Communities, or Mazsihisz, said it was protesting Lazlo Solyom’s veto of a new anti-hate law passed by the parliament. Solyom passed the measure to the Hungarian Constitutional Court for further legal examination of whether it unduly restricts free speech.
Jewish leaders also appeared to be protesting Solyom’s failure to condemn the founding by an anti-Semitic and anti-gay extremist party of a Hungarian Guard, a militant group that uses neo-Nazi symbols and recently rallied in front of the president’s house.
The president’s dinner is held for the leaders of Hungary’s four largest religious groups.
