Ronald Lauder urged the Hungarian prime minister to combat right-wing extremism in his country.
The World Jewish Congress president and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany met Monday in Budapest.
Lauder expressed concern over the formation of a paramilitary guard earlier this year by a group known for its xenophobia.
“It is alarming that only 60 years after the Holocaust, people in uniforms closely resembling those of Hungarian fascists during World War II are parading again in the streets of Budapest,†Lauder said, according to a WJC statement.
Gyurcsany, a left-wing politician, has been one of the most outspoken critics of the far right in Hungary. Lauder thanked him for his support.
Lauder has welcomed the parliamentary approval last month of a bill that makes it easier for members of religious, ethnic or sexual-choice minorities to seek litigation if they are publicly offended or targeted with hate speech or acts of hatred.
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