(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The anti-Jewish excesses started Thursday as a protest against the forced admission of eight Jewish girl students to the University of Budapest continued all day Friday until after midnight, assuming serious proportions.
The excesses were renewed Friday noon when the Nationalistic Hungarian students broke into the classrooms of the School of Philosophy and forcibly ejected all Jewish students present, including Christian students whom they mistook for Jews. Some of the students were injured in the fray, receiving head wounds. Bands of excited Hungarian students perpetrated excesses in the streets of the capital until midnight, attempting to attack Jewish houses on Kazinczy Street, as well as the offices of the Liberal newspapers. Windows were smashed and Jewish passersby near the museum were severely beaten.
A notable change in the mood of the Budapest population was witnessed when some of the citizens in their indignation aaginst the anti-Jewish riots assisted the police to apprehend some of the rioters. Among the several score of students arrested there are twelve who are the sons of members of parliament. The situation became so serious that Count Klebelsberg, Minister of Education, whose order was the cause of the riots, called a meeting during the night of the University department heads. It is reported that at this meeting Count Klebelsberg threatened to issue an order for the closing of the University, and to send military detachments to occupy the campus if order will not be restored by Tuesday.
An interpellation was introduced in parliament yesterday by Deputy Pakots asking the government to explain why it tolerates “a bloody anti-Semitic terror.” The interpellation recited details of the anti-Jewish attacks and declared that only several Christian priests who are professors at the University protected the attacked Jewish students, while the other members of the faculty encouraged the rioters and urged them to continue the acts of terror.
State Secretary Petri replying to the interpellation stated that the excesses were merely a “sporadic phenomenon.” Nonetheless, the government will take “energetic measures.” This statement was greeted with loud laughter from the opposition benches.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
