Premier Paul Teleki, successor of anti-Semitic Bela Imredy who resigned when his Jewish ancestry was revealed, served notice today that he objects to being branded an anti-Semite. The new Premier instituted action against 81-year-old Josef Veszi, editor-in-chief of Pester Lloya for so describing him. Veszi, a Jew, has been editor of this semi-official organ of the Foreign Office since 1913. Although the newspaper recently passed into “Aryan” hands, Veszi was retained in his post because he was found to be indispensable. Veszi faces a fine of 1,000 pengos (about $300).
While the new Premier has declared he will proceed with Imredy’s anti-Jewish bill, it is pointed out here that expectations of some modification of the bill are justified by his record. The Premier belongs to the school of “moderate anti-Semites” and as a university professor always treated his Jewish students with objectivity. Valentin Homan, who replaces Count Teleki as Minister of Education, is known as an extreme anti-Semite.
A sharp increase in the number of conversions, attributable to present and pending anti-Jewish legislation, has brought protests from Christians who object to attending services with the converts. Two Hungarian Calvinist Bishops, announcing receipt of such protests from church members, issued an open letter saying that “the reformed Church does not wish to seek a political question. As long as it is not convinced that the conversion of some Israelites is a hypocritical gesture, it must consider them to be brothers in Christ.”
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.
