Search JTA's historical archive dating back to 1923

Skinheads Disrupt ’56 Observance

October 26, 1992
See Original Daily Bulletin From This Date
Advertisement

Black-shirted Skinheads shouted anti-Semitic slogans when they disrupted an official ceremony last Friday night celebrating the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule.

Hundreds of demonstrators, mostly young men, whistled and shouted outside the Parliament building to hold up a speech by President Arpad Goncz marking the 36th anniversary of the revolt.

The mob called for the resignation of Goncz, a liberal-democratic political figure who spent six years in a Communist prison following the unsuccessful 1956 revolt. Goncz paid an official state visit to Israel last month.

Demonstrators hailed the vice president of the ruling Hungarian Democratic Forum, Istvan Csurka, whose anti-Semitic outbursts have come under criticism in the West. An article by Csurka two months ago labeled Goncz as “an agent of Tel Aviv.”

Opposition parties have called for the resignation of the interior minister, Peter Boross, for failing to take effective action to curb the demonstrators.

Recommended from JTA

Advertisement