Defying a police recommendation to keep a low profile, over 1,000 Jews marched through Budapest on April 7th to protest the recent wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Hungary.
The Jews wore yarmulkes, as they marched through Budapest's Old Ghetto.
The Budapest ghetto was created by the Nazis during their occupation of Hungary. The city's Jewish population was confined to the ghetto, which was created at the location of Budapest's historic Jewish quarter. Cut off from outside world by the Nazis, the ghetto was filled with starvation and disease. Many of the ghetto's Jews would end up being sent to die in concentration camps. By the time Budapest was liberated by the Soviet army, its Jewish population shrunk from 200,000 to 70,000.
The protest was held in response to the growing number of anti-Semitic events in Hungary. Last week, the home of Budapest's Chabad Rabbi had rocks thrown through its windows twice. The attacks came during a Passover Seder.
Throughout the Passover holiday week, anti-Semitic graffiti was pained throughout Budapest and the Holocaust memorial in Zalaegerszeg was vandalized. The memorial pays tribute to the 1221 Jews deported from Zalaegerszeg to Auschwitz during World War 2. Most of those deported were killed in the concentration camp.
In addition, neo-Nazis held an openly anti-Semitic rally in the city of Tiszaeszlár last week. Violent anti Jewish pogroms took place in Tiszaeszlár from 1882 to 1883.
The Jewish population has also voiced concern about the anti-Semitic overtones in the upcoming Hungarian election. According to polls, the far-right Jobbik party is expected to make significant gains in the election. Jobbik has openly blamed the Jews and Israel for many of Hungary's problems throughout its election campaign.
