In response to the state honors awarded
to Mihály Takaró and Kornél Döbrentei on March 15—a Hungarian national
holiday—the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz) issued the
following statement:
Mazsihisz firmly protests the decision
to once again grant high state honors to Mihály Takaró, a writer and literary
historian, and Kornél Döbrentei, a writer, poet, and publicist.
This decision blatantly contradicts the
Orbán government’s declared policy of zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.
We find no justification for why these
two individuals—whose anti-Semitic views are well known—were deemed worthy of
such recognition in 2025. Their work does not merit this honor. They do not
deserve it.
Nor does Hungarian culture deserve such
an affront.
