Published: 16 July 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Defying its nationalist fans, Budapest soccer club kicks out anti-Semitism (Times of Israel)
Supporters of Hungary’s beloved Ferencvaros Torna Club (FTC) gathered Thursday for a Europa League qualifier soccer match against Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv at Groupama Stadium in Budapest. Among the fans in lively green and white striped jerseys stood pockets of black-clad football hooligans drinking beer.
With shaved heads, shirts emblazoned with far-right symbols, and more than a few visible nationalist tattoos, they cut intimidating figures.
It was a bold move, then, that the Ferencvaros club, known locally as Fradi, chose to honor Holocaust-era hero Itsvan Toth before the game. But the decision was well thought through.
In 1944, Toth, a former footballer and coach for the club, saved hundreds of Jews as a member of the Hungarian anti-fascist resistance. He was captured and executed in 1945.
Thursday’s ceremony – the first of its kind – was an effort by the Hungarian government, in cooperation with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (MAZSIHISZ), aimed at educating fans about anti-Semitism.
Fans of Orban or not, Hungarian Jews are optimistic ahead of PM’s Israel visit (Times of Israel)
In a fractured Jewish community, Israel's crumbling relations with the Diaspora and local anti-Semitism are on Hungarian Jewry's mind as PM sets off to Israel on July 18
Anti-Semitism doesn’t bother Benjamin Netanyahu if it comes from his political allies (Washington Post)
Why Israel is cozying up to Viktor Orban's Hungary and overlooking Poland's Holocaust law
Photo: Hungarian children standing with Maccabi TLV players in tribute to Holocaust hero István Tóth at Groupama Arena in Budapest, July 12(Courtesy/ World Jewish Congress)
