Far-right Jobbik party hurting Hungary's image: Jewish leader

By Gergely Szakacs BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A senior Jewish leader warned Hungary's far-right Jobbik party is damaging the country's image, as several thousand people rallied in central Budapest to pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews killed during the Holocaust. The annual rally coincided on Sunday with a by-election in the western town of Tapolca, a three-way contest of the ruling Fidesz party, far-right Jobbik and the Socialists who have never recovered from a crushing 2010 poll defeat. The votes were being counted late on Sunday. In the past year, support for Jobbik has surged to almost catch up with that of the center-right Fidesz. Hungary is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe, yet a recent survey by pollster Median showed nearly a third of Hungarians expressed anti-Semitic views. That was most prevalent among Jobbik supporters, more than two-thirds of whom were found to be strongly or moderately anti-Semitic. "Jobbik may think they are saving Hungary," World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder told the rally. "But Jobbik hurts Hungary in the eyes of the rest of the world." About 430,000 of the 1.3 million people killed in Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Poland were Hungarian Jews, according to the website of the 70th anniversary of the camp's liberation. Lauder also accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government of being too soft on Jobbik. "Too often the government does not go against Jobbik. And anti-Semitism has no room in any country, particularly a country like Hungary," Lauder said. In January Orban overcame unease within his government to acknowledge Hungary's role in the Holocaust, saying many people in the central European country acted "shamefully" in World War Two. (Additional reporting by Krisztina Fenyo)