Nobody and no political party has the right to threaten Jews, he said at the event. Nobody has the right to desecrate synagogues and spit in the shoes on the Danube embankment that form part of a memorial dedicated to the Jews killed there, he said.

Lauder added that Hungary’s Jewish community is thriving and will not leave the country, which is also demonstrated by Sunday’s March of the Living.

At the start of the march at the Dohány Street synagogue, March of the Living Foundation board member László Bandi said a growing number of people have been attending the annual marches over the years.

People participate regardless of religion, gender and political affiliation, which shows that “there is plenty to do” and “more and more people see that there are an increasing number of sinister signs”.

The organisers distributed Hungarian, Israeli and European Union flags to the participants and the march moved along the city centre, through Andrássy Avenue to the 56ers Square. US Ambassador in Budapest Colleen Bell was seen among the participants by MTI’s correspondent.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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MTI photo: Balogh Zoltán