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Reform's Senior Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner challenges Hungarian ambassador on antisemitism

The rabbi was responding to his claim that Hungary did not have a particular problem with Jew-hate

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Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism Laura Janner-Klausner has challenged the Hungarian Ambassador to the UK over his attitude towards antisemitism in his country.

Speaking at a joint CNN and ComRes event in London, which discussed the broadcasters' polling that revealed the scale of antisemitism across Europe, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, told Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky that he should have "owned" his country's problem with antisemitism.

Rabbi Janner-Klausner, who was a speaker at the event as well as a panellist, said she was responding to Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky’s claim that Hungary did not have a particular problem with Jew-hate.

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has been wildly crticised for dealing in antisemitic tropes - particularly in attacks against the financier George Soros.

Speaking as part of the panel, which was chaired by CNN presenter Clarissa Ward, Rabbi Janner-Klausner argued that a better response would have been to acknowledge antisemitism and lay out his government's response.

She said that practical responses were needed to deal with the rise in antisemitism across Europe.

She added more should be done to build relationships by inviting non-Jews for Friday night dinners and opening up conversations when antisemitic views are aired.

She said one way of tackling the problem was working with non-Jews to help educate them about the Jewish community and what antisemitism is.

She said "difficult conversations on a national scale" were needed and praised organisations JPR and CST, whose research was cited throughout the meeting.

Mr Szalay-Bobrovniczky's brother Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, a close all of Mr Orbán hit the headlines in February when the Board published his angry email attacking Board President Marie van der Zyl for speaking out against antisemitism in Hungary.

In his letter, he said he was "extremely sorry for the Jews that you pretend to represent", claiming her accusations of antisemitism were "a simple lie" and telling her to "mind your own business".

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