Recession, xenophobia prompting Jews to ditch Hungary

By Cnaan Liphshiz February 19, 2013

BUDAPEST (JTA) — Three years ago, Fanni moved to Vienna from her native Hungary with her husband. Now she is pregnant.

Though the couple would prefer to raise their child near their Jewish families in Budapest, rising nationalism and an economic recession are leading them to stay in Austria.

I dont want to cut my roots, but I see no good future for a child growing up in an increasingly xenophobic environment, said Fanni, a lawyer, who along with others interviewed for this article asked that their full names not be published.

As many as 1,000 Hungarian Jews are believed to be leaving the country each year, spurring fears among Jewish leaders about the future of Central Europe’s largest Jewish community — some 80,000 to 100,000 people. Immigration to Israel has tripled in the past three years, to 170 in 2012. And many others have sought new lives in Berlin, London and Vienna, the Austrian capital just a two-hour train ride away.

Had my law firm been hugely successful in Hungary, I would have stayed despite the negative atmosphere, Fanni said. And if the atmosphere was good but business was slow, I wouldve also stayed. But now the negative aspects outweigh the positive.

The migration is part of a wider movement of Hungarians, some 300,000 of whom have sought employment in Western Europe over the past four years, according to government estimates. They are leaving behind a stunted economy with a contracting gross domestic product, an annual inflation rate of more than 5 percent and an unemployment rate above 10 percent.

But it also comes at a time of mounting anti-Semitism in Hungary, a development epitomized by the rise of Jobbik, a far-right political party that now occupies 47 of 386 seats in the Hungarian parliament. The party won 16.7 percent of the popular vote in the 2010 elections, a massive improvement over the 2.2 percent it claimed in 2006.

Still, Hungarian Jewish leaders dispute that anti-Semitism is at the root of the emigration.

Peter Feldmajer, president of the Mazsihisz Hungarian Jewish umbrella organization, told JTA that the Jewish percentage of Hungarian emigrants perfectly matches the Jewish percentage of the larger population.

The rest is here:
Recession, xenophobia prompting Jews to ditch Hungary

Related Post

February 19, 2013  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Jews |

Fair Use Disclaimer

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Under the 'fair use' rule of copyright law, an author may make limited use of another author's work without asking permission. Fair use is based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. The fair use privilege is perhaps the most significant limitation on a copyright owner's exclusive rights.

Fair use as described at 17 U.S.C. Section 107:

"Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phono-records or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

  • (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for or nonprofit educational purposes,
  • (2) the nature of the copyrighted work,
  • (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and
  • (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."
    •