What s Brussels take on anti-Semitic eviction by capital?

A local government in Hungary has cancelled its property use agreement with a Jewish televisions station, arguing that the district has different plans in terms of utilising the property. As Brussels and Washington continue to follow Hungary s media relations with heightened interest, we have sent them letters to learn what they think about the eviction.

POLITICS FEBRUARY 18. 2021 10:55

In an interview with the Jewish-Hungarian Neokohn portal, Peter Breuer, the director of HetiTV said that currently the channel can be received by seventy-five per cent of Hungarian households and is mainly supported by public awareness ads.

He says Miklos Merenyi, the district mayor s cabinet chief, wrote him a termination letter on 2 November 2020, adding that Mr Merenyi kept saying from the get-go that he did not „want to see Heti TV” in the building. Mr Breuer then approached Mayor Peter Niedermuller, who told him that he „knew nothing about this whole case.” He said he would „take action, but he asked that the Jews – with whom Breuer is on good terms – write him a letter, in which they make a firm stand by the TV.” Mr Breuer did that. He was then advised by Mr Niedermuller to talk to members of the assembly, which Mr Breuer also did. The mayor appeared in one of Heti TV s programmes in December, but even then he did not indicate to Mr Breuer that there are any problems.

The next step was the termination of the contract, something Neokohn wrote about on  31 January. The letter said the Jewish TV station can remain in the building until April 30, 2021. According to Mr Breuer, Cabinet Chief Miklos Merenyi wrote him another letter on 22 December, 2020, in which he explained that „he didn t quite understand why I was making such a fuss when he already told me in November that I was fired.”

Asked by Neokohn about the specific circumstances of their ousting from the building, Mr Breuer said: „the director of Eromuvhaz Cultural Centre walked down to me and apologised for having to convey some unpleasant news. She said we had to move out until 30 April, adding that we ll have to leave the building clean and repainted.”

In Hungary left-wing parties have entered into an electoral alliance with the party called Jobbik, notorious for its grave anti-Semitic manifestations and rhetoric, as well as for its politicians constant anti-Semitic slurs.

A politician of the left-wing Democratic Coalition (DK), Peter Niedermuller, is now the mayor of Budapest s 7th district. From 2014 to 2019 Mr Niedermuller, a trusted man of former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, was a member of the European Parliament. His career at the helm of the district has been marred by a string of scandals of late. For instance his colleagues used the offices of the local government he manages to mine Bitcoins, but he is also known for having described heterosexual, Christian, white men and women as „frightening creatures”. Now, he is kicking out Europe s only Jewish TV channel, leaving them displaced.

Speaking to Hungarian Hir TV, Peter Breuer suggested that the district s leftist leadership used the eviction to win the favour of Jobbik. Mr Breuer did not say Jobbik s name, but made clear references to the radical party, adding that he has long been under pressure to invite politicians from the party to his shows, but he has persistently resisted. In response to the reporter s question as to what would have happened if a mayor from the governing party had evicted Europe s only Jewish television, Mr Breuer said that „it would have caused a major disaster”.

The head of Heti TV also referred to the fact that left-wing politicians in the 7th district reproached him for inviting governing party politicians to his shows.

Mr Breuer has regularly featured left-wing politicians in his shows, including Mayor Peter Niedermuller, who was a frequent guest.

In addition, Mr Niedermuller s party colleague Laszlo Varju and DK President Ferenc Gyurcsany have also appeared on Heti TV s shows.

In the past few days the loss of Hungarian Klubradio s broadcasting licence has made headline news in the international media. The European Commission has called  on Hungary to take urgent action to ensure that Klubradio can continue using its frequency, at least until final decisions become legally binding. US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the loss of Klubradio s license would mark the departure of yet another independent voice from Hungary s public debate, and yet another blow to media pluralism in Hungary.

According to an analysis by the Center for Fundamental Rights, the legal situation is that Klubradio – which, in a unique way, has been using its Hungarian frequencies free of charge and without any tenders since 2011, as a „community provider” – became ineligible for extension as a result of a number of infractions it has caused and never disputed. Further, the station s new tender for the frequency is currently „stagnant” due to the emergence of two rivals. Nevertheless, the station will not „go silent” as it will continue to broadcast its programmes online.

The Media Council of Hungary s National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) has notified Klubradio that its rectified application regarding the relaunched broadcasting tender for the Budapest FM 92,9 MHz radio frequency was accepted. This makes Klubradio the only remaining applicant and allows for a merit-based evaluation of its tender to commence.

V4NA has sent a letter to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the US State Department and organisations affiliated with US stock market speculator George Soros – all worried about Hungarian press freedom – to learn what they think about Heti TV s eviction.

We wanted to know

  • whether they condemn the eviction of the Jewish television station?
  • what they think about such an anti-Semitic move?

We also asked Brussels if they plan to launch an investigation in the case against the district led by Peter Niedermuller?

We will update our article as soon as they reply.

POLITICS

Tags:

antisemitism, budapest, european commission, european parliament, heti tv, Hungary, united states