Hungary to remove controversial Soros posters before Netanyahu's visit
The Israeli government had given mixed messaging about the anti-Soros campaign, which was slammed by the Hungarian Jewish community as antisemitic.
By TAMARA ZIEVEUpdated: JULY 14, 2017 07:22Hungarian government poster portraying financier George Soros and saying "Don't let George Soros have the last laugh" is seen at an underground stop in Budapest, Hungary July 11, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/LASZLO BALOGH)
The Hungarian government will take down controversial posters attacking Jewish US-Hungarian billionaire George Soros, before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Budapest next week, Hungarian media reported Wednesday.Hungarian news outlet HVG reported that the posters would be taken down by July 15, with the completion of the government's campaign against Soros, whom it attacked for his pro-immigrant stance.Netanyahu is due to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on July 18.The Israeli government had given mixed messaging about the anti-Soros campaign, which was slammed by the Hungarian Jewish community as antisemitic.Initially, the Israeli Embassy in Budapest called on the Hungarian government to take down the posters, saying "the campaign not only evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear.” But the following day, the Foreign Ministry issued a clarification, saying that while it deplored antisemitism anywhere, the ambassador's statement was not meant to delegitimize criticism of George Soros, who it said "continuously undermines Israel’s democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself.”