August 15, 2012 (Wednesday)
Csanad Szegedi, a 30-year-old Hungarian politician, has been known for his outspoken anti-semitic stance. An article in the Houston Chronicle yesterday said that he has had the shock of his life recently. He discovered his mother’s parents were both Jewish. His grandmother was a prisoner in Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps and his grandfather was in labor camps. Since his mother is Jewish, Szegedi, according to Jewish law, is Jewish also.
Not long ago I saw a television program on PBS in which Barbara Walters was given a genealogical study of her ancestry. It revealed a Jewish background for her. She found it very interesting, and expressed a desire to learn more about it. Like the Hungarian politician, she was surprised, but, unlike him, was not overwhelmed by the news.
This revelation has no doubt brought an end to Szegdi’s political career because he had made his anti-semitism part of his political strategy.
The Chronicle article commented that “Szegedi met in early August with Rabbi Slomo Koves..During the meeting, Szegedi apologized for any statements which may have offended the Jewish community, and vowed to visit Auschwitz to pay his respects. Koves described the conversation as ‘difficult and spiritually stressful,’ but said he is hopeful for a successful outcome. ‘Csanad Szegedi is in the middle of a difficult process of reparation, self-knowledge, re-evaluation and learning, which according to our hopes and interests, should conclude in a positive manner,’ Koves said. ‘Whether this will occur or not is first and foremost up to him.'”
This man’s experience should remind us all that we should be kind and considerate of everyone. We are all descendants of the earth’s first human mates. Ray Stevens wrote many light-hearted comical songs, but his “Everything is Beautiful” is his crowning achievement. Have you read the words lately? You can read them here.