Power of God Falls on Church That 'Singlehandedly Kicked George Soros Out of Hungary' - STEPHEN STRANG CHARISMA NEWS

Evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne (right) ministered at Pastor Nemeth Sandor's (left) Faith Church in November 2018. (Facebook/Nemeth Sandor)

Power of God Falls on Church That 'Singlehandedly Kicked George Soros Out of Hungary'

4/23/2019 STEPHEN STRANG CHARISMA NEWS

Some say Europe is post-Christian. But although there's a great deal of spiritual darkness in that continent, pockets of revival are also springing up. In a recent interview with evangelist and pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, he told me how God is moving across many European nations through his revival tour, Europe Ablaze. (Click here to listen to the interview or scroll to the bottom of this article.)

One area where the Spirit of God is stirring up revival is Budapest, Hungary. Faith Church in Budapest, where Howard-Browne recently ministered, has experienced revival nonstop for 20 years. This Pentecostal church single-handedly kicked George Soros out of Hungary, Howard-Browne says.

"This is what is so significant about this church, Faith Church, in Budapest, Hungary," he says. "That church has a university, they have a seminary, they have a weekly newspaper that covers the whole nation, and they have a 24-hour television news network—the third-largest news network of its kind in the country. That church single-handedly kicked George Soros out of Hungary. So [Faith Church Pastor Nemeth Sandor] said to me, 'Look, I need your help, because Soros is trying to work to shut my money down and is attacking tithing and everything.'"

Howard-Browne ministered to Faith Church during his tour in Europe this past November. But Faith Church wasn't even on his itinerary. He had no idea he was going to Budapest until God spoke to the evangelist while he was ministering in Bratislava, Slovakia.

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"I heard the audible voice of the Lord," he says. "And the Lord said, 'Go and strengthen Sandor.' I did not know what he was going through at the time. I had visited that church 20 years before. So when I heard the audible voice alone, I began to weep uncontrollably."

Howard-Browne was so overwhelmed by the power of God in that moment, that he wasn't sure he would be able to speak that night at the revival service. But 50 churches got together that night, and the Holy Spirit moved mightily. Howard-Browne says that when the power of God hit the 1,300 people in that arena, it looked like "tornadoes picking up whole groups of people."

Thankfully, Pastor Sandor's church was only a 2-hour drive from Bratislava. Howard-Browne had visited that church in 1998, and he recalls the weighty glory of God falling during his time of ministry there. When he returned to the church, he felt as though nothing had changed.

"It was like we finished on a Friday night, and I was there Saturday night of the exact same week except 20 years had expired," he says. "It was the most surreal moment. ... They're all weeping. The fire of God hit that place. Over 3,000 people came forward to the altar, people committed to win souls. ... So here's a 70,000-member church in Budapest that is shaking the nation, and I was so encouraged."

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But Howard-Browne couldn't figure out how this church managed to keep the Spirit's fire going for 20 years. The church only has one service a week. Each Saturday night from 5 to 11 p.m., its 10,000-seat sanctuary is packed with believers. Howard-Browne asked Pastor Sandor what his secret was.

"[Sandor] said, 'Oh, it's very easy,'" Howard-Browne says. "He said, 'I took all the kids everywhere. And I spoke to them destiny and I put the fire of the Holy Ghost on them. And I took all the youth, and I did the exact same thing.' And then I suddenly realized why his church is so in revival after all these years."

Howard-Browne witnessed the power of Sandor's discipleship method. The two drivers who helped the evangelist get to and from the meetings were 24 and 26 years old. Both of them remember Howard-Browne's last revival meeting in their church, even though they were only 4 and 6 respectively.

"So I began to see the power and the impact when the Holy Ghost comes with power, and how He brands people's hearts for eternity, for souls and for shaping the nation," Howard-Browne tells me.

Budapest was only one stop in Howard-Browne's incredible revival tour in Europe this past year. I was so fascinated by what he shared with me in this interview that I invited him back to the show to share more, so stay tuned for tomorrow's Strang Report to learn more supernatural ways God is moving in Europe.

Be sure to listen to my entire conversation with Howard-Browne below and share this encouraging story of revival with your friends on social media!

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Christian Hungary on Collision Course with European Union's Islamic 'Blackmail' - CBN News

Christian Hungary on Collision Course with European Union's Islamic 'Blackmail'

CBN News 08-17-2017

BUDAPEST – In a time when most of Europe is in the grips of atheism, there is a nation where Christianity seems to not only be holding its own but some say is thriving.  

Imagine a government that is unabashedly Christian, that thinks Christian values are worth defending, that wants to protect and even nourish the family. 

Welcome to Hungary. 

Related

---

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Islamic Takeover: Why Mass Immigration Signals 'the End of Britain'

---

A Christian Nation

Hungary's constitution is explicitly Christian and says that marriage is between one man and one woman and that life begins at conception. It even includes the phrase, "God bless the Hungarians." 

Hungary's Faith Church, with 300 branches, is one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Europe, with 70,000 attendees.

Help for Persecuted Christians

And the Hungarian government has taken on the role of protecting Christianity. It's even set up an office to help persecuted Christians worldwide.

When CBN News revealed the story of Sweden's threat to deport Iranian actress Aideen Strandsson back to certain prison and torture in Islamic Iran, only one nation stepped up and offered her asylum: Hungary.

The Hungarian government says, "Taking in persecuted Christians is our moral and constitutional duty." 

Returning to Its Christian Roots

Hungarian policy analyst István Pócza says Hungary has only returned to its roots as a historic bastion of Christianity, dating back over a thousand years.  

"Hungary wants to protect the European values, European Christian Jewish values," he told CBN News.

Christianity in Hungary has survived almost 200 years of Muslim Ottoman rule and Soviet Communist domination. 

Secretary of State Zoltán Kovács told us, "You have to stick to your traditions and legacies. Europe's legacy is a Christian legacy, not necessarily in a religious form but most definitely in a cultural form."

Resisting Islamization

And it's this belief that has Hungary locked in a battle with the European Union over migrants. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Mihály Orbán has accused the European Union of trying to Islamize Europe, and Hungary has infuriated Brussels by building a fence to keep illegal migrants out. 

Orbán has essentially told the European Union to 'take a hike' when it comes to open borders. Hungary has seen the terrorism and chaos caused by migration in Western Europe and has said, "not here."

The European Union has even gone to court to force Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to take in migrants. Mr. Oban has accused Brussels of "blackmail."

"Securing the borders to stop illegal migration is indeed a solution, and this is actually the only way to reinstate law and order at the borders of the European union and not the other way around," Kovács told CBN News. 

Islam Matters

Kovács says it matters that most of the migrants trying to enter Hungary are Muslim. And he says Western European nations are paying a heavy price by pretending that Islam doesn't matter. 

"We've been living with and close to Islam for centuries in the past and we know about it. So, that's why it does matter who has come in and in what manner people are coming," Kovács told CBN News. 

Orbán Is No Putin  – Or Is He?

Orbán is often portrayed in the western media as a version of Vladimir Putin, an undemocratic strongman. In fact, at an EU summit in 2015, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reportedly greeted Orbán with the words, "Hello, dictator."

Hungary is most certainly not a dictatorship. But Orbán's critics accuse him of corruption and using the instruments of government against his political opponents, including the recent billboard campaign against billionaire George Soros. 

Tamás Lattmann of the Institute of International Relations told us, "What we see in Hungary today is the shameless use of public money, of tax money to formulate pro-government messages."

Bulcsú Hunyadi of the Political Capital Policy Research and Consulting Institute said, "Since 2008 the Hungarian government headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been continuously weakening the system of checks and balances and weakening democratic institutions."

But Orbán, a man who even his critics concede is a skilled politician, doesn't seem to have a serious political rival, and he will probably remain in power, meaning Hungary's standoff with the European Union over migrants is likely to escalate.  

Is also means that Hungary will continue to have a government that thinks Christianity is worth protecting. 

Budapest, Hungary - Jim Clint Family Update - Third Anniversary

Love For His People Editor's Note: In early July we first made contact with the Jim Clint family, after an email from them, in which they wrote to us in response to this website showing our love for Israel. 

We have now begun support their work with monthly contributions. They seek to help Jews make aliyah (immigrate) to their homeland in Israel.

Here is their most recent newsletter.

Shalom,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

Clint Family Update

Third Anniversary

It’s now been three years since we all left Northern Ireland to dedicate ourselves to serving the LORD amongst Hungary’s Jewish community. On July 1st 2013 we all arrived to a very hot Hungarian summer. In these three years we’ve come a long way, with many challenges, with both disappointments and blessings.

We’ve always been aware that we have many people praying for us from many countries around the world. Some of these people we have never met before, still in Yeshua we are family and look out for each other. As parents Nauszika and I are extremely proud to how the three children have progressed.

The girls are now young ladies and not children, Sara Rose will be fourteen on July 18th, Naomi Ruth is now thirteen, and Yonatan Israel will be seven on September 7th. All three have worked very hard at school, learning the Hungarian language which is considered to be one of the most difficult languages in the world. Yes there are times when we miss Northern Ireland, hopefully we’ll be able to get back to see family in the winter.

We’ve been able to build up good relationships with the Jews of Hungary, especially here in Budapest. Being able to meet with the Jewish Agency has been a key factor in winning trust in the community. Apart from the Jewish Agency we are the only group helping Hungarian Jews to make Aliyah to Israel. Above all, the LORD is the one who has sustained us throughout these last three years.

1st Corinthians 15:58…. So, my dear brothers, stand firm and immovable, always doing the LORD’s work as vigorously as you can, knowing that united with the LORD your efforts are not in vain.

Aliyah Work

Please continue to pray for all those Olim (new immigrants) we have assisted with funds. A few days ago we were happy to hear that Benjamin had made Aliyah. Benjamin an 18 year old from Budapest was assisted a few months ago. After he completes his Hebrew language course in the Galilee he will start his army service as a “Lone Soldier”. This means that he has no family living in Israel to connect with. I know that Lone Soldiers often find it difficult in their first few months of army service. Anyone wishing to help Benjamin with a small donation can Email me.

Yair, another Lone soldier we helped over a year ago is now serving with an elite army unit. Another girl caller Sara will get married early in 2017. We also helped Sara with funds over a year ago. I make a point of keeping in touch with every Olim we help. Please remember to pray for all the Hungarian Olim we help back to their Land of Promise.

The “S” family from Koszeg in western Hungary are also expected to leave very soon. I remember well the day when I gave them the funds for Aliyah, we all sat in the Jewish Agency office in tears. They appreciated Ezra’s help, without which they would never have been able to afford to pay the required expenses. In order to help these dear people and also operate ourselves we depend upon the love offerings of brothers and sisters with a heart for the Jewish people.

Synagogue Attack

In late June the synagogue in the town of Gyöngyös 25 miles north-west from Budapest was attacked two days in a row, on a Wednesday and a Thursday. On the Thursday a few older men from the Jewish community in the town were in the synagogue when the second attack happened. The synagogue had some of its windows smashed. I believe that the police are still trying to find those responsible for the attack. Please pray for Rabbi Peter Weise (pic above) from Gyöngyös, I know Peter personally, he’s a quiet and humble man. I know that he will be very concerned because of what has happened.

Meeting friend from Northern Ireland

In early July we had a visit from Véronique a friend who lives and works in Northern Ireland. It was good for us all to get together and have lunch in Budapest’s Jewish quarter. We were able to take Véronique on a tour to see some of Budapest’s Jewish sites and memorials.

Political Situation in Hungary

The political climate in Hungary is steadily getting worse. The present right wing FIDESZ government is becoming increasingly unpopular because of its decisions. Both the schools and hospitals are underfunded, this has led to protests in both hospitals and schools. Sadly this is playing into the hands of the Far Right Jobbik party. Eastern Hungary is a Jobbik stronghold, in the east the people are poorer and employment is difficult to find. Please pray that the Jews of Hungary will see the danger which in on the horizon. Nationalism is on the rise all over Europe, again the Jews will be blamed for all problems!! Please pray that the LORD will guide us as we seek warn Hungarian Jews about this danger.

Contact & Support

To support the CLINT family in Hungary please contact:

EZRA UK…  (Pat)  ezraint.uk@gmail.com

My Jewish Hungary Webpage

http://jewish-hungary.weebly.com/contact-page.html

hungarianaliyah@yahoo.com

March in Hungary Remembers Holocaust

March in Hungary Remembers Holocaust

April 28, 2014

Yori Yalon, The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Some 12,000 people participate in march honoring the memory of the 550,000 Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust • "I have deliberately come on this march to ask for forgiveness from the Jewish people and the survivors," one participant says.

Sunday's march in Budapest  |  Photo credit: AFP

Some 12,000 people participated in a march through Budapest Sunday, honoring the memory of the 550,000 Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Several Hungarian MPs participated in the march alongside Israel Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor, former Chief Justice Aharon Barak and heads of the local Jewish community.

Seeking atonement for their relatives, the grandchildren of some of those involved in the Holocaust joined the march, which began with a ceremony by the Danube River, on the site of a new monument for Hungary's Jewish community. Participants then marched some 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to Budapest, where another ceremony was held, marking the 70th anniversary for the community's destruction.

"Unfortunately, the past decade has seen anti-Semitism rear its head again and every year we see in increase in violent anti-Semitic incidents around the world," Yaakov Haguel, head of the World Zionist Organization's Department for Countering Anti-Semitism, said.

"The World Zionist Organization strongly condemns any and all physical violence, anti-Semitic expressions, incitement and heinous blood libel," he said. "I urge everyone to fight this horrific phenomenon and make it extinct."

Frank Pfeiffer's grandfather voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS, the military arm of the Nazi Party, while his wife Barbel's grandfather helped build the electrical system at the Auschwitz death camp, including the wiring of its gas chambers.

At Auschwitz, about a third of its victims were Hungarian Jews.

"I have deliberately come on this march to ask for forgiveness from the Jewish people and the survivors," said Pfeiffer, a 44-year-old travel agent. "As the grandchild of a perpetrator, I want to express how deeply sorry I am at what my grandfather did."

The couple did not discover the truth about their relatives' actions until about 12 years ago, when they began researching their families' pasts.

"We are here with my husband to say the words our grandparents were incapable of," Barbel Pfeiffer said during Friday's remembrance at the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities. "Words cannot undo the events of the past, but we regret what happened with all our hearts."

Commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary have been tainted by disputes between Hungarian Jewish groups and Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government.

Authorities have acknowledged and apologized for Hungarians' actions in the Holocaust, but a statue commemorating the 1944 Nazi occupation of Hungary is being erected despite protests from Jewish groups, who see the memorial as an attempt to diminish Hungarian officials' role in the deportations.

Zoltan Pokorni, a former education minister, said last week that Germany's occupation of Hungary was "an explanation, but not an excuse" for the fate of Hungarian Jews.

"The murderers were Hungarian and the victims were also Hungarian," Pokorni said. "This is our issue, not a distant historical question."

A German pastor began the March of Life events in 2007. Since then, more than 20,000 people have taken part in reconciliation marches in 13 countries.

Hungary Sliding Back to Nazi-Era Anti-Semitism?

By Dale Hurd

CBN News Sr. Reporter

March 27, 2014

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BUDAPEST, Hungary - The Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to Budapest's Jews who were rounded up during World War II and told to take off their shoes before being shot and pushed into the Danube.

Today, Hungary's Jews are fearful again because of a return of anti-Semitism.

Hungary has been going backwards economically since before the financial crisis of 2008. Old scapegoats have come back to life in a nation that was flattened by globalization: foreigners, bankers, and Jews.

Tapping Into the Psyche

Hungarian political ads are tapping straight into the Hungarian psyche.

One shows ordinary Hungarians saying:

"More and more installments we have to pay. Are banks allowed to do what they want? While we keep working they just steal. Are political criminals allowed to do what they want? I'm already afraid to go into the streets. Are Gypsy criminals allowed to do what they want? There are no Hungarian products on the shelves. Are multis (multinational corporations) allowed to do what they want? We've had enough of parasitism. If you have too, vote for Jobbik on Oct. 3."

It's an ad for Jobbik, now the third largest party in Hungary and a strong contender to finish second in Hungarian elections April 6, creating the possibility it could join a coalition government.

Evangelicals in Hungary are very concerned, and have created a website called SaveHungary.

Vote Against Jobbik

Go to Vote Against Jobbik and like the page to help support the push against the anti-Semitic, anti-Evangelical party in Hungary.

Far-right racist parties are fairly common in Eastern Europe. But Jobbik is different. It's stronger, better organized and offering solutions to real problems that Hungarians face - even if some are the wrong solutions and their bogeyman is an American-Israeli conspiracy.

Feeling the Anti-Semitism

Budapest Rabbi Schlomo Koves said Jews can now feel the anti-Semitism in the street, although physical attacks on Jews are rare.

"There's a joke in Hungary in which someone comes to a village and he asks, is there anti-Semitism here? And the other guy answers, 'No, but there's a great need for it,'" he told CBN News.

"When society is not in a good state, when people have a hard time making a living, all these extreme ideas can come back," he said.

One Jobbik member of parliament has called for a list to be drawn up of all the Jews in government because he deems them to be a security threat.

"They consider the entire Jewish community as the agents of America and Israel," Pal Steiner, A Hungarian Jew and member of parliament, said.

"They say that through the Hungarian Jewish community, Israel and America are turning Hungary into a colony," he said.

Steiner lost half of his relatives in the Holocaust and now, 70 years later, he is receiving death threats. He says anti-Semitism isn't returning to Hungary - it never left.

"It's clear that Jobbik's basic principles are very similar to the Nazis, especially considering the so-called 'Jewish problem,'" he said. "And I need to stress that there is a part of Hungarian society that has a secret sympathy towards Jobbik."

A Sicker Society?

Miklos Horthy ruled Hungary during World War II when it was a Nazi ally. Horthy returned to a place of honor in Budapest when a bust of him was unveiled at a church. Opponents demonstrated by wearing yellow stars.

Jobbik once started a militia - the Magyar Garda - but it was outlawed. Jobbik claims it was a service organization but it looked like Arrow Cross, a Nazi-era party that killed thousands of Jews.

It's now very dangerous for Hungary's Gypsies, who have higher than average rates of criminal acts and are hated more than Jews.

CBN News asked one of Hungary's leading political consultants, Viktor Szigetvári, if Hungarian society is getting healthier, or getting sicker. He told us,

"Sadly, I have to say sicker because of growing intolerance, because of growing poverty," he said.

Could Jobbik end up in a governing coalition someday as some predict, or is it too politically radioactive for other parties?

"They are radioactive, but it is possible we might have a minority government formed after the 2014 general elections and it will be interesting to see what role Jobbik will play," Szigetvári said. "I believe (Jobbik as part of ruling coalition) is a no-go area; not in Hungary, not in Europe."

Jobbik leaders turned down our request for an interview.

"We do not want to help you on the issue of anti-Semitism," they said in a written statement. "Jobbik is dealing with much more important problems right now: the sellout of soil to foreigners and to oligarchs close to the government, the corruption scandals, the chaos in education and the catastrophic state of public safety."

Poisoning the Population

Jobbik repeatedly denies that it is anti-Semitic. On its English-language website it seems to disavow some of the positions that its leaders have spouted publicly.

They say they do not deny the Holocaust but they also do not like Israel.

CBN News spoke with one former Jobbik member from a rural area who said he never heard talk of anti-Semitism at Jobbik meetings he attended. But we also interviewed a former Jobbik leader who had to leave the party when he discovered he was a Jew.

"The problem is there are clever people in Jobbik," Hungarian Journalist Ferenc Szlazsánszky, with channel ATV, said. "It's a two-faced party - what they say amongst themselves and what they say in front of the public."

"The other problem is they are inciting hatred," he added. "They are poisoning the population in Hungary."

Steiner and others told CBN News that Jobbik should be considered "very dangerous."

And even if Jobbik never rules Hungary, critics say it's a legally elected party spreading dangerous ideas.

But fpr many, Jobbik seems to be only a symptom in a nation that is still clinging to old-fashioned anti-Semitism.

And now there is a chance that Jobbik could help rule Hungary.

*Original broadcast December 2013.


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Anti-Semitic Hungarian Party Could Win Big. Christians Ask for Help

CBN News - Hungary Sliding Back to Nazi-Era Anti-Semitism?

Hungary Sliding Back to Nazi-Era Anti-Semitism?

By Dale Hurd, CBN News Sr. Reporter Monday, December 16, 2013

Ad Feedback

BUDAPEST, Hungary - The Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to Budapest's Jews who were rounded up during World War II and told to take off their shoes before being shot and pushed into the Danube.

Today, Hungary's Jews are fearful again because of a return of anti-Semitism.

Hungary has been going backwards economically since before the financial crisis of 2008. Old scapegoats have come back to life in a nation that was flattened by globalization: foreigners, bankers, and Jews.

Tapping Into the Psyche

Hungarian political ads are tapping straight into the Hungarian psyche.

One shows ordinary Hungarians saying:

"More and more installments we have to pay. Are banks allowed to do what they want? While we keep working they just steal. Are political criminals allowed to do what they want? I'm already afraid to go into the streets. Are Gypsy criminals allowed to do what they want? There are no Hungarian products on the shelves. Are multis (multinational corporations) allowed to do what they want? We've had enough of parasitism. If you have too, vote for Jobbik on Oct. 3."

Jobbik is now the third largest party in Hungary and some say a possible longshot to rule the country in a coalition government someday.

Far-right racist parties are fairly common in Eastern Europe. But Jobbik is different. It's stronger, better organized and offering solutions to real problems that Hungarians face - even if some are the wrong solutions and their bogeyman is an American-Israeli conspiracy.

Feeling the Anti-Semitism

Budapest Rabbi Schlomo Koves said Jews can now feel the anti-Semitism in the street, although physical attacks on Jews are rare.

"There's a joke in Hungary in which someone comes to a village and he asks, is there anti-Semitism here? And the other guy answers, 'No, but there's a great need for it,'" he told CBN News.

"When society is not in a good state, when people have a hard time making a living, all these extreme ideas can come back," he said.

One Jobbik member of parliament has called for a list to be drawn up of all the Jews in government because he deems them to be a security threat.

"They consider the entire Jewish community as the agents of America and Israel," Pal Steiner, A Hungarian Jew and member of parliament, said.

"They say that through the Hungarian Jewish community, Israel and America are turning Hungary into a colony," he said.

Steiner lost half of his relatives in the Holocaust and now, 70 years later, he is receiving death threats. He says anti-Semitism isn't returning to Hungary - it never left.

"It's clear that Jobbik's basic principles are very similar to the Nazis, especially considering the so-called 'Jewish problem,'" he said. "And I need to stress that there is a part of Hungarian society that has a secret sympathy towards Jobbik."

A Sicker Society?

Miklos Horthy ruled Hungary during World War II when it was a Nazi ally. Last month Horthy returned to a place of honor in Budapest when a bust of him was unveiled at a church. Opponents demonstrated by wearing yellow stars.

Jobbik once started a militia - the Magyar Garda - but it was outlawed. Jobbik claims it was a service organization but it looked like Arrow Cross, a Nazi-era party that killed thousands of Jews.

It's now very dangerous for Hungary's Gypsies, who have higher than average rates of criminal acts and are hated more than Jews.

CBN News asked one of Hungary's leading political consultants, Viktor Szigetvári, if Hungarian society is getting healthier, or getting sicker. He told us,

"Sadly, I have to say sicker because of growing intolerance, because of growing poverty," he said.

Could Jobbik end up in a governing coalition someday as some predict, or is it too politically radioactive for other parties?

"They are radioactive, but it is possible we might have a minority government formed after the 2014 general elections and it will be interesting to see what role Jobbik will play," Szigetvári said. "I believe (Jobbik as part of ruling coalition) is a no-go area; not in Hungary, not in Europe."

Jobbik leaders turned down our request for an interview.

"We do not want to help you on the issue of anti-Semitism," they said in a written statement. "Jobbik is dealing with much more important problems right now: the sellout of soil to foreigners and to oligarchs close to the government, the corruption scandals, the chaos in education and the catastrophic state of public safety."

Poisoning the Population

Jobbik repeatedly denies that it is anti-Semitic. On its English-language website it seems to disavow some of the positions that its leaders have spouted publicly.

They say they do not deny the Holocaust but they also do not like Israel.

CBN News spoke with one former Jobbik member from a rural area who said he never heard talk of anti-Semitism at Jobbik meetings he attended. But we also interviewed a former Jobbik leader who had to leave the party when he discovered he was a Jew.

"The problem is there are clever people in Jobbik," Hungarian Journalist Ferenc Szlazsánszky, with channel ATV, said. "It's a two-faced party - what they say amongst themselves and what they say in front of the public."

"The other problem is they are inciting hatred," he added. "They are poisoning the population in Hungary."

Steiner and others told CBN News that Jobbik should be considered "very dangerous."

And even if Jobbik never rules Hungary, critics say it's a legally elected party spreading dangerous ideas.

But many, Jobbik seems to be only a symptom in a nation that is still clinging to old-fashioned anti-Semitism.

Crisis of Conscience: Anti-Semite Learns He's a Jew - CBN News

Crisis of Conscience: Anti-Semite Learns He's a Jew

By Dale Hurd

CBN News Sr. Reporter

Thursday, August 08, 2013

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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- What do you do when you learn you are not the person you thought you were, when you learn you are the very thing you hated?

It was a question Csanad Szegedi was confronted with -- one that led to a remarkable transformation.

Szegedi was once a rising star in Hungary's third largest and most controversial political parties, Jobbik. Jobbik has been labeled fascist and anti-Semitic. 

Its leader once asked for a list of all the Jews in Hungarian government. And Szegedi, still in his 20s, was on a trajectory to lead the party someday.  

"I joined Jobbik in 2003, when the party foundations were being built," he told CBN News. "I was a member for 9 years. I was vice president for 6 years and I have served in the European parliament since 2009."

Szegedi was also branded an anti-Semite, although he told CBN News that when he joined Jobbik, "I was kind of indifferent toward Jews."

"I didn't care about Jews," he said. "I didn't care about the Holocaust. I didn't consider the Holocaust as a tragedy for the Hungarian people."

Szegedi's Damascus Road

But still, Szegedi was a leader in a major anti-Semitic party, and his public statements showed that, at the very least, he didn't like Jews and was suspicious of them.

But that would all change when Szegedi learned something about himself that would turn his world upside down: Szegedi discovered he was a Jew.

When rumors of his Jewish ancestry started swirling on the Internet, Szegedi went to talk to his 94-year-old grandmother, who he never knew was Jewish.

"She opened up and she talked about her life and how she was sent to Auschwitz and how our family was annihilated," he recalled. "I was shocked. First of all because I realized the Holocaust really happened."

At first, Szegedi tried to hide his Jewishness and act like nothing had happened. But he realized he couldn't stay in Jobbik. 

"It started such a crisis in my consciousness," he told CBN News. "I realized I can't take part in any organization that has anything to do with anti-Semitism. And after my Jewish origins were disclosed, they really didn't want to see me in the party anymore."

A Spiritual 'Leper'

So what do you do when you discover you are one of the very things you hated? Szegedi decided to change.

He contacted local Rabbi Schlomo Koves, who first thought it was a joke.

"When I first met with Csanad, I had very, very mixed feelings because on one hand I was sitting across from a member of the Jobbik party, which has extreme anti-Semitic views," Rabbi Koves told CBN News.

"But on the other hand, I was sitting across from a broken person who has realized what he has done and has come to a situation where he figured he had to change but he didn't know how to change," he said.

Szegedi started attending synagogue and jokes that he was treated by some members "like a leper."

"It was very interesting to see how other people viewed it and some stepped back," Rabbi Koves said. "They were shocked."

But Szegedi started taking classes at the synagogue, learning Hebrew and the meaning of kosher and Shabbat. He said his life has completely changed.

"It's changed everything. It's like being re-born, and the changes in my life are still happening," he said. "I had this set value system that I had to change completely. I had had this value system until I was 30 and I had to admit that it was all wrong and to find the will to change."

Visiting Israel

He also became a politician without a party and has continued to serve in the European parliament as an independent.

"As a politician, now I want to defend human rights for everyone," Szegedi explained. "I am aware of my responsibility and I know I will have to make it right in the future."

One of the high points of his new life was visiting Israel with his wife and visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and the Western Wall.

"When I landed in Israel, airport security asked me a lot of questions, and when the guard asked me, 'Are you a Jew?' Then for the first time in my life, I could say, 'Yes,'" Szegedi recalled.

"Just to feel like you are on the right way spiritually, and you can get closer to God," he continued. "It's a whole new feeling for me, that I am doing the right thing."

"Since then, my life has been full of incredible miracles," he said. "But I believe everyone who chooses the way of God sees miracles."