https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/aug/13/no-submission-to-islam/'No submission to Islam'Victor Orban outlines explicitly conservative goals for Hungary
By Daniel Pipes
Monday, August 13, 2018
BUDAPEST — No European head of government talks remotely like Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban. For example, he recently spoke of building in Hungary a “constitutional order based on national and Christian foundations,†thereby avoiding a future in which “the whole of Europe has submitted to Islam.â€
That, in brief, is the disruption caused by Mr. Orban, 55, and his Fidesz party. He outlines explicitly conservative (or in his terminology, “illiberalâ€) goals that defends “the ways of life springing from Christian culture†and rejects Muslim influence. By doing so, Mr. Orban has undermined a continent-wide consensus and encouraged voters in Poland, Austria, Italy and Germany to resist further uncontrolled migration.
Of course, Western media respond to this presumption with relentless criticism. Some is deserved, such as the government’s take over of nearly all media, its pressure on hostile NGOs, its encroachments on judicial independence, its corruption and its pro-Putin policies. One interlocutor during my recent visit to Hungary alarmingly compared Fidesz’ deep reach into society with that of the Communist party during the Soviet era (1944-89).
But other criticisms against the government are exaggerated or unfair. Yes, local Jews complain of increased hostility, but anti-Semitic incidents have declined and Hungary is the safest place in Europe in public for observant Jews. Mr. Orban sensibly argues that allowing in large numbers of anti-Semitic Muslim migrants is the real threat to Jews. His intense attacks on George Soros, an anti-Zionist and questionable Jew, are no more anti-Semitic than those of, say, David Horowitz or Black Cube. Hungary has Europe’s best relations with Israel.
In a striking reversal from the usual Western pattern, Jewish institutions in Budapest operate in the open while Amnesty International is “hidden behind an overbearing, protective metal door.â€
More at URL above...