Vandalism
A vandalized Jewish cemetery in the town of Gyögyyös in the northeast of Hungary. March 2015.
There were 15 cases of xenophobic vandalism in 2014 (compared to 4 in 2013). All were anti-Semitic in nature.
On May 9, it was reported that a Jewish cemetery in Sikso has been desecrated.
On July 21, it was reported that one of the parents at a kindergarten, when voluntarily rebuilding the fence, painted “Jews are rats”.
On July 29 and 31, and August 16, anti-Semitic graffiti were discovered in Budapest.
On August 1, Holocaust Memorial in Budapest was desecrated.
On September 6, vandals desecrated a Holocaust memorial on the bank of River Danube in Budapest. On September 10, an anti-Semitic sticker was found near an Israeli centre in Budapest. On the same day, anti-Semitic graffiti was found at a playground in the capital. On September 22, swastikas were found in public toilets in the Budapest Central Park. On September 29, anti-Semitic graffiti was found on an election poster to the city council.
On October 26, anti-Semitic graffiti was found on the photo of a theatre director Miklos Gabor.
On November 25 and December 7, anti-Semitic graffiti was found in Budapest.
On December 8, a group of vandals damaged the fence of the Small Synagogue in Budapest.
It was reported in January 2015 that two separate swastikas can be seen in Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary. Beneath the swastika, the runic insignia of the Schutzstaffel was clearly visible.
A private individual posted a photograph to his Facebook page in March 2015, showing the side wall of the entrance to the Belvárosi Theatre. An unidentified offender drew a small swastika onto the wall. The swastika was wiped off within a few days.
The March of the Living Foundation posted photographs it had received by e-mail to its Facebook page in March 2015, showing a public bench to be found in an open space in Buda Castle. An unidentified individual had written the following words across the bench: “Thieving broker Jews! To the gas chambers with you!”
In May, Tolerance group posted an image on their Facebook profile showing the schedule board of night bus No. 968 at the Kőbánya-Kispest public transport hub. An unknown culprit scribbled a swastika on the schedule board.
Also in May, Forum against anti-Semitism posted images on their Facebook profile showing photos of hanged Stars of David. The photos were taken at Budapest’s most central underground station, Deák Square.
On March 12, 2020, the tombstones of the Jewish cemetery of Kiskunfelegihaza in southern Hungary were vandalized and seriously damaged, the Federation of the Jewish Community Mazihis said on Thursday.
On June 17, 2020, the bronze statue of Winston Churchill, which has been standing in the Budapest City Park on the Churchill Embankment since 2003, became the object of vandalism. As well as the accompanying boardwalk sign and descriptive plaque, the statue was spray-painted, covered in red paint, and scribbled several times. After a worldwide demonstration against police brutality and systemic racism, Churchill's bust was once again emblazoned with "BLM (Black Lives Matter)" and "Nazi".
On April 23, 2022, graves in the Jewish cemetery near Budapest were attacked by vandals. About half of the tombstones were overturned or broken.
April 5, 2022, a Ukrainian photo exhibition about the war in that country was vandalized. The photographs were torn down and covered in anti-Ukrainian slogans that questioned whether the photographs of the refugees were taken in Ukraine and not in the Middle East. The opening of the exhibition also did not go smoothly, with some people interrupting the performances with shouts.
