An Interview With András Schiff
ANDRÁS SCHIFF: Image by Sheila Rock
András Schiff, although rarely available for press interviews about his musical career, answered by e-mail the following questions from The Forward about growing anti-Semitism in Hungary:
THE FORWARD: Is there any cause for optimism in the near or immediate future about the situation in Hungary?
ANDRÁS SCHIFF: Image by Sheila Rock
ANDRÁS SCHIFF: There is always hope, but not too soon. This government has been properly elected by a great majority. They are very popular and they will stay for a great number of years.
However, there is no reason why Mr. Orban shouldn’t distance himself from the extreme right. Also, the kind of racism, anti-Semitism and nationalism that is generally accepted in Hungary is outrageous. This doesn’t mean that it’s official, but nevertheless it’s more than tolerated by the government. It shouldn’t be.
Is there something uniquely Hungarian which makes a “symbolic death threat,” such as you recently received from a friend of Mr. Orban’s, different from an actual death threat?
To me it’s unique, because I haven’t received one anywhere else. Coming from a family of Holocaust survivors (and related to dozens who haven’t survived) — it is clear that I never want to go there again. Even if many people love me there. The latter ones are very quiet now.
What can readers of The Forward do to help the unfortunate Jews and other personae non grata who have to remain in Hungary while all this is happening?
It’s very important that the press and the media in other countries keep an eye on Hungary and keep reporting on various issues there. There will not be a free press there, so help can only come from outside.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
