The meeting was opened by Lauder, who thanked the Hungarian prime minister for his presence. He pointed out that a century ago one-fourth of the population of Budapest had been Jewish. He cited physicists Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner and John von Neumann and other prominent international figures, pointing out that all had been forced to leave Hungary because of persecution. One-third of the 1.1 million Jews murdered at Auschwitz were Hungarians, he said. He expressed concern over current signs of anti-Semitism in Hungary, which have included the current glorification of Hungary's WWII leader, Miklos Horthy, an anti-Semite, as well as verbal and physical attacks against members of the Jewish community.

　　Lauder warned of the hazards of anti-Semitism, which included an anti-Semitic demonstration on Saturday by the far-right Jobbik party, which he said was "dragging the good name of Hungary through the mud."

　　He called on the prime minister to send a message to the entire population that intolerance would not be tolerated.

　　In his address, Orban welcomed the international as well as the local Jewish community, "particularly those who have come home, because their roots are here." This was a reference to Lauder himself, whose family background is Hungarian. Orban particularly welcomed the fight against anti-Semitism, although he noted that manifestations in Hungary had essentially consisted of verbal rather than physical attacks and that Hungary had one of Europe's strongest Jewish communities.

　　He acknowledged his understanding that one reason Budapest was chosen as the conference venue was to send a message to the Jews of Hungary and the world, calling on all to combat anti-Semitism. Orban said he was particularly pleased with their choice for this reason.

　　He acknowledged that anti-Semitism was growing throughout Europe, which he blamed partly on the European Union's unsuccessful management of the economic crisis, which triggered disillusionment.

　　Orban called anti-Semitism unacceptable and advocated an investigation of what had been done wrong over the past twenty years. One mistake, he said, was to disrespect religious beliefs in general, for a strong belief in Christianity gave rise to the moral responsibility to respect Judaism as well as other beliefs.

　　There is no freedom without human dignity, Orban said, adding that he would not tolerate discrimination. He said he foresaw a time when people would consider anti-Semitism as inconceivable as a return of the plagues of the Middle Ages. At the same time, he warned that the victory of evil required only that the forces of good do nothing. Hungary will not do nothing, he said.

　　The World Jewish Congress holds its 14th Plenary Assembly in Budapest from Sunday to Tuesday to discuss matters of importance to the Jewish people globally, including the alarming rise of Neo-Nazi political parties and anti-Semitic incidents in several European countries and the situation in the Middle East. Several hundred representatives of Jewish communities from 100 countries attend the meeting.

　　Monday's session will be opened by German Foreign Minister Guido Westwewelle and will include the election of new officials as well as a discussion of prospects for resolving conflicts in the Middle East. On Tuesday the subject will be the expansion of extreme right wing ideologies.