Hungarian Far-right Party Holds Event in Former Synagogue

Hungary's far-right Jobbik party has held an electoral rally in a former synagogue in the northern city of Esztergom.

About 120 protesters, many wearing yellow stars on their coats, wanted to form a human chain around the building to prevent Jobbik's entry Friday but were kept at bay by dozens of police.

Jewish groups said the presence of Jobbik, Hungary's second-largest opposition party, insulted the memory of some 500 Jews deported from Esztergom during the Holocaust. Some members of Jobbik have made anti-Semitic statements,

Jobbik president Gabor Vona told around 250 supporters he had "nothing to be ashamed of" and that he was neither an anti-Semite nor a Nazi.

The former synagogue is now a community center that has hosted other political rallies.