Csanad Szegedi. Photo: wiki commons.

Hungarian lawmaker Csanad Szegedi has resigned from the country’s Jobbik political party – a group known for its anti-Semitic views – after his Jewish roots were uncovered earlier this year.

“Effective immediately, I resign from all my posts and functions in Jobbik,” Szegedi wrote.  “I resign as the head of Jobbik Szerencs (small town in NE Hungary) organisation and as the chairman of Jobbik Borsod County organisation, as well as from the Jobbik National Committee; to prevent further attacks against Jobbik by enemy forces.”

According to a report by the JTA, Jobbik’s Vice President Elod Novak said Szegedi had created a “spiral of lies” by concealing his Jewish roots.  The revelation of his Jewish heritage came to Szegedi after finding out that his grandmother, Magoldna Klein, was Jewish.

“I learnt not long ago that I had parents of Jewish origins, that’s the big news,” Szegedi told a Hungarian newspaper in June, adding “I’m not saying I wasn’t surprised by this news.”

Vona says his party’s request for Szegedi to resign was not due to his Jewish roots, but his reported attempts to hide them.