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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   1006 thread views

Transnational Thursday for April 16, 2026

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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Isn't Peter Magyar jewish? Some friends in my right-wing group chat shared a photo of him in a yamaka with a star of david on it. I personally don't know anything about him. But I imagine if he is a practicing jew that might be a better model to explain his reluctance to sanctioning israel.

EDIT: Nice this comment earned me my first block for something so innocuous, is this a motte rite of passage?

EDIT 2: Wrong kind of Right, very pratchet-onian of me

He most certainly is not. The photos are real though. See my comment below.

@Amadan YoungAchamian is saying he was banned for this, but I don't see anything in the Moderation Log and there's no modpost. Would you mind clarifying whether he's mistaken?

EDIT: Ah, blocked by a user rather than banned, false alarm.

ZanarkandAbesFan

Nah ^ blocked me for this comment. Or at least has very recently blocked me and it just so happens to coincide with their low effort comment below. I just find it funny or ironic of all my controversial comments that the genuinely innocuous one was what got me.

Oh, right, I forgot that that feature's called "blocking" here (and I wasn't aware you could tell if someone blocked you; some forum software doesn't tell the person being blocked/ignored, and if I've received such a notification it was a very long time ago).

I thought it is customary to offer it gentiles to wear when they visit a synagogue or bar mitzva

It's basically what indeed happened this time. The photos in question were taken on April 16th, officially Holocaust remembrance day in Hungary, as this was the day deportations started in 1944. See here:

https://mazsihisz.hu/dr-grosz-andor-zsidok-es-nem-zsidok-egyutt-mondunk-nemet-a-gyuloletre/

Is it? That's cool. They did not offer me one when I went to a Hillel in college for an antro of religion observation but it also wasn't a very serious service/community.

Some friends in my right-wing group chat shared a photo of him in a yamaka with a star of david on it.

You know that, contrary to popular belief, non-Jews can wear yarmulkas and neither God nor Mossad would strike them down? Also, contrary to popular belief, it takes more to become a Jew than putting a piece of cloth on your head, even if you photograph the occurrence. It is hard to believe that a person with the last name of "Magyar" is actually a Magyar, but it seems to be the case here.

I mean I get where it's coming from - Hungarian Jews are one of the most prominent branches of Ashkenazi Jews, who gave the world prominent people from Teodor Herzl to Robert Fischer to Milton Friedman to Edward Teller to Paul Erdős, and many many more, so when you see a smart, successful, prominent Hungarian some may be tempted to ask the question. In this case, however, the answer is "no".

Well, David Deutsch (of quantum computing fame), for example, is in fact Jewish. Maybe there is something like "the lady doth protest too much" class naming?

On the main topic, my impression is that of all the present-day European cultures, Hungary perhaps has the most extensive Jewish influence, showing most obviously in aspects like cuisine and music as well as plain public visibility (Budapest has a remarkable number of random shops with Hebrew signboards), while there also does not seem to be nearly as much of a sense of gap/otherness between them and the rest of the population as elsewhere. If I recall correctly, even Horthy at most reluctantly did the bare minimum of participation in the Nazis' anti-Jew agenda, and nobody likes the guy thy briefly installed to replace him in the final year. Moreover, ever since Trianon, Hungary has a very similar "beleaguered nation-state bearer of a totally unique people's destiny" self-image. It is therefore unsurprising that they feel some kinship with Israel.

It is hard to believe that a person with the last name of "Magyar" is actually a Magyar, but it seems to be the case here.

There’s always Archie Bunker’s theory to consider though!

Well, given as the most famous Peter is unquestionably Jewish, maybe...

Here I thought the most famous Peter was Spiderman. Or one of the Russian Emperors.

Maybe it's just a sign I haven't been to church recently enough.

The retard right finds the motte.

Low effort and obnoxious comment providing no value. Banned for two days.

I have no dog in this fight, nor am I particularly Joo-pilled. It was more of a curious piece of evidence that might have weighed in on a model of behavior. Not every underlying model mechanism is correct.

I'd argue that in Hungary as well the point has been passed in society where such 'accusations' haven any political effect at all. I reckon the last time something like this happened was in 2015, in which case the individual in question did indeed turn out to be a grifter Jew.

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32549099

That's the point - it's not "piece of evidence" of anything. OK, maybe it's a piece of evidence Magyar is not a flaming antisemite, since otherwise he'd refuse to wear the yarmulka, but beyond that it's not much of an evidence. Certainly not an evidence of him being or not being a Jew. I don't know about the particular photo but likely it was in the context of meeting some religious Jews on a religions occasion (such as celebrating a Jewish holiday maybe?) - and it's completely appropriate for a non-Jewish person to wear one, e.g. when visiting a synagogue. In fact, in most such places, when you enter, there is often a pile of yarmulkas near the entrance so anybody entering could take one and be polite. If he wore it day to day, it'd be weird for a non-Jew to do that, but I don't think he does.

In a data modeling understanding, everything is a "piece of evidence" any observation, any data, is fuel for the bayesian model. I observed it, made a tentative connection, stated my theorized connection, you and the other poster pointed out why is not a likely connection, I updated my understanding model of the what/when/where/why's. The end.

Idk why you are jumping at this so aggressively.

It's pretty mild substantive critique, not aggressive at all. If that's "jumping at this so aggressively" for you, we must be visiting very different internets, and I almost envy you. But only almost because if (when) I am wrong, I'd rather be informed about it than stay wrong without knowing it. I don't see it as a personal attack (even though being wrong is unpleasant, but that's just my ego talking).

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